Why Billy Joel writes songs differently from everyone else
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- Опубликовано: 23 май 2022
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Billy Joel is one of America’s and the 21st Century’s greatest songwriters. Famous for songs like Piano Man, Uptown Girl, and Just the Way You Are, he has written a large catalogue of fantastic music. Although he is well known for his hit singles, his most loved music can be found on his albums. Songs like Vienna and Scenes from an Italian Restaurant. This is quite unique compared to other songwriters. What is it about the way Billy Joel writes music that makes his album tracks so good? And why do so many people love his music? 
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Of course he hates songwriting. All his songs are SHIT. He looks like a street boxer or a Cab driver.
Billy is an album artist. All his songs are well written, no fillers. I agree with you, he is disciplined and knows when it’s time to stop. Because of this, his catalog is a masterpiece!
Absolutely. Billy Joel's lack of number one hits and the time it took for him to get album traction, was a bit of an eye opener for me. I got Piano Man long before it was popular (in Australia). And when you think - he'd done Piano Man, Turnstiles, and The Stranger before he got reasonable traction with 52nd Street. The music business is a bit idiotic sometimes.
He is a magic man as a pianist and song crafter! I love his songs!
In the case of The Stranger, the first seven tracks are so brilliant that the last two feel like filler.
I love seeing the respect for Billy! Nobody loves him more than me & I say he’s the greatest singer songwriter to ever step foot on this earth. On the music end, he is so colorful. Everything sounds unique & it can stand on its own even without lyrics. Not one song sounds like another. You get the feeling of “pressure” before a single word is said! He’s a rare classically trained pianist while also being a natural composer. Those 2qualities do not go hand in hand. It’s usually one or the other but he is equally phenomenal with both, again I can’t stress how rare that is. Lyrically what separates him from most is that they all make sense from start to finish. A lot of songs have lyrics that sound cool & creative but don’t really mean anything. I’m not knocking them cause some of my favorite songs are like that & they still evoke feelings from me but Billy never did that. All his words make sense & that’s insanely hard when you take into consideration that he has to do this in the confines of a melody. That puts limits on a writer but he pulled it off flawlessly every time. In songs like “Downeaster Alexa” & “Goodnight Saigon” he gets the entire experience down perfectly in under 4min inside the limited space of a melody.
His talent is unmatched cause he’s done this every time. Never once did he take the easy route & just phone it in. He stands alone & although he’s beloved worldwide I feel he still doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. I just have so much love & respect for him. Love that you guys see it as well!
I think that's the difference between Joel, Jackson and Prince. Imo the latter did too much and many songs didn't sound finished to the best level.
So finally a top songwriter admits that writing songs is often a cruel grind, mostly endured in isolation. Yes, great songs have been written in minutes, but that´s the rare exception. Most great songs are crafted, which takes a long time, particularly when they sound effortless.
Leonard Cohen admitted this decades ago. It's not a huge secret.
Gordon Lightfoot would go off on his own for a few weeks, and make himself do nothing but sit down at a desk and chair, worn a notepad.
I actually think songs that drop out of the sky are a result of years of listening and researching via the subconscious. Kind of like a kitchen making a meal and putting it out for the waiter (being the artist) to take to the table.
I also think that it probably happens to musicians who aren't formally trained more often, at least all the anecdotes I've heard have supported that. I think you can lose that sense of "magic" once you learn too much.
Exactly. 3.5 minutes full of conflident lyric, performance, harmony, instrumentation and arrangement sounds inherently like it's dropped out of the sky, especially when you're just hearing a song for the first time. It's a very different thing behind the curtain, with a lot of staff and moving parts in the industry, no matter how quickly a song's lyrics and chords are written.
Costello said anything worth doing is difficult. I can only infer he made great efforts. But he also said the key word in creating is to PLAY. He didn't say work, so I guess that's different from what Joel is saying.
Billy Joel is truly an unparalleled songwriter. Songs like Vienna and She’s Always a Woman are decades old, and were released years before I was born, but somehow dictate my life decisions. I’m truly not making it up: whenever I’m having a moment of self-doubt, I hear the lines “Though you can see when you’re wrong you know you can’t always see when you’re right” and I just go for it. His songs are a blessing.
Clearly you love those lyrics that you misquoted.
