On November 8, Billy Joel will celebrate 40 years of being the piano man. Thats amazing to me, I had no idea he was that old. I was going to start a series of good rocker gone bad, Elton John of course tops it but Joel came in a close second The evolution of legends is a tough thing to watch. Can the guy who got high with Captain Jack really justify "Uptown Girl"?
A die hard fan will see no flaw no inconsistency. A casual fan, such as myself will find it brow furrowing to say the least. But Forty years? Thats worth celebrating.
‘Billy Joel – The Complete Albums Collection, will contain Joels complete collection from 1971 to the present in some jazzy packaging I'm sure. Also included are two 60-page booklets (why there is not one 120 page booklet is beyond me), lyrics to every song and a bonus disc of 17 rare and non-album recordings, including everything from B-sides to outtakes, soundtrack tunes, cover songs. The big wave here is single ‘All My Life’ (Joel’s first newly-written song since 1993) now making it’s first appearance on an album.
“I’d never seen them all together in one place until I got the box set,” Joel says of the collection. “It represents a lot of work! It’s a little overwhelming, actually, looking at each individual album and remembering how much writing and recording, the time spent arranging and producing everything that went into each album.”
I love that quote it seems almost humble and sincere. It IS a huge career of some amazing work. Skip the drama, and the gossip, Joel is a phenomenal icon in pop music. Giving us so many standards that it's nearly blasphemy to suggest he ever had a dull moment. But I'm not afraid to blaspheme. He was fantastic, and then he sold out.
Forty years later who really cares? He gives us a legacy that its virtually impossible to comprehend.