Your Independent Journal from the Heartland
I was far less than a fan of singer/pianist/songwriter Billy Joel ever since I first heard his second album, Piano Man, in the early 1970s. One song in particular on it, “The Ballad of Billy the Kid,” mightily alienated me. Lyrically it goes from a fictional account of the notorious outlaw to being about Joel in its last verse, which I found unbearably pretentious. As for the music, I’ll borrow a description used by a New York Times reviewer: “bombastic.”
Then there was the title song. Struck me as gooey schmaltz. After that, Joel’s music, which eventually raised him to superstar status, was never my cup of tea.
Yet over the half century or so to follow, slowly yet surely, I’ve changed my tune on Joel, from looking down my nose at him to now looking up at him with esteem. The capstone on this process is the five-hour HBO documentary deep dive into his life and career, “And So It Goes.”
The inevitable media hubbub tended to focus on the stuff that titillates, like his marriages and divorces, drinking and car crashes, and his $90 million lawsuit against the brother-in-law who managed Joel’s career and fleeced him, as well as the marquee value of second wife Christie Brinkley and talking-head testimonies of many fellow stars. But since it was his music that put me off on Joel in the first place, it’s the best starting point for showing my change of heart.
In 1976, his fourth album had a song, “New York State of Mind,” that impressed me as worthy for inclusion in the proverbial Great American Songbook. The overall craft and catchiness of his fifth album, The Stranger, did show me he had prodigious popular music talent. I appreciated his 1982 topical post-industrial hit song “Allentown,” as my father’s company was in the declining steel industry in the nearby region where I grew up. Yet his music never fully won me like that of his greater NYC metro area contemporary, Bruce Springsteen, who offers the wisest and most cogent assessments of Joel in the doc.
Later I started learning of his consistent sell outs at two large venues I knew well in my New York City days: Nassau Coliseum on Joel’s native Long Island, where he headlined 32 times. And a mind-blowing Madison Square Garden record of 150 shows. In 1990, Joel packed Yankee Stadium for two nights. That shouts something profound about his huge and enduring rock and pop appeal.
The two-part doc brought further realizations. Joel’s achieved such stature while only releasing a mere 13 studio albums over five-and-a-half decades. He’s shown a rare loyalty to his touring band by using then on most of his album sessions; along with his crew, his musical operation is much like a family. His ex-wives all speak well of him.
Through the film I was wowed by his fluency and dexterity on the piano, grounded in learning the classics when young, and composes melodies that capture the ear. Seeing some of his lyrics written out onscreen twigged me to the smart and direct economy of his songwriting, and why it hits home and the heart of his fans to inspire a profound loyalty.
His life and musical career with its many ups and downs, challenges and triumphs, family issues, foibles and more, keeps one’s attention for all five of its jam-packed hours. In addition to an expanded musical esteem for Joel, my biggest takeaway from “And So It Goes” is really liking who Joel is: for all his fame, still quite a regular guy, even if anything but average. In his mid-’70s he has earned much wisdom from his journey, is refreshingly bereft of any star attitude, and far from pretentious. And as well, the fervent enduring loyalty of his fans seen in the doc speaks volumes about how his music touches their lives.
Guess I’ll have to go back to that early “Billy the Kid” song at some point and see how it plays now. And start spending more time with and appreciating Joel’s music – to my mind the best takeaway from a documentary about an artist I misjudged.
Musical Album: Moisturizer by Wet Leg – The second album by this group led by two women from England’s Isle of Wight nicely follows through from a debut that made them one of the coolest current buzz bands. Their cheeky lyrics delivered with droll charm and hip-shaking grooves are a gas, gas, gas.
Book: “Dead Wake” by Erik Larson – The author has a marvelous gift for writing history that vividly comes to you-are-there life. This tale of the sinking of British ocean liner Lusitania by a German U-boat in 1915 and how it led America into World War I is a superb read.
Rob Patterson is a music and entertainment writer in Austin, Texas.
Email robpatterson054@gmail.com.