@@chaosordeal294 lmaaoo understand the emotions my friend👉🏼👈🏼
Billy Joel has been my favorite singer/songwriter for years now. You hit the nail right on the head. You can choose any song from any Billy Joel album and get enjoyment out of it. You can tell he put a lot of care into each song.
Of all the artists I've heard over the last 5 or 6 decades, I can honestly say he's one of the very few whose songs are all different from one another. Most artists develop a sound or style and then keep on producing music in that style. I don't know if that's because that style is what they like the best or because, once they get a following, they don't want to take a chance on losing that following; I expect both are factors. But Billy seems unafraid to write songs of different styles and put them together on albums and he's obviously got enough fans that they keep buying the recordings. I understand he regularly books Madison Square Gardens himself and sells out multiple night runs there playing to his many fans. Not many artists can do that!
@@hughmungus1767 You are exactly right. Billy wrote for himself; the music business can go pound sand. He also explored various styles, as David mentioned. 52nd Street was jazz-influenced; Glass Houses was rock; The Nylon Curtain was his homage to George Martin and The Beatles; An Innocent Man was his tribute to the roots of rock and roll (late '50s and early '60s). I don't know how to classify Storm Front: "The Downeaster Alexa" is a singer-songwriter sea shanty, inspired by the style of Gordon Lightfoot, then we also have a straight-up rocker like "I Go to Extremes." Billy Joel cannot be pigeonholed, and that's one of his strengths.
@@Prof_Jeff🎉🎉🎉 thank you for comments i found many interesting information about Billy Joel
My fave is Costello - I feel the same way about his albums. They aren't hits and filler - well, he never did have a lot of hits - lol. But no filler.
You may have missed the biggest strategy of all. For a typical album, Bill used to write 30 or 40 songs, and the band would help him figure out which ones would work and which ones wouldn't, and they'd end up with 8 or 9 good tracks. That's why those surviving tracks are such high quality. They also changed the songs during that process, for example changing 'only the good die young' from Reggae, which was popular at the time, to a 50s style rockabilly with horns.
Correct, but it’s not 30 or 40 songs. Billy even mentioned it on an interview that he basically comes with 10-12 song ideas.
I grew up in the 80s, and Billy Joel was an absolute icon. As an adult today, I am even more blown away at his level of talent.
Born wayyy after his time period but he has sooo much more raw talent than most artists today in my opinion 😮😮😮 blown away
"Piano Man" really is a gift to piano students. It was the first modern piece of music I learnt after switching from classical, and within 5 minutes it clicked "ah, RIGHT!" because he made such a super easy super simple tune into a solid gold work of art.
You are spot on.. Merv Griffin heard BillyJoel playing Piano Man in an LA airport bar. The next morning he played and sang it verbatim on his talk show after hearing it only once. I watched that show live.
There are artists you go to just for catchy hits and there are artists you go to for the entirety of their albums. Those kinds of songwriters are the best.
I’m fortunate to have been to one of Billy Joel’s concerts.
I've seen Dylan 24 times, Neil Young and Springsteen 4x, Paul Simon 3x, Van Morrison 3x, Steve Earle 12x, Ray Charles, the Eagles, McCartney.
“And so it goes” is one of the greatest songs ever written ❤
God yes.
I just learned to play this song, it’s amazing how it’s structured. Truly a master of his craft!
Definitely is!
and saddest 💔
I agree! Brilliant!
I remember renting River Of Dreams from a library in 1993 and being blown away. And how fitting that he ended his songwriting career with “Famous Last Words”. So disciplined, a rare example of someone who knew how to stop while still on top. He’s the man.
That particular track was very telling. Billy himself has stated on several occasions that he felt with that album, he had "spoken his piece" musically. He wanted to go out at the top of his game, not fade away into irrelevancy by churning out low-quality music for the sake of releasing something.
Do you realize now that the librarian scammed you? Borrowing from the library is supposed to be free.
@@Prof_Jeff
“Spoken his peace.” 🤦🏻♂️
@@Frankie5Angels150You can call borrowing something from the library 'renting' and it means the same thing. In this context, there's no implication of money.
Walking away from pop songwriting is nothing to be particularly impressed about. On the contrary, it is rather disappointing. Can't imagine Dylan or McArtney ever completely shutting the door. You never know when inspiration will strike. OTOH, it sounds like songwriting comes harder for Joel. It is a chore.
The Stranger was a huge seller actually. It may have started at 181 but most albums started low and worked their way up. The way this was measured changed in the early 90s and made albums debuting at No. 1 common. In any case people didn't know the songs on The Stranger till word of mouth kicked in. He was not a household name when it came out.
