Customer Reviews

Piano Man

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Of the three albums released between 1971 and 1975, "Piano Man" is easily the best of Joel's recorded output from that period. It is by far his most cohesive and polished of the three ("Cold Spring Harbor" and the following year's "Streetlife Serenade" are the other two), and it includes some of the best material in his catalogue.

"Travelin' Prayer" is a mock country number set to a fast paced hodown rhythm as Billy, an admitted atheist Jew from Long Island, feably attempts to ask God to look after his loved one "far across the sea." Though it seems like a filler track, it is actually a very solid number, and the structure of the melody and the way it is arranged on record is nothing short of amazing. The blending of the piano with the bass and drums is beautiful, and the banjo playing is awesome.

Next comes the album's title track, which obviously needs very little to be said. Though Billy has done more complex and impressive material both lyrically and melodically, this song easily personifies Billy and is deserevedly his signature song. A true classic with rich lyrical detail and a timeless melody.

"Ain't No Crime" is a gospel rave-up with beautiful harmonies and tough, rollicking rhythm. This song was a major staple of Billy's live set list in the 1970s', and was even more exciting in that conext.

"You're My Home" is a beautiful, atmospheric ballad with great lyrics and some hugely impressive instrumental work. The guitar strumming on the intro is incredibly beautiful and one of the most complex arrangements Billy ever wrote.

"The Ballad Of Billy The Kid" is probably the second or third most well known tune on the album after the title track, an epic tribute to the Old West with fantastic lyrics, a piercing, atmospheric melody and arrangement, and a raw, powerful Billy vocal. I've seen Billy perform this song live three times, but I have yet to hear a version match the unbridled passion and intensity of the studio version.

"Worst Comes To Worst" is another, solid catchy albums that hold sits own against the album's stronger tracks. The lyrics are very clever and Billy's sly vocals adds an extra flair to them.

"Stop In Nevada" is another epic number, a tride and true 1970s' folk rock ballad reminscent of Poco, Bread and various other bands of that ilk. There are many great lines in this song ("With some money in her pocket, she's a rocket on the Fourth Of July"), and the song paints a vivid picture of the longing and detemination present in the 1970s', especially amongst females of the era. Great song.

"If I Only Had The Words" and "Somewhere Along The Line" are perfectly crafted MOR pop ballads, and should've been bigger hits than they were. The latter song sounds especially Elton John influenced, who at the time was the premier rock pianist until Billy hit his stride four years later with "The Stranger."

We come to the album's closing number, "Captain Jack." Ah, how hard it is to put my feelings towards this dark, brooding masterpiece in the word. A darkly atmospheric attack on the decadence of the early 1970s' drug culture post-Vietnam, this song is arguably the best thing Billy ever recorded. With its grim singalong chorus and graphic imagery (lines about masturbation, nose picking and smoking pot), this song is an absolutely chilling experienece that is also a pure crowdpleaser in concert.

"Piano Man" might not be a masterpiece, but it's definitely an exciting look at what was to come for the boy from Hicksville, Long Island.

In my mind, it was the singers like James Taylor, Neil Diamond, and Billy Joel who shaped the music of the '70's and powerfully influenced pop music of the following generations. I might get argument in my feeling that there is noticeable influence by both of the other singer/writers in Billy Joel's output, and that's no putdown because he still has his individual style, even if flavors of the other two are there.

"Travelin' Prayer" is indeed a strong opening song, one that expresses love for the woman while portraying a feeling that there is a being listening, though he doesn't really know how to talk to that being. "Piano Man" is of course the signature hit. But "You're My Home" and "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" are definitely significant, and "Stop In Nevada" deserves recognition. And the conclusion, "Captain Jack", is up there with the best of the '70's.

If you're at all into the influential music that started in the 70's, you need at least one Billy Joel CD, and there is much more depth in this one then you'll find in a collection that just has his major hits.

Piano Man is the album that helped Billy Joel first grab the public's ear. The title track is an irresistible sing along number that has earned its place as a classic. The song's omnipresence overshadows the fact there are a couple of songs on the album that are even better. "Captain Jack" is a sprawling wide-open number that Mr. Joel sings with the perfect growl. "Worst Comes To Worst" is another tale about a lounge singer with a much more bouncy beat. "Piano Man" has become his signature number, but "The Ballad Of Billy The Kid" should be. Much like the former, the latter tells of his life. Opening up with a cowboy sound, the song shifts and moves back and forth and is one Mr. Joel's best. "You're My Home" is a gift to his wife while "Stop In Nevada" has a nice beat. The album is dragged down by some lesser tunes like "Ain't No Crime", "Travelin' Prayer" and "Somewhere Along The Line".

Billy Joel's Piano Man album on Columbia Records remains one of his best ever; and anyone who enjoys good solid rock from the 1970s will enjoy this CD very much.

The track set opens with "Travelin' Prayer." Listen for some great drums, fiddle, banjo and piano to create a country flavor for this ballad. Billy's voice is rich and full of masculine warmth--terrific! "Piano Man," the title track for this CD, leaves nothing to be desired. It starts with some great harmonica playing; and when Billy Joel comes in "Piano Man" takes off like a jet! Billy sings some portraits of people who come to the bar where he plays piano. Moreover, "Ain't No Crime" is a beautiful, gospel flavored number with a backup chorus that harmonizes to perfection as Billy sings it well!

"The Ballad Of Billy The Kid" gives us a country/western flavored arrangement as Billy sings the story of Billy The Kid and even compares himself to Billy The Kid but in a more positive light. Billy Joel sings "The Ballad Of Billy The Kid" flawlessly.

