The Stranger (1977) - Billy Joel

Billy Joel is one of the biggest names in music, one with so many hits to his name, that it's hard to imagine a time before he was a household name. He has become a true blue American institution in the realm of music, but back in 1977 when he was recording his fifth album, The Stranger, Joel was more or less a one hit wonder.

Billy was four albums deep into his career and he had only netted two top forty hits, “The Entertainer” and “Piano Man”, the latter of which only reached #25 and was far from the sing-along standard it has become today. Joel was between a rock and a hard place. His label had put a lot of support behind him, and the hits just weren’t coming. While his fourth record Turnstiles, was an artistic triumph which saw Joel honing his unique songwriting voice to perfection, it didn’t pack any big singles (both "New York State of Mind" and "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" would become standards later in his career). That record was full of sharp, observational lyrics, stellar playing from one of rock's great pianists and some of his all-time best melodies, but it for some reason never got any play from the tastemakers of the day. He needed a breakthrough record fast, and with The Stranger, he wrote the LP that would catapult him to stardom.

The cliché of an album track listing that reads like a greatest hits record is well worn, but for this album the old adage more than stands up, with seven of album's nine songs ranking among Joel’s most beloved and successful tracks. He had honed his voice and artistry on his previous record, so this was Joel’s chance to capitalize on it and capitalize he does, writing his sharpest, catchiest melodies yet.

Musically, this album is his first to feature the core Billy Joel band, who had been his touring group for years, and in order to capture a more fiery, live sound he brought them with him to the studio, which adds a punch to this record that his previous work didn't quite have. The two standout players are drummer Liberty DeVitto, who is one of my favorite drummers with his blend of jazzy flair and rock 'n' roll aplomb, and saxophonist Richie Cannata, who delivers quite a few juicy licks across the record. The final puzzle piece to fall into place was the introduction of producer Phil Ramone, hot off of his success producing for Paul Simon. Ramone's light touch gives the album its warm and inviting sound and would lead to a ten year partnership with Joel, producing almost all his golden age classics.

The album is brimming with confidence and energy from Joel, not only as a bandleader but also as a vocalist, doing away with the somewhat whinier qualities of his earlier work and really digging into the rock 'n' roll bite of his lower register for the first time, while still leaving room for his warm tenor on the ballads. Everything fell into place on this record as Joel took the opportunity to show the record buying public everything he had and in nine songs he blows any listener away with his brilliant melodies, joyous performances and hooks that grab ahold of you and never let go.

Few albums start out with more of a bang than this one, as Joel and his rocking compatriots announce themselves to the world with the strident, boisterous "Movin ' Out (Anthony's Song)", a chugging slice of pop-rock led by Joel's attack on the piano. There's an infectious energy here that is totally new for Billy, who mainly operated in the mid-tempo before this record. Joel's lyrics pack the witty, obversational punch of his best moments on Turnstiles, through several vignettes about the breakneck pace of city life and the desire to climb the ladder of social class. His character sketches are remarkably vivid, giving us full-fledged glimpses in only sixteen bars. The band's performance is locked and loaded, with the strutting guitar rhythms sounding like a motorcycle ripping down the highway. Joel has always been a hooky songwriter, but this track is practically a bait shop with how many little sticky melodic bits are in every single moment. There's no universe in which this song wouldn't have been a hit, it's three minutes of pop-rock on the cutting edge. And that's only the first track.

Not everything is quite as tight and laser-focused as "Movin' Out", as next we get the title song, which is perhaps the record's most unique moment which sees Joel embracing jazzier textures akin to what Steely Dan were putting out at the time. "The Stranger" is a showpiece for both Joel's lyricism and his piano playing, as he opens with a beautiful piano solo accompanied by a bit of haunting whistling before the band crashes in with some bracing guitar work and rhythmic oomph. Billy's lyrics are some of the record's best, an oblique bit of philosophizing about the masks we all wear in our daily lives, even with our loved ones. It's a testament to his songwriting skills that he can take a concept that feels so obscure and makes it so accessible. The contrast between the bare-knuckle groove of the verses and the harmony drenched pop of the choruses is straight out of the McCartney playbook, and who better to take notes from when it comes to pop songwriting.

If there's one song you can credit for making Blly Joel into the household name he is today, it's the album's third track, "Just the Way You Are", a plush romantic ballad that Billy didn't even want to put on the album. Thankfully someone convinced him otherwise, as it's a standout here, taking the vocal soundscaping of 10cc's "I'm Not in Love" and blending it with his silky smooth piano playing and a few gorgeous saxophone solos from Cannata. This song feels like the sonic equivalent of a warm hug from someone you love, it wraps you up in its soft, inviting textures and allows you to relax into Joel's swooning vocal melody. The song's pillowy sound quality is the perfect foil to Billy's lyrics, which are a delightfully clever take on a simple love song, asking his lover to not bend to the trends of the day, as he loves her just the way she is. There's an element of humor in the sentiment, saying he doesn't wanna work too hard to hold a conversation with her, but it's the closest he gets to pure unabashed sentiment, and it works wonders. There are few things better than a Billy Joel ballad, and this is one of the best.