I worked in a record store (here in Canada) when The Stranger came out and it was VERY successful here. We sold a lot of copies! Before that time, the song Piano Man had been popular for people that listened to AM radio and Captain Jack tended to get played on the less commercial FM stations; virtually none of the other songs on the other albums were played on the radio.
That's just a weird metric. The Stranger peaked at #2 in the US, NZ, CA and AUS. It was the 4th-best selling album of 1978 in the US, won 2 Grammys and has now sold over 11 million copies in the US alone. It was also the very first album to be released on CD, in Japan, 1982.
BIlly Joel's "The Stranger" is the only album I've ever known where I've heard every single song on the radio incidentally. Like, at no point was it a some station doing an entire side as a promo or something, nope, just every song being played at some time or another.
I've probably listened to that album a hundred times.
I loved The Stranger ❤
I've often thought how many of Billy Joel's songs would make great short films. Storytelling at its finest
Retired HS music teacher here. I had my Choir do And So It Goes once. The kids loved it. Don't remember ever hearing it on the radio, back in the day.
His lyrics are sencere and just telling like it is. It's so honest it hurts. Only few were made up and then he often feels the urge to let you know that.
I think in his instrumentals is more truth written than ever words can say because he always do what he felt.
That's what I wanna hear and makes him my favorite musician even of all time.
My FAVORITE BJ song is "Get it right the first time" on the Stranger album. Instrumentation, vocals, lyrics........absolutely wonderful.
One thing about Billy Joel is that he stopped putting out new material while he was still on the top of his game. A few years back I created a playlist of all his songs, and then I deleted all the bad ones.
Not one song was removed.
Good one there buddy I see what you did
Matter of Trust and Go To Extremes rocked pretty well also
Billy Joel is a rare bird. He's got all that craft with the melody and harmonic movement tied to the lyrics, but on top of that he's one of the few balladeers who rocks just as hard and funky as he can also make you tear up, thinking about your own life, relationships, lost loves and opportunities. He might not be as often mentioned but all his music is as lasting and universal as the best classical music.
these comments all bring me so much joy. as someone who he has been my favourite artist for 47 years, it brings me so much joy to learn that i was right
The Downeaster Alexa is one of my favourite Billy Joel songs but there are so many that I love singing along to.
Totally agree - fantastic song!
Also another key to his success is he writes in familiar genres, so a new tune from him is like slipping into a comfortable pair of shoes, a timeless and lyrically superb musical genius.
He's stated that he's a songwriter, not a song stylist. He always pictured someone else singing his songs.
It does my old heart good to see people your age truly appreciating Billy Joel's music. I've been a huge fan since the '70s and I love it still today.
Thanks,I really do appreciate you been my fan and I will love to hear from you
Billy Joel is a GIANT! There are very few songwriters who can boast of having a similar catalog. All of his albums are amazing and you'd be hard pressed to find any filler in them.
Also, the fact that he just stopped producing popular music in 1993, when he was not even 45 years old, is such a bossy/ballsy move that really makes me respect him even more. Billy never let anyone come to the point of saying "his old stuff was better". He never let himself burn out, deteriorate, run out of ideas or inspiration... He quit while he was still ahead! And if anyone doesn't believe me, listen to River Of Dreams once again and discover what an incredible album it is.
Wish Springsteen would’ve done the same!!
@@BT-be8rh Amen!
I agree with every word you said. Not sure why this doesn't have more views
Thanks Nick!
Billy’s album tracks became hits 20yrs later. Vienna is now one of his most popular songs. Zanzibar took off on TikTok.
“Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” is incredible, 3 songs in one and i just love it
"sleeping with the television on" is another album track. In fact, Side B of his album "Glass Houses" is a really great run of songs back to back.
It's stunning to read the song titles from those albums and then realize that he had so few hits. So many great songs.
Funny that when I 1st got his albums way back when, i didn't listen to them as intensely as I do now and I love them 3 times more now
than I did then...
I respect Billy Joel more than any other musician. Great video. Sharing.
No love for Cold Spring Harbor? It's got Falling of the Rain which I have always loved, maybe my favorite along with Traveling Prayer, and it's got my depression set; Tomorrow is Today, Nocturne, and Got to Begin Again. Those the hurt SO good, so beautifully.
