66. The song was inspired by Billy Joel's first wife Elizabeth Weber. It’s saved (of course) by the fact that it’s funny and, here and there, pretty sly (“dance craze / anyways” is a rhyme most people would be afraid to write).**. 15. “Travelin’ Prayer,” Piano ManAnother one that feels like he’s on weird unfamiliar turf, but taken as a product of the early seventies, it’s not bad at all. “Stop in Nevada,” Piano ManWhy is a guy from Long Island writing a fake-Western song? 42. After 22 Years, the New Radicals Reunite to Play Virtual Biden Inaugural Parade. The shattering sound that opens Glass Houses, the helicopters in “Goodnight Saigon,” TV static and dial tones: All are gimmicky, and most are cliché. 87. Billy Joel. “Got to Begin Again,” Cold Spring Harbor Another small but nicely wrought song that someone should dig up and rerecord. Joel grew up in Brooklyn, New York and wrote the song after returning to the city after a four-year hiatus in Los Angeles. He still plays it in concert now and then, and has been known to introduce it as “kind of an obscure song”; it shouldn’t be. Hanging around with Bianca Jagger? Sax licks are a little cheesy, too. Billy Joel scored his one UK Official Singles Chart Number 1 in 1983 with Uptown Girl, which came from his multi-platinum album An Innocent Man. Very typical big-’80s sound, with synths and echo that haven’t aged well. “You Can Make Me Free,” Cold Spring HarborAn undistinguished song, and then the wildly oversung bit at the end leaves you with a flinch. Bring it out at your high-school reunion, and watch the couples start to slow-dance. Lyrics about broken friendships have a little kick, given that Joel’s had his share. The weakest song on an album even Joel doesn’t think much of. What would Mama Leone say? Not bad at all. Fun song in concert; cheesier at home. Already a subscriber? Could make a case for either; I like it. 103. The TV-sign-off sound effect at the beginning is the only bit of corn here; lop that off and it’s perfect. “When in Rome,” Storm Front        I’m surprised this didn’t click as a radio hit, because it hits every mainstream note of that era — leaving it sounding a little generic today. 28. You can also knock ten points off for that uncomfortable “sit at home and masturbate” line, which has been filling arenas with uneasy giggles for 35 years, especially when “pick your nose” comes along a few lines later. Tristan the Slightly Rakish has come to Darrowby. Clean power, vivid image, supple singing, tight rhythm, well-made, and bulletproof. Peaked at #3 on 12.11.1983. Armie Hammer Says He’s ‘Genuinely Sorry’ For Calling Woman ‘Miss Cayman’ in Vid, The Miss Cayman Universe Committee released a statement saying that the Committee was “very disturbed by the video.”. It’s more of a gut feeling ranking, a summary of the overall effectiveness of the many things that can make Billy Joel songs enjoyable. When we’re all in the mood for a melody, he gets us feeling alright. This song literally fought for its freedom through its composure, vocals and lyrics. “State of Grace,” Storm FrontAfter more than a few listenings in the past month, not a single lyric from this song stuck with me. 26. 109. 7. His Lawn Guyland worldview comes from an honest place, and when he writes about, say, Anthony (who works in a grocery store, saving his pennies for someday), that guy rings true. 112. Pretty bad, and on a pretty good album to boot. Was he on vacation? “Uptown Girl,” An Innocent Man It’s shlock, but — as my colleague Jody Rosen has persuasively written — there’s a place for shlock, particularly if, as mentioned above, you were there for the ’80s heyday of the Billy-and-Christie tabloid show. 6. 