Bloggerhythms

Many artists record tracks that are never released on their albums. Sometimes, it's because the songs are deemed unworthy. Others are intentional one-offs intended for movie soundtracks or themed albums featuring various artists. Frequently, they serve as B-sides to hit singles. Billy Joel is no exception at having non-album songs scattered all over the place, so he released a full CD's worth of these rarities back in 2011. Complete Additional Masters is a seventeen song bonus CD included with Joel's Complete Albums Collection  that is only available at  Amazon  as the fifteenth disc in a package that will cost you an unfathomable $600. For some people that is a week's pay.  The good news is that you can also purchase the whole set on i Tunes for less than $100, or you can just buy the seventeen rarities as a standalone purchase for only $11.99, which is how I bought mine because I already have every one of his studio ...

Billy Joel has been a constant presence on the arena rock scene all during the 21st Century highlighted by his monthly, ten year residency at Manhattan's Madison Square Garden that is coming to an end in 2024. On the other hand, hearing new music from the mega-star has become extremely rare. Joel's last full album of pop-rock music was the mediocre River Of Dreams in 1993. After that, he composed a dozen, classical piano pieces for Fantasies & Delusions , a CD featuring solo performances played by Richard Joo that was released in 2001. Since then, the rocker has only delivered two additional songs: "All My Life" in 2007 - a love song to his third wife, Katie Lee - and " Christmas In Fallujah " a tune he wrote but never recorded and gave to a young singer-songwriter, Cass Dillon , to record. After those two efforts Joel released nothing for seventeen years. Happily, the drought has ended with the song he performed recently...

Although Bloggerhythms  spends the bulk of its web space offering its opinions on music, I don't consider myself to be a real critic because I mostly write about music that I like. It's much easier and a lot more fun to write about the good stuff. I get numerous requests from artists and publicists to review new releases, and I only reply back to them if I want to feature their work. I also don't have a desire to trash or destroy somebody's up-and-coming career. Just because I dislike an album or a song doesn't mean others won't think it's the greatest thing they've ever heard. I'm currently reading a 2006 biography - Billy Joel (The Life & Times Of An Angry Young Man) by Hank Bordowitz that spends more time than most books of its kind discussing how music writers/critics influence - or try to influence - the public's tastes. It's probably because Joel has always been more sensitive to their words than most musicians ...

Fall Out Boy , the indie, power pop, punk band who crashed onto the the rock music scene in 2005 just released a cover version of Billy Joel's classic, "We Didn't Start The Fire," but instead of using Joel's historic references - which would have been a waste of time - the Chicago band updated the song for the children of the baby boomers. Many people have wondered - including me - if the Piano Man would ever update the song's lyrics but since he no longer writes or records music I knew that was never going to happen. Here is what he had to say about Fall Out Boy's new release, "Everybody’s been wanting to know when there’s going to be an updated version of it, because my song started in '49 and ended in '89 — it was a 40-year span," Joel told Zoe Ball of BBC Radio 2. "Everybody said, 'Well, aren’t you going to do a part two?' I said, 'Nah, I’ve already done part one....

An Innocent Man is one of Billy Joel's greatest artistic triumphs even though its songs will never be considered high art. Instead, Joel closed out his classic period with a more relaxed album that is mostly a tribute to pre-Beatles pop and 60s rock. After this, the Long Island native's records continued to sell but he never again reached the heights he achieved with this set of music. Joel spent a lot of time in the studio with his impeccably and intricately produced predecessor, The Nylon Curtain . He said working on it wore him down so, for his next record the singer took the laid-back approach. He didn't under-produce An Innocent Man but he didn't try to turn it into another Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band either. Instead, it's the piano man's version of The Beatles' eponymous 1968 set (a.k.a. the White Album). In other words, it's a stripped down gem. An Innocent Man opens with "Easy Money" an obvious tribute to Stax/Vo...

I've never been a fan of the large, rock events at baseball stadiums because the band is so far removed from the fans that the best view is on the large video screen that surrounds the stage. It often feels like you're not really watching a live concert. That's even true for those of us with seats on the field. I remember seeing Paul McCartney at old Veterans Stadium in Philadlephia, sitting in the lower deck seats behind the third base line. The stage was in deep right field so the great Beatle was barely visible. The giant TV screen made me feel as if I was watching a DVD at home. This year I bit the bullet again and bought expensive tickets to see Billy Joel on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies. My wife and I were seated in the last row of the sold out stadium's field so I was expecting a better experience, but more on that later. As a musician and showman Joel did not dissappoint. His excellent band nailed the songs...

Billy Joel recorded an excellent cover version of Freddie Scott's "Hey Girl" in 1992. His take of the Goffin - King song possessed just as much soul as Scott's original and was released as part of Joel's 1997 compilation, Greatest Hits, Volume III . It features a great sax performance by Everette Harp. The remake reached # 13 on the U. S. Billboard Adult Contemporary music chart but it was beaten by Scott's 1963 hit that went to #10 on the Hot 100. The opinion here is that Joel's newer version is the superior of the two.

Billy Joel's second Columbia album, and third overall, is among his least remembered records. It was inevitable that Streetlife Serenade , the followup to Piano Man , wouldn’t have the same impact as his major label debut because the earlier platter was such a huge success. While Streetlife will never make any list of Joel's masterworks it definitely doesn't deserve its fate of completely falling off the musical radar. Here, he still presents himself more as a singer-songwriter than the rocker and showman he became during his major hit making years. Joel, who hasn't recorded a new studio album since 1993's mediocre River of Dreams , still performs Piano Man ’s most popular songs in concert today. "The Ballad of Billy the Kid," the arena rock anthem "Captain Jack," and the title track are all staples of classic rock radio. What Streetlife lacks are those kind of songs, the ones that embed themselves in your head for eternity. Easil...

I've never posted anything on Bloggerhythms criticizing what other people have written but today I'm making an exception. That is because I found an article worthy of your attention and I'm posting the link here because the author needs to be exposed. Below is a link to an article by Ron Rosenbaum at Slate Magazine that takes hating Billy Joel to an all new level. Rosenbaum is one of those effete writers who, in order to feel superior to everyone else, challenges a musician's right to walk, talk, eat, or even breathe air. Hating the artist's music is simply not enough. The article shows a total lack of class at the rocker's expense. I’ll admit I've always been a big fan of Joel's music, but even if you’re not, I’m sure you will agree this article is putrid. It’s a very long read but please take a look now at Rosenbaum's The Worst Pop Singer Ever and consider hurling a little hate back his way.