Cold Spring Harbor is quite good. I eventually found it on vinyl in the '80s. Also have it on cassette and CD.
That is one album I never really listened to that much... Yes, I know it was his first album...
Learning to play and sing "Vienna" when I was 11 years old was like a master class in songwriting and changed the way I approached the craft when I finally started writing as a teenager. It's basically perfect, with every transition and transposition there for a reason. The song also functions like a well-worn memory that changes as you grow older. Timeless stuff.
I grew up during my childhood in the '90s listening to Billy Joel. I would listen to - and fall in love with all of his songs!
He is such an amazing songwriter! 😀
The masses don't want better music. They want more easily consumed feels.
You really hit the nail on the head. When I started listening to Billy Joel, it was the "Glass Houses" and "52nd Street" albums that I first listened to. And why he became my favorite artist was because EVERY SONG on those albums were great songs. And that remained true with all of his albums. My all-time favorite song is one of his hits, ironically, that being "My Life." But my all-time favorite ballad is "Until The Night" from the same album. Maybe it's no wonder why "52nd Street" is my all-time favorite album.
Until The Night is a fantastic song. Great story telling and musically builds to a wonderful crescendo but I would find it impossible to say which is my favourite of his is, it all depends on my mood
same here but my favourite is Summer Highland Falls
@@thewordofgog"A bottle of red, a bottle of white... Whatever mood you're in tonight. I'll meet you any time you want in our Italian restaurant."
You have a great style for each of your essays. I’m sure your channel will gain a large following if you keep on putting this much work into your videos.
Thanks very much, I appreciate the kind words.
@@davidhartley94
With all due respect, in American English (and, I would think, British as well), it could be "differently *from* everyone else," or "differently *than* everyone else" -- but _not_ "differently *to* everyone else."
I agree. I see great potential as well
The stranger was a great album that i liked the most. Until the river of dreams came out. I personally find it a more vivid album
@@jimreadey4837 Different TO is quite common in British English, in my experience speaking with them nearly every day in a business context. Another strange one is that Europeans will "take" a decision rather than "make" one.
Billy Joel is an amazing artist. Great lyrics, many styles, unusual harmonies, not over-produced in studio (his songs may sound better live), great piano skills, etc. As you said, he isn't a guy with many "hits" but he indeed wrote many many great songs. My list of favorite songs from him (right now) would be River of Dreams, Tell Her About It, All About Soul, Lullaby and Just They Way You Are
He is just amazing. The lyrics you can so easily relate to. There's a story behind every song. Leningrad is one of my favorites.
Decades ago, I heard an interview with Billy Joel in which he said that his best songs came to him in dreams. The lyrics were indistinct, but the melodies and chord changes were full-blown. He said the songs that he didn't dream could be identified by the fact that they weren't as good.
In the middle of the night. I was walking in my sleep. To jungle of doubt (valley of fear). To the river so deep. I was searching for something - something so undefined. That it could only be seen. By the eyes of the blind. In the middle of the night.
For the last 15 years of my working life I was a Care Provider. I had my last client for 5 years. We were very close and knew each other's differences. He never liked Billy Joel and never had a good reason for it. Sometimes when he would make a negative Billy Joel reference I would just start singing Piano Man or Scenes From An Italian Restaurant at the top of my voice. Billy Joel is not to be denied. The Stranger was the only album of his I bought. I guess I got lucky. Anyway, long way to say GREAT VIDEO!
Zanzibar is still in my top 10 songs of all time and probably will be
The Turn the Lights Back On music video starts with him turning the page from Famous Last Words to a new page. Longest singwriting drought ever and it was a beautiful return.
Billy is a student of style. The songs are well structured and create their own musical context. But, like most of the great composers, he consistently crafts beautiful and memorable melodies.
To me billy is not just one of America’s greatest songwriters he is one of the greatest songwriters of all time. When I was a kid my aunt lent us 3 albums she didn’t like and one of them was the best of billy joel,none of my family liked any of these albums but I played billy Joel and thought it was brilliant,his songs tell great stories that I can relate to either about his life or social comment,I went to see him at Wembley a couple of years ago,it was well worth the journey travelling from Wales down to London,his voice still brilliant as ever,I go to a lots of concerts and me and my friend agreed the best concert we have ever been to. Definitely one of the greats.
I didn't know he only had 3 no. 1 hits. That's truly mind boggling.
