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| re: Other Favorites | |
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rockfenris2005 03:05 pm UTC 09/24/13 |
| In reply to: | re: Other Favorites - Rakae 02:22 pm UTC 09/24/13 |
I struggled with "Storm Front". There are moments that I really like, like "We didn't start the fire", "Downeaster 'Alexa'", "I go to extremes", "Storm front" and "And so it goes" which I absolutely love, but I struggled with the whole thing. Also, as I'm gathering you already know, it was a pretty turbulent time in BJ history as well because much of the band who'd recorded with Billy since "The stranger" and played on tour had been replaced, and Phil Ramone wasn't producing the album. BJ was producing it with Mick Jones from Foreigner. And BJ said at the time that he wanted to shake things up. Now that shouldn't hinge on my enjoyment of the album and I'd have enjoyed it anyway, but I don't know. I struggled with it. "River of dreams" on the other hand is brilliant for me from beginning to end, although I wasn't always completely fond of the A side. "No man's land" is for me terrific, "The great wall of China" which I think has a killer hook, "Blonde over blue", I particularly love this musically, "A minor variation", "Shades of grey" with that awesome riff, and then the stellar B side with a trilogy of mind blowing classics like "All about soul", "Lullaby (Goodnight, my angel)" which is one of the prettiest and most heartbreaking songs I've ever heard, and "The river of dreams" (an alternate version of the song includes a reprise of "Lullaby"). But it doesn't stop there. "Two thousand years" is definitely one of my favourite BJ songs and I wish it had been more popular than it was. It's kind of like Jim's song "It just won't quit". By the way, I had to double check if that really was the tune for the song "There's a hole in my bucket". "Famous last words" is a good track too and a nice note to finish on. With all of that said, I can understand why people struggle with that album, because I am aware that it's actually kind of grim, and a very mature album, but I love it. I think it's precious. "Turnstiles" is another great album too, and "Streetlife Serenade" has a lot of good moments. I absolutely love the riff for "Streetlife serenader". "Prelude/Angry young man" from "Turnstiles" is a killer song too. > The big thing that comes to mind regarding "The Nylon > Curtain" is only playing the album when my parents weren't > around, because there's an F-bomb in "Laura". > > Also, I remember being in the car playing the "Piano Man" > album for the first time, and it goes to "Captain Jack", > and Billy Joel softly croons "You're sister's gone out, > She's on a date... And you just sit at home... and > masturbate" and my parents both turn and glare at me, my > father makes a disgusted noise and then almost hits an > oncoming vehicle. > > Anyway. > > I definitely like the Nylon Curtain,though some of the > "human" attributes I love Billy Joel for do get slightly > boring for me on that album. There's the ode to Allentown, > which is very industrial sounding and honestly it takes > more to retain my attention than complaining about > economics. But I like the music, and it also reminds me > how much Bill and Jim both use a lot of sound effects in > their music. Again, it's very theatrical... > > My favourite Billy Joel songs tend to be the dramatic, > intense or descrptive ones. I loved the "Ballad of Billy > the Kid", because it tells a story and keeps my attention. > I love most of "Storm Front", talking about /Going to > Extremes/, /I'm SHAMELESS!!!/, the defensive "We didn't > start the fire", and "Leningrad" brings me to tears every > time. "The Downeaster Alexa" is also beautiful and tragic, > in a very human way; but all of the ocean and boating > references make me think of the pirates in Peter Pan, so I > get a ton of personal imagery when I listen to it. > > Typically I don't like war songs, but Siagon and Leningrad > both give me very strong feelings of despair and > desolation, and I don't know very much about the > circumstances - and my favourite part, is it's the music > as much as the words that provoke the emotion in me. The > musical tension during "I was born in '49, cold-war kid in > McCarthy times" sets you up perfectly to understand the > sentiment, even if you know none of the facts. > > I also liked "Where's the Orchestra", but it always makes > me sad. I used to play in theatre groups since my teens, > but I am unable to play anything now. I take it kind of > personally in the last couple years. It is still > beautiful. > > > > > > What do you think of "The Nylon Curtain"? I've heard it's > > probably his most ambitious album but it definitely has > > its moments for me. I love the song "Pressure". I think > > that's gold. "Goodnight Saigon" is also very poignant. > > Though I can't imagine that being played on the radio > > every day. "Allentown" is another good one. And one of my > > favourite ever BJ songs is on that album, "Where's the > > orchestra?" | |
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