Review: “Piano Man (Legacy Edition),” by Billy Joel
After releasing his first album, Cold Spring Harbor, in 1971, Billy Joel decided he wanted to hideout, so “he headed out to California.” Los Angeles to be exact. The album was mastered at the wrong speed making Joel sound like a chipmunk. Needless to say, it was a disaster. Desperate to get out of his record contract with Family Productions to sign with Columbia Records, he hid out in a bar playing under the name Bill Martin while his lawyers worked behind the scenes. From that six month experience came the song “Piano Man,” a song as much about the characters he ran into in the bar as it was about his own failings. Some 38 years after it’s intial release, Joel has released the “Legacy Edition” of the Piano Man album and it’s outstanding.
I always liked this album. The songs were carefully crafted, the lyrics were thoughtful and, unlike many songs in the early 70s, the drums were full and in your face. Highlights include the funky “Worst Comes to Worst,” the classics “The Ballad of Billy the Kid,” “You’re My Home,” and “Captain Jack,” a seven-minute plus tune that includes the epic line “your sister’s gone out on a date, you just sit at home and masturbate.” “Stop in Nevada” sets a nice western mood, the nasty “Ain’t No Crime” sounds full and the country-esque ‘Travelin’ Prayer” has been recorded by a bevy of country artists including Dolly Parton. Then, of course, there’s “Piano Man” in all its beautiful remastered glory.
This collection also includes a second disc of a show recorded in 1972 for WMMR-FM in Philadelphia. Legendary DJ Ed Sciaky (instrumental in Bruce Springsteen’s career) introduces Joel and he rips through a number of tunes off Cold Spring Harbor and a couple of “new” songs, the aforementioned “The Ballad of Billy the Kid” and “Captain Jack.” There are also a few songs that have never seen the light of day including the excellent “Josephine.” This extra disc is excellent and really enhances the package. Joel’s speaking voice is more New York, his singing voice is much higher, and it shows a future superstar working the room and working his craft.
This re-release of Piano Man has wet my appetite for more of these special Joel collections. How about skipping a few years ahead and just releasing the Legacy Edition of The Nylon Curtain? Just a suggestion.
– George Kovacik
30 Days Out 
December 15, 2011 at 2:43 pm
About BJoel: Never my cup o’ tea (I go more in a Jeff Buckley (or even Tim), Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen direction) but I can certainly admire his gift. Tho, “Piano Man,” “Always a Women”, and a few others I’ll turn up when they’re on the radio. I was a kid learning to play the piano when Joel emerged. All the piano playing song writers of the era were on my radar. Like for most of us growing up in the 70s, Elton John would loom large (still think “Tumbleweed Connection” was his defining moment). I’d heard “Piano Man” so when “Streetlight Serenader” dropped I bought it. For me it’s the ne plus ultra of his career. If you haven’t heard it I recommend it highly (also from his Los Angeles period––locals get a bitter rebuke in “Los Angelenos”). It’s his one album I can listen to all the way thru and still play even now (a couple of the tunes are on my iPod along w/ the Elton John). By the end of the 70s, Punk and New Wave made me schlep most of the dinosaurs in my collection (and compressed apt life) to the local record reseller and pick up the pitiful handful of dimes they were worth. Of course, the internet (and file sharing) have made access to all this lost stuff possible again. Still dig “Streetlife Serenader.
About the blog: Enjoy the time and craft you’ve devoted to it. Much material to enjoy here. Thanks for you efforts. Check mine out if you get a chance.
Best, Daniel