As a songwriter myself, its actually scary when some songs take almost no time to write. Its like tapping into the universe.
I’ve always loved Billy Joel! Great songwriter. Great singer. I’ve seen him in concert several times. Always great! Took my son with me to his first concert to see him in Syracuse, NY!! Never disappoints! Love the way he ends his concerts with “don’t take any shit from anybody”!! ❤️😂❤️
Vienna is a great song which resonates with me just because of the lyrics: "You can get what you want or you can just get old. "
Been a diehard fan of Billy's for over 44 years and counting!❤ love Billy Joel!!
Thanks,I really do appreciate you been my fan and I will love to hear from you
Seen him live 4 times over the years, different set list every time. All brilliant gigs.
Vienna is my favorite 70’s song since I heard it in 13 going on 30. I would have never guess it was an « old »song. Such timeless music ❤
One of the greats and the biggest influence on my own music!
"I can't anything that would make it any better" - you nailed it. Truth!
The Stranger is a strong contender for my favorite album of all time. It's such a polished, concise work of art and I can't find a single flaw with it. I recently saw him perform with Stevie Nicks and let me say, his songs hold just as much (if not more) weight live as they do in the studio. One of the greatest to pick up a pen
Billy has written beautiful songs over the years. Glad I saw him in concert at MSG.
In California, Billy received significant radio airplay from The Stranger forward. The Stranger was a smash hit approaching Rumours in popularity. Seemed like everyone owned that album. The Beatles were his main influence on albums having little filler. Wish he wouldn’t have stopped. One reason why songwriting was particularly difficult was that Billy limited himself to first composing the music completely and then writing lyrics afterward, which made that process a difficult jigsaw puzzle. Enjoyed your video. Thanks
generally, artists/songwriters are looking to create a picture for every song, so every one them is important to them...the industry's looking to make money, so they're primarily fixated on "hits/singles"...yeah- a hit will get you on the map, but most artists resent them after a while (people seem to only care about "those")...i really miss the days of complete albums- absorbing yourself in the totality of what someone has created for a release, while also recognizing that some of the tunes were huge hits...
As great as Billy is, I feel like he is still underrated. I know so many people who say his music is "not their cup of tea." That just blows my mind, because to me, it's just great music -- plain and simple. Every album he produced (except maybe the classical one) has good songs, and a lot of them. He is definitely one of the greats, up there with McCartney, Dylan and Springsteen.
...and Wilson
He's in the best 5 pop songwriters of all time.
"She's Always a Woman" - beautiful melody about a sadistic evil woman.
"The Longest Time" - one of the best and most catchy acapella songs ever
And on and on...
Classical music is great! Billy Joel, not so much. For me, Miles Davis is the greatest musical genius of our time.
@@briannemeth9417 opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one and they all stink.
I don't get it...
He's one of pop's greatest song writers, but he's just not my cup of tea. 🤷♂️
Loved "fantasies and delusions". I think I listened to it every day for a year in the early ots
Beautiful breakdown of Billy. I’m a songwriter too and I torture myself writing sometimes. It’s so hard when you feel like you’re pressured to write.
Damn! I haven't listened to Billy for decades, but he's one of my very favorite song writers. Thanks for this because I'm going to go back and listen.
"Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" still slays me after all these years.
Billy Joel's music was a huge part of the soundtrack of my youth growing up in the '70s on the East Coast. Will finally get to see him live with Sting in San Diego in April!
Billy Joel tunes are full of what can best be described as "Easter Eggs". These are sections or phrases that are just below the surface that exude creativity and craftsmanship. My first attention to Billy Joel was due to the song, "Billy the Kid". There is a section where there is a call and response between his piano and the drummer. I'm not aware of any other composer that has done this. This unusual pairing got my attention. My favorite album is Streetlife Serenade, and my favorite song is Souvenir. He is an American Mozart, and a national treasure. Well done, David. I don't know why, but I think he'd be a great actor.
B Side of 52nd Street...Stiletto, Rosalinda's Eyes and Until the Night...❤
"Travelin' '' Prayer," the first one of his I heard, is still my fave!
One of my favorites is Stiletto .I never heard it played on the radio .
Excellent! Love Billy Joel 💖 great voice and marvelous piano playing ability and funny personality!
He is my favorite artist since I was a teen in late 70s. 😃 Got to see him perform in my Senior year in Jacksonville inate '82. I used to sit in my room listening to his records and learned the lyrics. I love Scenes in an Italian restaurant and Vienna. Yea I agree with loving the album tracks. I learned a the words. I got to see him last year, again 40 years later in Orlando. Fantastic performer!