"Worse Comes To Worst" actually has a catchy melody that reflects the optimism Billy's character feels that he'll get by no matter how hard life gets; and this song has a great early 1970s rock and roll beat to it! Listen for some great key changes on "If I Only Had The Words (To Tell You)," too.

The album ends strong with the ballad called "Captain Jack." Billy delivers this flawlessly with panache and sensitivity. Great!

The artwork impresses me--how's about that cover photo?

Billy Joel remains a titan in the music industry; and this title is well deserved. Billy is one of the very few versatile artists who can evoke whatever emotions he wants his audiences to feel with every song he sings or records. I highly recommend this fine CD to anyone who likes great rock music from the early 1970s.

Enjoy!

On this, his first album with Columbia Records, Billy Joel first showed the promise and talent that would make him one of the most recognizable and beloved songwriters of the past quarter century.

Aside from the classic title track, which has also become synonymous with the artist himself, there are several wonderful songs on this album such as "Travelin' Prayer", melancholy songs like the "Ballad of Billy the Kid" and "Captain Jack", and even some softer songs like "Stop in Nevada" and "You're My Home".

This is definitely not Billy Joel's strongest album front to back, but in many ways it's his most lovable. In retrospect it's easy to see how this set the stage for the rest of his brilliant career, and fans of the Piano Man will definitely have to have this in their collection.

Back in the summer of 1979, before I knew anything of pop music aside from The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel, I went to a sleepaway camp where someone in my bunk had this great album. I didn't know who it was, but I loved these great songs - Piano Man, the song about Billy the Kid. By 1985, I was getting heavily into music...and of course, being from Long Island, Billy Joel was required listening. In my effort to find music by this guy that my friends were listening to (and who I knew from the radio from songs like "Pressure", "Allentown" and "Tell Her About It"), I went sifting through my dad's record collection. I found several there...Trying to go in chronological order, the earliest one I found was "Piano Man". When I saw the track listing, I realized that this was that great album that we used to listen to in summer camp.

It wasn't long before I became intimately familiar with all the songs on this album. Nowadays, I don't listen much to Billy Joel (probably because I listened to so much of him during High School), but looking at "Piano Man" in the context of his other work as well as my exposure to much more and different and varied music over the years, I still feel that this is a really good album from someone who would emerge as one of the premier songwriters of the '70s and '80s.

Highlights of this album include the poignant, expressive title track which paints a vivid picture of Billy Joel's experience as a lounge pianist (I believe in L.A.). He paints great characters in this song which, in itself would make the song really good - of course, then there's the great music of the song. "Captain Jack" was another great hit off of this album - an ode to the hopelessness of suburban teenagerdom...Other great songs found here include the rollicking western style "The Ballad of Billy The Kid", the pretty "Your My Home" (which my friends used as their wedding first dance song), and two very catchy, lesser-known songs "Worse Comes To Worst" and "Ain't No Crime". Also, "Stop In Nevada" is a very pretty song which, for me, for reasons other than the just the song title, evokes images of the expanses of the American West...Same thing with "Billy The Kid", except with that song, the song really does have a western flavor.

To sum up, there are two songs here which, as individual songs ("Ballad of Billy The Kid" and the title track)are masterpieces when standing alone. The rest of the songs here range from good to very good. While not a masterpiece as a whole, it is a very good album - I would give it 4 1/2 stars (to get above this, really every song has to be classic material) and round up to 5 stars...HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

I think that in "Piano Man" (two years after debut album "Cold Spring Harbor") was an interesting album. In 1973, Billy Joel was trying to flee from a record manager who was raking in Billy Joel's cash. Billy Joel figured that if he left for a while, Artie Ripp (the record manager) would figure that he is not going to get any cash out of Billy Joel. Billy worked at Piano Bar, a small bar in Los Angeles. That job made the song "Piano Man", a true story about Piano Bar. There, he went by the name of Bill Martin (Martin is his middle name). His voice had improved and he continued his wonderful piano playing. From the moving notes of "Piano Man" to the devastating story in "Captain Jack", Billy Joel made a great album.

This album PIANO MAN put Billy Joel on the map, even though his COLD SPRING HARBOR album was also excellent, but didn't get very much distribution originally. Of course "Piano Man" is one of my favorite pop/rock tunes in the history of music, but really this whole album is superb, and there's not one bit of filler on this one. Of course "The Ballad of Billy The Kid" is classic Billy Joel, and the same with "Captain Jack". The rest of this album isn't excellent but Very Good. Billy just couldn't do any wrong during his 70's heyday, and this was just basically the beginning of his huge success. Billy was probably the best pop/rock songwriter of the 70's, and the material on this album happens to be some of his best compositions. In short Billy flat out rocks, so rush out to your music stores and buy this gem of an album.

Usually when artist that are little known (as Billy was when this was first released) and there is a huge hit on the album (Piano Man) the rest is usually filled with filler material..Not only is there no Filler material on this album, every single song is a Gem. Even though I prefer 52nd St to this, this would be my second favorite Joel album then after that would have to be the off the wall and strange Nylon Curtain. This is a must have for every Billy Joel fan. Don't be surpried that you acutally might like the rest of the songs then "Piano Man" cause I think Travelin Prayer and Stop in Nevada and Your my Home are much better..ENJOY

I considered this album to be a great classic from Billy Joel. Every song is a real gem and it was the first album that proved what a good songwriter he was then and would become later on. This is a great album and I really enjoy it a great deal. It is my favorite Billy Joel album. My favorite songs on this CD are "You're My Home", "The Ballad Of Billy The Kid" and "Captain Jack". "Piano Man", is the most well known song on this CD and it was his first big hit and although it is a good well written song it is not my favorite. Like I said this album is a classic and one of my favorite albums of all times.