The Ballad of Billy Joel: Part III

Welcome back to the Billy Joel series! So far, in Part I, I went through Joel’s origins as a musician leading to his first couple of albums, which failed to bring commercial success. In Part II, he found his groove and released several excellent albums, launching him into fame and allowing him to experiment more with different genres.

Now, in Part III, we will look into the next chapter of his career and some of his most popular albums with some of his best known tracks coming during this period.

Glass Houses

Rating: 9.5/10.
Favorite Song: “Sleeping With the Television On.”

Starting off strong, in 1980 Joel released the album Glass Houses, which was named after the famous adage “people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.” This album was a complete genre shift from 52nd Street, with the focus changing from jazz to rock and punk. This was a response to the perception that he was not a real rock artist, and his wish to focus more on that genre of music. Among its singles “It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me” was Joel’s first single to top the US Billboard Hot 100. The explosive popularity of this song also helped propel the entire album to stay in first on the Billboard 200 for six straight weeks, the second album of Joel’s in a row to make it there.

This is my favorite Billy Joel album by far, and each song holds a special place in my heart because of the perfect balance between musical talent and emotional heart. Although each of the songs varies wildly from the last in instruments, beat, and even genre, many of them revolve around a core idea of loneliness. Even those that do not directly mention the topic provide a contrast or another intertwined idea that strengthens this theme. In many ways, this album was ahead of its time, such as the fact that we now take for granted that loneliness and mental health are extremely important. It is good to see that these complex ideas were being addressed in 1980. If I had to make a choice, my favorite song would be “Sleeping With the Television On” because of its instantly enthralling and strong rhythm. I also like the lyric: “I really wish I was less of a thinking man and more a fool who’s not afraid of rejection.”

The Nylon Curtain

Rating: 7.5/10.
Favorite Song: “Pressure.”

To follow up Glass Houses, Billy Joel released his next album, The Nylon Curtain, in 1982. Another major tonal shift occurred between these two albums, and Curtain was a greater artistic endeavor. This is because, while his previous albums had stretched Joel across different genres and ideas, in The Nylon Curtain, he both wanted to create music as close to perfect as possible and to explore the idea of the American Dream.

When it comes to the musical aspect, Joel focused a lot more on creating a strong album that not only had good songs, but that those songs would fuse together to create a cohesive shape. One aspect of this goal can be seen in the fact that the last song (“Where’s the Orchestra”) ends with the same melody that starts the first song (“Allentown”), thereby making the album one loop. This goal made The Nylon Curtain one of the most draining and challenging albums for Joel to make.

For the theme of the American Dream, and other similar expectations and hopes, Joel looked at it from the perspectives of several different generations and backgrounds whose experiences he studied. From the young men serving in Vietnam, to those having to face the reality of being an adult in the modern world, to those living in fading American industry towns, Joel captures a variety of experiences of disappointment and expectation. Although I think this is good in theory, it was definitely a factor as to why the album did not do nearly as well as Glass Houses. Many of these songs are also much longer than usual songs, including some of the singles, including “Goodnight Saigon,” which comes in at a whopping 7:04. This, along with “Laura” (5:05) and “Pressure” (4:40) made The Nylon Curtain much less radio-friendly than his previous albums.

As for my opinion on this album, I like it, but not as much as some of Joel’s other work. Throughout his career, Billy Joel worked on finding the balance between catchy music and deep ideas/themes. In this album, Joel puts a much larger emphasis on the themes and underlying message. This tradeoff does not make the album inherently bad, but is risky and can easily be overdone, creating music that is deep, but not especially enjoyable to listen to. However, I still really enjoyed much of this album. Despite its length, “Goodnight Saigon” is still an excellent and memorable song. I also like that the B-sides are generally a tonal shift, especially songs such as the song of reunification, “She’s Right on Time.” My favorite song by far in The Nylon Curtain is “Pressure,” which deals with growing up and the pressures of adulthood.

An Innocent Man

Rating: 7.5/10.
Favorite Song: “This Night.”

The last album for this section is An Innocent Man, released one year later in 1983. In contrast to the heavy themes explored in The Nylon Curtain, this album took a much more fun theme. During this time, Joel rediscovered many of older pop songs, inspiring him to quickly write the music for the album. This, combined with Motown rhythms—especially prominent in “Tell Her About It”—created the backbone for this album’s style. Because of its more upbeat, pop-inspired music, and recognizable singles, An Innocent Man was more popular with general audiences, reaching 4th on the US Billboard Hot 200.

I have mixed feelings on this album; on one hand, the lighter feel is a welcome change after an entire album of deep messages. However, there are some songs in the album which I do not like at all, such as “Keeping the Faith.” Another possible criticism is that Joel could have added a little more variety, such as maybe a slower song to mix it up. Other than these, I enjoyed An Innocent Man as an easier album, both to make and to listen to.

Thank you for joining me on this journey through the next section of Billy Joel’s career. During this time, he explored many different styles, from rock/punk to deeply thematic to Motown pop. Part IV should be the last section, and will cover from The Bridge to “Turn the Lights Back On.”