Turnstiles (1976)
1. Say Goodbye to Hollywood
2. Summer, Highland Falls
3. All You Wanna Do is Dance
4. New York State of Mind
5. James
6. Prelude/The Angry Young Man
7. I've Loved These Days
8. Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on
Broadway)
 
This is a prime example of an album
that, had it been recorded properly, could have easily been one of the
best albums in the history of pop music. To give Joel credit, he
knew things weren't right in the recording studio on his last few releases,
and tried his
best to get the right people involved. Fortunately, he was able to
record with his touring band (something that wasn't that common back in
the seventies) and he was able to fire his producer,
Michael Stewart. For reasons unknown to me, Joel produced the record
himself. Although this album sounds much better than the previous
releases, Joel didn't have quite the expertise needed to really pull this
off the way he wanted in terms of production.
Billy Joel is now back in his native New York, and he seems much more comfortable this time
around. The songs seem much more authentic and memorable. The two
best known songs Say Goodbye To Hollywood and New York State
of Mind could easily be bookends of his personal
journey after deciding he had had enough of the Piano bars in
California. The latter song became one of the best known tunes in his
hometown, and while it has strengths, it really doesn't play quite the
same anywhere else in the world. Maybe this why he rarely plays the song outside
of The Big Apple? The Angry Young Man, with it's
lightning fast piano intro, seems to emulate the sentiments of the song
perfectly and would usually find its way into his concerts - many times as
the set list opener. He seemed to relate on a personal level to this
song much more than being "The Piano Man".
The styles are varied on this album. You can't accuse this album of
sounding the same throughout the tracks. On other albums by other artists, this trait can be a
hinderance, but this isn't the case here. We see the reflective,
retrospective side come out on the touching Summer, Highland
Falls only to switch gears to the futuristic, apocalyptic Miami
2017. One of my favorite tracks is the sadly overlooked reggae
number All You Wanna Do is Dance. I wish he'd do this one live
once and awhile. James is a nice, sweet little piece about
friends going separate ways that will probably never see each other
again. It's the only so-so thing on the album. Rounding out the album
is the nostalgic I've Loved These Days that is touching, although
I'm not sure if this was biographical - it seems like he's singing about
a lifestyle that I wouldn't think matches his upbringing. Maybe for a
spoiled rich kid from Connecticut, but not the Long Island former
amateur boxer.
At only eight songs, the album seems a bit short, especially since the
tunes are quite enjoyable. When he tried to "fix some of his earlier
recordings" on the live album Songs in
the Attic, he would feature half the songs on this album.
This tells you that Joel, himself, felt that this album didn't come out
quite the way he desired, even though it's definitely an above-average
piece of work.
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