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Avg: 3.5 (89 ratings)
- Date Released: November 1, 1973
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Style: Rock
- Label: Columbia
- Copyright: 1973 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
The famed struggle of a talented man trying to stay out of his own way and find a little peace of mind
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We Say...
Billy Joel already had three shots at success before his first Columbia album. He made his rep as part of the Hassles, the third-seed of Long Island R&B/garage bands after the Young Rascals and the Vagrants. Then there was the heavy(-ish) duo Attila, and a solo album for the brain-dead Gulf+Western conglomerate called Cold Spring Harbor — on which his vocals were mixed at the wrong speed.
Still, Columbia and Atlantic were interested in him. Broke and bummed-out, he briefly switched coasts, mulled his future and eked out a living at a Los Angeles-area cocktail lounge, doing impressions, learning how to please a crowd of any size. Piano Man's title song proved Columbia's winning bet was right. With a chord structure that combined Jerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles" (Atlantic's complaint, according to one writer) and the story songs of Harry Chapin (the complaint of many critics), "Piano Man" was both a fine character study and the source of a common Joel theme: the struggle of a talented man trying to stay out of his own way and find a little peace of mind. Among the other tunes, the energetic "Captain Jack" is a favorite of many rock fans, a dramatically rendered portrait of drug use and class struggle in early '70s suburbia; a live version was played so often by Philadelphia's WMMR that the city adopted Joel as its own. "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" is a little bit of time travel, a little bit vain, but still entertaining in its brazen comparison of a 19th-century outlaw and a struggling 20th-century singer-songwriter. Among the lesser known gems is opening track "Travelin' Prayer," a bluegrass beauty covered brilliantly not that long ago by Dolly Parton. Not everything in Joel's ample repertory has sustained itself, but what many people think of as Joel's first shot he may have understood to be his last chance for the big time, and he made the best of it. -
They Say...
Embittered by legal disputes with his label and an endless tour to support a debut that was dead in the water, Billy Joel hunkered down in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles, spending six months as a lounge singer at a club. He didn't abandon his dreams -- he continued to write songs, including "Piano Man," a fictionalized account of his weeks as a lounge singer. Through a combination of touring and constant hustling, he landed a contract with Columbia and recorded his second album in 1973. Clearly inspired by Elton John's Tumbleweed Connection, not only musically but lyrically, as well as James Taylor, Joel expands the vision and sound of Cold Spring Harbor, abandoning introspective numbers (apart from "You're My Home," a love letter to his wife) for character sketches and epics. Even the title track, a breakthrough hit based on his weeks as a saloon singer, focuses on the colorful patrons, not the singer. If his narratives are occasionally awkward or incomplete, he compensates with music that gives the songs a sweeping sense of purpose -- they feel complete, thanks to his indelible melodies and savvy stylistic repurposing. He may have borrowed his basic blueprint from Tumbleweed Connection, particularly with its Western imagery and bluesy gospel flourishes, but he makes it his own, largely due to his melodic flair, which is in greater evidence than on Cold Spring Harbor. Piano Man is where he suggests his potential as a musical craftsman. He may have weaknesses as a lyricist -- such mishaps as the "instant pleasuredome" line in "You're My Home" illustrate that he doesn't have an ear for words -- but Piano Man makes it clear that his skills as a melodicist can dazzle.
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| 01. |  |
Travelin' Prayer |
4:10 |
|
| 02. | |
Piano Man |
5:36 |
|
| 03. | |
Ain't No Crime |
3:20 |
|
| 04. | |
You're My Home |
3:11 |
|
| 05. | |
The Ballad Of Billy The Kid |
5:35 |
|
| 06. | |
Worse Comes To Worst |
3:16 |
|
| 07. | |
Stop In Nevada |
3:55 |
|
| 08. | |
If I Only Had The Words (To Tell You) |
3:35 |
|
| 09. | |
Somewhere Along The Line |
3:17 |
|
| 10. | |
Captain Jack |
7:16 |
|
10 Total Tracks, 43:11 Total Length
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Credits
- Billy Joel - Harmonica // Billy Joel - Harmonica // Billy Joel - Keyboards // Billy Joel - Keyboards // Billy Joel - Vocals // Billy Joel - Vocals // Billy Joel - Producer // Billy Joel - Producer // Billy Joel - Main Performer // Billy Joel - Main Performer // Larry Carlton - Guitar // Eric Weissberg - Banjo // Billy Armstrong - Violin // Richard Bennett - Guitar // Rhys Clark - Drums // Laura Creamer - Vocals // Mark Creamer - Vocals // Wilton Felder - Bass // Wilton Felder - Keyboards // Emory Gordy - Bass // Fred Heilbrun - Banjo // Ron Malo - Engineer // Michael Omartian - Accordion // Michael Omartian - Arranger // Dean Parks - Guitar // Susan Steward - Vocals // Michael Stewart - Producer // Ron Tutt - Drums // Beverly Parker - Design // David Gahr - Photography // John Naatjes - Research
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Other Details
- Instrument:
- Piano
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