So many high class tunes
I grew up in the New Jersey/New York area. And Billy’s writing sound so organic and genuine, he sings like a New York/Jersey guy talks. All his songs sound like a cafe conversation, or an Italian restaurant if I May say.
I've always said billy Joel is the greatest living songwriter! Glad to see validation
This is why I admire and look up to this man so much, I feel like I’m terrible at writing songs, writing good ones anyway, but if it took him that long to get it right, then maybe it’ll take me a while too.
trust the process! maybe contradicts the idea of the video but i think all we can do is keep writing and honing our craft and putting things out there for feedback, even if we don’t feel it’s good enough or ready to share … “though you can see when you’re wrong, you know you can’t always see when you’re right” ;)
True talent and honest work will always reach the hearts of the people! Billy Joel and his music are proof of that despite him having to deal with with music industry and record label. It’s telling that his “Filler tracks “ are more memorable than most of todays hits.
I absolutely love “Sleeping with the Television on” right now
Billy Joel is an amazing Long Island / New York Native. Great Albums and Songs.
For most artists I like, the album tracks (or B sides) are often the best, or at least my favourites. The gold is often hidden away as the quality songs aren't immediately obvious and can take time to reveal themselves.
Met him when I was kid. He told me his stuff was shit. Literally. One of the best nights of my life.
It's been said "Don't wait for inspiration; do the hard work of writing."
He had a killer ear, grasp of theory, ability, and a good (if a little impetuous) heart. Thank God for this guy’s life.
Those hits suggest mainstream values tend to be corrupt.
Billy Joel has added so much musical joy to my life- I love him.
The live clip of still rock n roll to me cracks me up. That’s the concert he flips out at the lighting guy and throws the cp70 lol
I remember in some interview Billy said his favourite composer is Beethoven. Well, like for his idol, the writing process wasnt easy, but the result is astonishing and beautiful..
He was my first ever concert. It Was Amazing!
Billy Joel makes me emotional
Love that pic of Joel doing an Ian Hunter imitation, with big curly hair and big sunglasses.
Yup Me too. Until the night, Vienna and Zanzibar are my favorites.
His music veered hard into something better for a musical show. He got tired of writing lyrics, even though he always was a superior lyricist.
I remember being young and buying Storm Front album because of “We didn’t start the fire”. And the discover Leningrad, And so it goes, Shameless, Alexa, State of Grace…
100% agree with your analysis!
Vienna is one my absolute faves!
Glass Houses is amazing each and all tracks wonderful
I'm 54 now and have been a huge Billy Joel fan since my early teens. Many of my favorite songs from him are lesser known songs:
Prelude/Angry Young Man
Get it Right The First Time
Everybody Has A Dream
Until The Night
Stiletto
All for Leyna
Through The Long Night
Laura
I could list so many more. He's one of the true greats in the history of modern popular music.
I can see how the way Billy Joel writes songs & albums would be exhausting
Saw him in Houston and the Garden. Both great shows.
You can hear his classical background in so many of his songs! Genius!
River of Dreams 👌🏼
I’m old and live outside NYC. I’ve seen Billy many times. Great concerts.
Lyrics come really easy to me, literally in my dreams. But sitting down in front of my DAW for hours upon hours upon hours is hell. Once I finish a record, I’ve listened to it so much during its development that I can’t stand listening to it any longer 😭. Let me know if any other songwriters feel the same? It’s a gift and a curse.
Write a 100 songs and release the best 10..
Thats how it works..
Micheal Jackson..prince.. Coldplay..beatles did the same
Joel is GREAT MUSICIAN
He is a guy with proper music in his veins. Incredible to think he was almost going to follow a career as a Boxer! I saw a documentary years ago about Antonio Carlos Jobim and Billy Joel was interviewed for his comments and he demonstrated how Jobim's music was inspired by Mozart and that told me about Billy's background and grounding in one short utterance. He's come through some bad times and he's a winner and I've always loved his music - it's up there with the best.
Great songwriters don’t fill albums. It’s no a thing exclusive for Billy Joel. Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, Stevie Wonder, Tim Hardin, Van Morrison, David Bowie, Randy Newman, and so on... they have so many albums with plenty of gems that never became a hit. And all of them were patiently crafters.