97. Kind of a shrug, in the end, but a pretty one. No more chip on his shoulder, secure in his talent, out Tony Bennett–ing Tony Bennett. As the action shifts to Michael’s courtroom, his guilt tags along. • The songs that rise to the top are, with a few exceptions, the purer ones. 18. “52nd Street,” 52nd Street Sounds like one of the Ray Charles duets without Ray. Has more of that Innocent Man lightness and exuberance than most of the stuff on his later records, and benefits from it. “Why Judy Why,” Cold Spring HarborAnother very early song that sounds like it was made by an entirely different person. By the measure of hit-making, his stats are staggering. “She’s Got a Way,” Cold Spring Harbor Is it a little gooey? “You Picked a Real Bad Time,” B-side from 1993Very slick, not very good white-guy blues. On multiple relistenings, I half-expected to find it annoying, but it’s not. “The Stranger,” The StrangerA little self-conscious, a little arty (that whistled intro). Might benefit from a less-dense arrangement with fewer layers. Every Billy Joel Album Ranked Worst To Best. You\'ll receive the next newsletter in your inbox. “Even rode my motorcycle in the rain” is a pretty dumb line, which pulls it down on the list, and it loses a couple more points for the repeat-and-fade. 43. (Although I recently had an argument with someone who claimed that line was junk. Does not fail on the angry-young-man front. Fortunately, Billy Joel is one artist whose filler is entirely listenable, a testament to his skill as a musician. A song that exemplifies a recurring problem on this list: memorable hook paired with dull verses. “Don’t Ask Me Why,” Glass Houses Not bad at all, and very, very, catchy, but makes you wonder: What does this tropical-hotel setting have to do with anything? 10. The false ending is a little cheap. Best Billy Joel Songs 41 items ranked. “Los Angelenos,” Streetlife Serenade He really didn’t like L.A. very much, did he? 88. Deserves to be revisited. We urge you to turn off your ad blocker for The Telegraph website so that you can continue to access our quality content in the future. “The Night Is Still Young,” Greatest Hits An odd and unique one-off recording, with Joel’s voice multi-tracked. I still say “choose between reality and madness / it’s either sadness or euphoria” is pretentious undergrad stuff. Comes from a good place — Long Island fishermen do indeed have it tough; he probably knows some of those guys, going way back; the whole scene feels honest — but the synths and production have aged terribly. Goes on forever, though. © 2021 Vox Media, LLC. “You Look So Good to Me,” Cold Spring HarborA corny ballad, justifiably forgotten. 92. 115. The line “they threw an American flag in our face” is a clunker, badly misaligned with the music. Joel’s recording is not bad at all, but if only someone like Bobby Womack had given it a whirl! 21. 58. Pretty strong cut for one that few people remember. Single. “A Minor Variation,” River of Dreams Somewhat similar to “All About Soul.” More white-guy blues, decently sung, but ultimately, there are so many better blues singers that it’s hard to get excited about this one. Fills up side two of the album, and does no more. Falls down our list for that “nonononono biiiiig shottttttt didnja” line he sings toward the end, which is just ridiculous. Readers’ Poll: The Best Billy Joel Songs of All Time Selections include ‘Vienna,’ ‘Captain Jack’ and ‘Goodnight Saigon’ A friendly, affectionate thanks-and-bye-for-now song, and, well, all right, it’s not side two of Abbey Road, but it’s not hateable either. So he got the future wrong, but something about New Yorkers’ toughness still applies. The Nylon Curtain. “Code of Silence,” The BridgeCo-written and sung with Cyndi Lauper. Not a very interesting idea — essentially “Yeah, I can sometimes be an ass, but I’m fun, too” is a sentiment that covers about three-quarters of the population — but a well-wrought song if you accept that up front. “She’s Right on Time,” The Nylon Curtain Punchy performance, but the lyrics are thin, without much staying power. Word. “I Go to Extremes,” Storm FrontAs catchy as a single ever was. 34. 73. “Temptation,” The BridgeA schmaltzy torch song. 35. (Benefits by comparison with Sting’s “Russians,” a similar, cheesier record.) Billy Joel The Stranger (1977) Eliminated after the final : "Vienna" Eliminated after the final : "Vienna" 3: 3. (Never mind that it was reportedly written about his previous supermodel girlfriend, Elle Macpherson.). “Just the Way You Are,” The StrangerThe straightest of straight-up ballads, I grant you, but this is Billy Joel’s “Yesterday,” and “clevah conversation” makes it all his own, because Long Island. Marking a striking change in Billy Joel's backing band's line-up, Storm Front was released in 1989 and saw the singer reach for new heights. Another great vocal performance, on an underrated album that contains several of his best songs. “Everybody Loves You Now,” Cold Spring HarborSuper-catchy, bouncy piano, sneery. 