River of Dreams

Billy Joel | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 20, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: SONY MUSIC SPECIAL PRODUCTS
• ASIN: B0012GMWF2
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #56,442 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. No Man's Land

2. The Great Wall of China

3. Blonde Over Blue

4. A Minor Variation

5. Shades of Grey

6. All About Soul

7. Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)

8. The River of Dreams

9. Two Thousand Years

10. Famous Last Words

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Soundtrack for Midlife, July 3, 2009

By 

David Hardison "rackitycoon" (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: River of Dreams (Audio CD)

I just celebrated my 38th birthday, which may explain why I like this album so much. River of Dreams is a collection of retrospective, introspective songs. Shades of Grey sounds like a mature version of Angry Young Man. No Man's Land looks at what our consumer-driven society has brought about. The Great Wall of China is a lament of opportunities lost, while Lullabye is a hopeful vision of who were are. A wonderful, thoughtful mix.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Heartfelt Album, June 19, 2009

By 

Kate - See all my reviews

This review is from: River of Dreams (Audio CD)

This is one of my favorite Billy Joel Albums. It is full of depth and feeling, also of closure.I think each of his abums he has ever put out sets a theme and this one is no different.This is is a retrospective of his life at that time. Divorce to Christy and love for Alexa.A time of change, especially apparent in the last song. "Famous last words." The Lyrics are profound. This is a must for any one who likes Billy's music, for it is a true work of art

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars One of Billy's weakest albums, January 16, 2012

By 

J. Cohen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: River of Dreams (Audio CD)

It's hard to believe that the last studio album Billy Joel recorded was way far back in 1993. And it's kind of sad that this is the only studio album he's released in last two decades. Joel could do much better than this album, possibly the weakest one in his catalogue.

Still every pop album Joel ever released always had at least one great track or two on it, and this album was no exception. The title track, "River of Dreams" is a fantastic song: an interesting mix of gospel, soul, and doo wop. And it deservedly became Joel's last big hit.

But the rest of the album is pretty forgettable. There are no other songs here that come close to matching the high point of the title track and most of the songs sound forced and uninspired. A few are among the worst songs Joel ever wrote.

My vote for worst Billy Joel song ever is split between the nauseating "All About Soul," a ham-handed love song about his soon-to-be-ex wife Christie Brinkley , or "Blonde Over Blue," another song about Christie that tries to sound romantic but winds up sounding awkward and insincere. Both tracks are certainly a long ways away from the giddy love songs that Joel wrote for Christie on "An Innocent Man."

Also, Joel's songwriting craft seemed to have peaked in the early-to-mid 1980's, and by 1993, Joel was far from that peak. His previous two albums, "Storm Front" and "The Bridge," had been uneven at best. And unfortunately, "River of Dreams" was worse than either of those albums. Despite the insistence, in one of Joel's choruses, that "it's all about soul," his album was pretty soulless.