The hits keep on coming as the A-Side closes with my personal favorite moment on the album, the three part suite "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", which sees Billy take a stab at his own version of the Paul McCartney penned "Abbey Road Medley". The track is eight and a half minutes of melodic wonderment, it's rare to find a song as long as this one, or one that jams in so many world-beating hooks that feels so short. I'm never ready for it to end, even if it feels like you just watched a whole romantic comedy unfold before your ears. Each of the three song fragments would be incredible on their own, but together they are pure aural magic. The way Joel and producer Phil Ramone stitched them together through these beautiful instrumental moments is another move from The Beatles playbook, but dare I say this is a smoother, more polished ride than Paul's Abbey Road triumph. The first segment is the most beautiful, a jazzy ballad about meeting his lover at their favorite Italian Restaurant, it is dripping with nostalgia and genuine warmth, making it feel like he's singing directly to you. Next, we are swept into the most upbeat and fun bit of the song, a swinging, jazzy rocker where Joel sings about his character's raucous youth hanging out at the Village Green. Not many songs can navigate a transition from lilting accordion and cinematic strings into a blistering sax solo and funky guitar licks, but Joel stays the course with ease. The meat of the song though is the lyrical triumph, "The Ballad of Brenda and Eddie", which is a slice of character writing that would make Springsteen jealous. Joel weaves the story of two lovers who got hitched right out of high school but found that they weren't ready for what marriage would bring their way. It's feels like an vintage indie movie in all of three minutes, delivered over top of a stacato, driving riff which continues the track's undeniable momentum. He brings the track full circle by returning to the opening "Italian Restaurant" motif, making it clear that it's Brenda and Eddie who find themselves together again, reminiscing over old times as the song fades out. It's rare to find a song this long that feels so short, it leaves you wanting more even though it was a full meal and then some. "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" is a masterclass in songwriting, and I'd argue it's Joel's crowning achievement.

It would be hard for anyone to deliver a B-Side as good as the record's titanic A-Side, but Joel almost does the job. He opens the back-half with the album's quietest moment, a nice contrast from the maximalism of the last track. "Vienna" is a song that thrives on its intimacy, as it is one of Joel's most emotionally resonant songs. The track's arrangement puts its spectacular melody front and center, as just Billy and his piano lead things off before a beautiful bit of accordion soloing later on. Billy's rarely sounded better as a vocalist than he does here, belting it out with a soulfulness that would quickly become his signature sound. Lyrically, Billy is as nakedly emotional as ever here, singing about his experiences reconnecting later in life with his absentee father and his musings about growing old and not wanting to live his life too fast. It's a remarkable piece of writing, he's no longer hiding behind character sketches, this song is his and his alone, and it provides the album with a stirring emotional climax, and despite the fact that it was never released as a single, in recent years, it's arguably become one of his signature songs, and it's not hard to see why. It's a tearjerker that never fails to get me emotional.

In direct contrast to the beautiful "Vienna", Joel delivers the album's most lighthearted and fun moment with the raucous rock 'n' roll jubilation of "Only the Good Die Young", one of his most delightful tracks on any album. There's a real edge to this song with its hilarious jabs towards the uptightness of Catholicism, specifically when it comes to sex, and it's hard to think of another classic pop song with such risqué subject matter, but for Joel he is able to tap into the humor of it, so it never feels mean spirited. The fact that a song so bold took the radio by storm in 1977 is a testament to how filled to the brim with hooks it is. Every single line feels like a chorus, that's how sticky this song is, it's perfect for a car sing-a-long. Joel's message that he'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints is one of his best lyrics, and sums up what makes the song so universal, it's about indulging in the joys of life, not depriving yourself for the sake of moral superiority. Who can't get behind such a sentiment. The band delivers one of their best performances, with the swinging instrumental replete with acoustic riffage and some of Billy's most Little Richard inspired playing. If you want a great pop-rock song, this is it.

The album begins to wind down with its final stunning ballad, the folksy "She's Always a Woman", a song that is directly inspired by the work of Bob Dylan, but I find that it equally draws from the wells of James Taylor and Carole King, as it's full of catchy melodic turns and gorgeous piano trills. The song's sentiment about loving his then-wife despite of all of the criticisms leveled her way on account of her more self-possessed and cutting qualities (she was his then-manager). While today it can feel a bit dated, in 1977, it feels ahead of its time, in how he can paint his lover as untraditional yet still alluring and lovable. Joel is challenging some very backwards stereotypes here, and he does it beautifully, especially as his singing here is some of his best, gently lulls you into the song's inherent warmth.

The album rolls to a close with its two weakest songs, but that's more so because the first seven songs are such all-timers, not because these two songs are particularly bad. "Get It Right the First Time" is a slice of somewhay funky pop-rock which sees the rhythm section deliver the album's tightest performance along with some disco-tinged flute motifs. The lyrics about Billy's inability to make a good first impression are quite fun, with a self-deprecating edge that works quite well. This song is too good to be an also-ran, but that speaks to the album's gold standard. The album ends with the gospel-tinged ballad, "Everybody Has a Dream", which sees Billy going full Ray Charles with his slight vocal affectation. It provides the album with it's lighters in the air sing-a-long moment which closes out the album nicely, even if it runs about a minute too long. The last thing we hear is the whistled motif from "The Stranger", bringing the album to a full circle close.

Over the course of nine songs Billy Joel lays out the best argument as to why he is one of the greatest talents of his generation. He crafts rockers, pop songs and piano ballads all with the same amount of care, grace and sharp songwriting. A better written and performed set of songs can hardly be found. It might not be "cool" to love Billy Joel, but based on this album, how could you not? Joel is a master of melody, a sharp lyric writer and a consummate performer, and being all three of those puts him in a very exclusive class of musicians. No other record demonstrates why Joel deserves to be in that upper echelon quite like this one. A veritable greatest hits record, and that is not said lightly. Here the Piano Man proves why he's the best of the best. Pop this one on the turntable and sing along like you know every word, I know I do.