121. Uptown Girl. “If I Only Had the Words (to Tell You),” Piano ManA familiar genre: the longing song. 33. Does that minor/major/minor/major step-down chord progression that Paul McCartney made his signature, with added George Martin shimmer. 31. So much is wrong here: boomer-generation narcissism, the tri-state-area-news myopia (“hypodermics on the shore”? It’s an amazingly accurate (and completely unexpected) Elvis Costello pastiche, missing only the organ part. 4. “An Innocent Man,” An Innocent Man Hard to think of a rock star as an innocent, but he really was — don’t forget that he was repeatedly conned out of millions of dollars by his managers and handlers. 94. Points for its complexity and opacity; points off for the blatant “I Am the Walrus” echo. The song appeared on the 1976 Turnstiles album, and although it was never released as a single, it still became a firm favourite with his fans. Songs ranked in each album : 123: 123. 10 of the best Billy Joel songs 18 Feb 2020, 12:07pm Gallery: From Katy Perry’s Trump skeleton to Adele’s middle finger: the most controversial Brit Awards moments – in pictures “Ain’t No Crime,” Piano Man Elton-ish record with a lot of backing vocals. 41. Billy Joel Turnstiles (1976) Eliminated after the semi-final : "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" An artifact of its time and place. Billy Joel’s songs, ranked: ‘Piano Man,’ ‘New York State of Mind,’ more Billy Joel in concert at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale on Dec. 21, 1989. Credit: Newsday / John Keating We’ve reached the point where it’s no longer possible to give Natalie the benefit of the doubt. I’ll admit that the live recordings are way better than the studio version. Just because she’s almost 100 years old doesn’t mean the hustle stops for even a second. The arrangement could, admittedly, be a little crisper. “Scandinavian Skies,” The Nylon Curtain A junkie song by a non-junkie: As far as I know, a unique idea. 60. They used to beat him up for his perceived lack of edge. The unintentionally hilarious video may be affecting my judgment a little here. • He’s best when writing about his own time and his own world. Lyrically slack. “All About Soul,” River of Dreams Another from the Depression Series that had many of the ingredients to be a hit but didn’t have the snap to get there. At last – the perfect way to hear Schubert, The musicians and celebrities who stood by Donald Trump, ‘I'd love to own the Beatles’: meet the man spending millions buying up your favourite songs. 10 of the best Billy Joel songs 18 Feb 2020, 12:07pm Gallery: From Katy Perry’s Trump skeleton to Adele’s middle finger: the most controversial Brit Awards moments – in pictures 50. That said, appreciation does not mean blindness, and Joel himself would agree that not every song on every album catches fire (though he did light it, and we tried to fight it). But it holds its place on the album — barely. “Rosalinda’s Eyes,” 52nd StreetJust about every male singer-songwriter records a mom song; this is a good one. Holds up, and you should go listen to it again. “Careless Talk,” An Innocent ManAn album cut that doesn’t rise above, but it has nice bounce. New York State Of Mind was influenced by his time working with Ray Charles, who he’d duetted with on the song “Baby Grand”. “Two Thousand Years,” River of DreamsHe’s reaching for something philosophical and trying for a big idea, but it doesn’t quite get there, and the lyrics wander. “Get It Right the First Time,” The Stranger Joel calls this the weak link on one of his best albums, and I’ll admit that it sounds like the theme to a funny-cops sitcom that never happened. Songs Ranked: 1) The Great Suburban Showdown 2) Los Angelenos 3) The Entertainer 4) Roberta 5) Souvenir 6) Root Beer Rag 7) Streetlife Serenader 8) The Mexican Connection 9) Weekend Song 10) Last of the Big Time Spenders: 8: 8. 85. 12. 96. “Laura,” The Nylon CurtainA highly conflicted mom song, and the darker counterpart to “Rosalinda’s Eyes,” as it gets at the crueler, more difficult side of Rosalind Joel. 40. 122: 122. **An incorrect reference to the sax solo in this song has been removed. Only The Good Die Young. Billy Joel. Better known, perhaps, for the Garth Brooks cover version, and if you don’t hate that Nashville sound, a good one. Yes, everyone was doing it in 1976, but that doesn’t make it right. “All You Wanna Do Is Dance,” TurnstilesOne a few songs on this list with misplaced reggae inclinations. Here’s a link to the winning song of the list: 9. Why are all those CBGBs acts getting all the love?” attitude is off-putting. 36. 1. 59. Most of those charted in the era when you had to sell a lot of records to get there, too. 38. Maybe a little too much production going on here, but a memorable, fun, remember-that-guy-Vinnie-we-used-to-know song. Not a song many people think of, but I like it. Better than you may remember, mostly for the lyrics and the enthusiasm in the vocals. Albums don't get much better than this, and The Stranger stands as living proof of just how great Billy Joel is as a songwriter. Not terrible, but loses a lot of points for the awkward “no one ever has to feel like a refugee,” and the weird rolled-R delivery of “Mexican rrreefers.”, 83. No focus.”, Three Dwayne Johnsons of Varying Sizes Star in First. God bless TikTok: at last, we’re reviving the saucy sea shanty! A close listening to the Joel-ian canon reveals a couple of generous handfuls of greatness, forgotten cuts that deserve to be resurfaced, familiar hits that have aged poorly, and flat-out clunkers. Billy Joel was was never a Captain Beefheart or Frank Zappa, out to subvert the conventions of pop music; his strengths are plainspoken language, melody, and (of course) piano, and the songs that depend most on those qualities tend to be better than the ones where he gets artier. I’m guessing that Joel also does because, even though it was never a hit, he still performs it regularly. “Weekend Song,” Streetlife SerenadeAnother one with echoes of Elton John. “Half a Mile Away,” 52nd StreetAs tight a commercial-radio song as ever recorded. “The Entertainer,” Streetlife SerenadeThe Piano Man finds success! 106. “A Matter of Trust,” The BridgeClosest thing he’s ever made to a Queen-style stadium anthem to play at sporting events, with a chorus that benefits from a lot of people singing along. 68. Not the most ambitious song; simple structure, simple lyrics, and there’s nothing bad about it. (The Beatles’ “Michelle” has the same problem, by the way. Not profound, but a superior piece of pop craftsmanship. “Roberta,” Streetlife SerenadeLonely guy wants to save a stripper who won’t talk to him. Anthony and Mama Leone and Sergeant O’Leary are New Yorkers of a certain age, people we know well, and this is a fine three-and-a-half-minute radio drama about them. But the big chorus is undeniable — it’s hard not to be swept along when it starts to crest. For critics, he’s a problem. The “Wall of Sound” pioneer was serving a 19-year sentence for the 2003 murder of Lana Clarkson. 65. “Honesty,” 52nd Street         Heart-on-sleeve vulnerability. 10 of the best Billy Joel songs 18 Feb 2020, 12:07pm Gallery: From Katy Perry’s Trump skeleton to Adele’s middle finger: the most controversial Brit Awards moments – in pictures 27. 78. Billy Joel’s first record, Cold Spring Harbor, was released through Family Production before his second discovery by Columbia Records. “You May Be Right,” Glass HousesGood straight-up power pop song. Impeccable. 99. I’ve listed which Billy Joel album they first appeared on and, if different, the album containing my favorite rendition. With the melody sampled many times over in today’s pop culture, this performance version of the song just showcases how talented Billy Joel is. 113. 63. Sinatra could’ve recorded it; Tony Bennett did; many others will. “Summer, Highland Falls,” TurnstilesEveryone but me seems to single out this song as one of his very best, maybe the best. But stare down the rest of the lyrics: They’re plainspoken and pretty okay. “Close to the Borderline,” Glass Houses Just about the hardest rocking-out he ever recorded, and he did it pretty well. “That’s the problem with kids these days. “Shades of Grey,” River of Dreams         “Dad rock” is a cheap label, but this is pretty much it; sounds like a lot of session musicians without a center. “Dad rock,” one of my younger colleagues said, unimpressed, when I told her about this project: relistening to the 121 songs that Joel has written and recorded, and ranking every one. Billy Joel Greatest Hits Full Album 2020 - The Very Best of Billy Joel 72. “Souvenir,” Streetlife SerenadeJoel’s shortest recorded song. “This Night,” An Innocent Man        A strong vocal performance on a mostly excellent album, but borrowing the Beethoven “Pathétique” for a melodic line was a terrible idea — it reads like a pointless play for respectability — and it weighs down the already-somewhat-leaden lyrics. Billy Joel The Stranger (1977) WINNER : "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" WINNER : "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" 2: 2. Stopping after 1993's … Glass Houses ... Limp Bizkit: The Rise & Fall In 10 Songs 10 Rock Bands That Completely Avoided The Sophomore Slump 10 … “Modern Woman,” The Bridge Spirited, and sorta fun — you can really picture this as the music behind a quick-cut montage in an ’80s Danny DeVito movie — but the cheese factor is very high. 32. The music … “Somewhere Along the Line,” Piano ManAn early song from his Depression Canon, this one seems to be about anhedonia — “it’s all going to catch up to you” — but it’s musically a little flat. Mostly avoids the oversinging that hurts songs like “Big Shot” — he sings with more of a straight growl here, and it’s a bit better. 2. “Elvis Presley Boulevard,” B-side, 1982 An offcut, rarely heard and better than you’d think; worth seeking out for a listen. “House of Blue Light,” B-side, 1990.The flip side of the “We Didn’t Start the Fire” single is bar-band blues, not much more. 49. Billy Joel performing at Madison Square Garden, April 15, 2016. 11. Peaked at #3 on 18.02.1978. Click on up and down arrows to affect item's ranking Add item. 91. “Turn Around,” Cold Spring HarborAnother first-album ballad, probably not worth reviving. 69. (He really hated L.A.) Much better in live later recordings, where the piano sounds cleaner, the violins are gone, and he sings it better. “You’re Only Human (Second Wind),” Greatest HitsAnother buck-up-kid Instructional, and another one that’s got some charm. “The Mexican Connection,” Streetlife SerenadeAn instrumental that sounds like the rights-free music people use in YouTube videos. “Surprises,” The Nylon CurtainOne of several Beatles tributes he’s recorded. In 1971 Billy Joel started his solo career with the album "Cold Spring Harbour" and finally achieved fame in 1973 with his song "Piano Man". “C’était Toi (You Were the One),” Glass HousesOh man. “Easy Money,” An Innocent Man Unfortunately evokes nothing so much as Rappin’ Rodney. A hard look at one of cinema’s oldest genres. 46. It gets one point for its classroom value: I will admit that I had to look up who Syngman Rhee was, and I learned interesting things. 3. “This Is the Time,” The Bridge Another ’80s-prom anthem, and I think you have to be a real churl to hate it. 79. 30. And hates his record company, and writes about it. Sits well on the album, though not super-interesting when taken on its own. * He has established a standing residency there, like a guy who plays a monthly nightclub gig, except that the club happens to seat 18,000. “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant,” The Stranger His longest song — it’s really three songlets, intertwined, a little seven-minute operetta — and, yes, his best. “Shameless,” Storm FrontNo piano! 120. The song was based on a line in the Sherman Brothers' song 'You're Sixteen', and was helped by its cutting edge (at the time) video, featuring cartoons mixed with live-action sequences. “Big Man on Mulberry Street,” The Bridge Is he a GoodFella, a restaurateur, just some shmo? 5. This 1988 track gave Billy another number one hit in America, and reached number two in the UK. She's Got a Way (#26) 2. But “We were sold a bunch of nonsense” is a thoughtful lyric in this context. William Martin Joel aka Billy Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and pianist.Commonly nicknamed the “Piano Man” after his first major hit and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s, having released twelve studio albums from 1971 to 1993 as well as one studio album in 2001. *Sorry, there was a problem signing you up. Not terrible, but ultimately not very interesting, either. 104. That’s about a quarter of the songs he’s written and recorded. What? 98. Fast piano, banjo, even a jaw harp. 16. Ground rules: I’ve limited this to the 114 songs Joel wrote and recorded on his 12 studio albums, from Cold Spring Harbor (1971) through River of Dreams (1993), plus seven additional singles he has released over the years. 64. Peaked at #3 on 16.10.1993. (As fans know, Cold Spring Harbor was butchered on its release; I used the remastered boxed-set version to give those songs a fair shake.) “Leningrad,” Storm FrontYes, it’s kitsch — of course Russian people live ordinary lives too — and the music is gooey. 93. I just don’t hear it — I think it’s pretty but not great. “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me,” Glass Houses Most fans would put this one much higher on the list. 75. Across the 20 years of his solo career, Joel produced 33 Top 40 hits in the U.S., all of which he wrote himself, and three of which (“It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me”, “Tell Her About It”, and “We Didn’t Start the Fire”) managed to peak at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts. And wait two years for the be-all-end-all live performance of this one, probably at Sun Life Stadium. But it’s a vivid, thoughtful song about guys he clearly knew well. “Leave a Tender Moment Alone,” An Innocent Man This is a really sweet song that nobody pays attention to. 89. “Only the Good Die Young,” The Stranger None of that sour petulance here; it’s a song by a happy warrior in love and romance. “That’s Not Her Style,” Storm Front          Another dated-sounding track, but the lyrics are actually pretty okay — this is (presumably) one of his Christie Brinkley songs, several of which are more charming. Hard not to get swept up, even if it’s kinda bombastic on the album. 81. Is it very pretty? Steve Martin Happy to Get COVID Vaccine, Less Excited to be Old Enough to Get It, Groove to the Official Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Inauguration Playlist, The 40 Best Horror Movies on Hulu Right Now, What time is it? Seems out of proportion to the problem. It does have about the purest, cleanest production he ever had. It’s about an imaginary friend, and it’s much better than you’d ever guess. “Captain Jack,” Piano Man Joel has said he’s tired of this one, and it does go on for too long. “I Don’t Want to Be Alone,” Glass Houses How’d everyone miss this? Can we knock it for portraying secondhand experience? “Sleeping With the Television On,” Glass Houses The best Billy Joel song that was never a hit. “Worse Comes to Worst,” Piano ManTitle tells you most of what you need to know. Bernie Goetz? Billy Joel is the closest thing Madison Square Garden has to a sure thing — certainly more than the Knicks or the Rangers or the Liberty. “Piano Man,” Piano Man Scoff if you will, but you’ve probably just heard it too many times. Lately, though — like every artist from a generation back — he is undergoing a critical reassessment, despite some dissenters. 25. Might be fodder for the right cover artist. “Goodnight Saigon,” The Nylon Curtain Another argument about authenticity appears. Other times, we too often hear classical-music references or an awkward French lesson. 74. Apparently Ellen was one of the first people to learn of his existence. First verse is the best. 76. “Running on Ice,” The BridgePetulance on parade: “I could never understand why the urban attitude is so superior.” The piano-playing is virtuosic and showy, but the song’s ultimately a less interesting “Pressure.”. 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