Customer Reviews

Songs in the Attic

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Truly great live albums are as rare as hen's teeth when scrutinised closely, but this 1981 live recording from Billy Joel could very well be the greatest of them all.

Why? Well, the hardest task in producing a live album is to give it a character of it's own, unique from the albums from which it's songs are derived. It's a great challenge for a live album to hold it's own in the face of better production in the studio, and to give it 'authenticity' when so many of the live elements are doctored with later production. 'Songs in the Attic' packs a punch that it's studio sources cannot match. The reasons for this are owing to four elements:

i) Joel and Producer Phil Ramone went for Joel's 'undiscovered' tracks - the songs that predated BJ's ascendency to fame with the massive success of 'The Stranger' in 1977. By eschewing the last 5 years of hits, the 'Songs in the Attic' album captured fresh and definitive versions of reasonably unheard tracks. Most importantly, these were genuinely great compositions that deserved to be reassessed in the wake of Joel's newfound fame.

ii) These were the first versions of these songs to feature Joel's live band. Ramone knew that Joel's band had the character and passion to belt out better versions of these tracks than the more insipid original studio recordings. It's a rare claim, but I can say without any concessions that these are perfect live performances from the musicians; particularly by De Vito's pounding, atmospheric drumming and Richie Cannata's brilliant multi-instrumental work. There are no better versions of any of these songs on any other live or studio album. 'Captain Jack', 'Miami 2017' and 'I've loved these days' send chills up your spine, and there is NO filler on this record.

iii) So often futzed on live albums, Ramone's production work and mixing here is astonishingly perfect. He wouldn't have done better in a studio. In fact, Ramone's taste for an overly-clean studio sound was nicely tempered by the grit of the live environment. Unwittingly, it might have actually added a dimension to his production style. The decision to capture some tracks in a stadium setting and others in an intimate club works superbly as a production motif.

iv) Billy Joel is caught here at the absolute peak of his powers, both as a singer and instrumentalist. He's completely 'in touch' with the meaning of these songs and the passion is so overt, it can't help but grab you. Anyone intrigued by what has driven Joel's illustrious career should start with this album. It's where he tells all of his old secrets.

This album is so utterly unique it almost deserves to be compared more with his studio output than his other live albums. There are no hits here (excepting perhaps 'Say Goodbye to Hollywood') but every track is magnificent. If you want a live version of his hits, go for the fantastic new release '12 Gardens' (2006). Whilst being a terrific showcase for Joel's hits, it's not quite the equal of the transcendent, perfect live experience of 1981's 'Songs in the Attic' which is unlikely to be equalled by any artist soon.

Even if you are a casual Billy Joel fan you should love this album. This is the best live album I have heard. It has the feel of actually being there, the energy fills the room, but it doesn't have the scratchy or drowned out sound that so many live albums have. I listened to this even before it was digitally remastered and it was excellent then. What makes this recording so special is that you hear a lot of Joel songs that aren't played on the radio, and frankly I am too young to know if they ever were played back in the 70s & 80s. These songs are really good too, it gives you a further appreciation for Joel's talent and songwriting ability. Too often you get a best of or live album from a performer and the only tolerable songs are the ones you were already familiar with. Not so here. Buy it now!

Billy Joel recorded a fair number of studio albums before breaking through to the big time with 1977's "The Stranger." Credit him for taking a chance and recording the live album "Songs in the Attic" rather than merely issuing a restrospective of his early career. Some of these version are actually superior to the original studio versions, most notably the teenage ... anthem "Captain Jack" and the self-referential "The Ballad of Billy the Kid." But even when not a substantial improvement, like with "Say Goodbye to Hollywood," or the ballad "You're My Home," they don't lose anything. Credit Joel also for NOT including his one pre-stardom hit "Piano Man," the definitive version of which he had already recorded.

Overall, a solid live album from Joel that neatly sums up his pre-stardom career.

By the time 1981 rolled around, Billy Joel had established himself as a legitimate superstar. Billy would have seven studio albums under his belt but had yet to make a live album. Billy Joel's 1981 release "Songs in the Attic" would be a live album with a different spin. The main purpose of this album was: 1) To provide a live collection of Billy Joel songs; 2) To focus around "Old Billy Joel" songs from early in his career - songs that had almost been forgotten about - or not heard much by the average fan. As a result, Billy provides a "live" album with a different spin when you compare it to many other live releases. Overall Billy succeeds in providing this spin while providing a very good album.

I look at Billy Joel's career as having three phases. The first phase is what I call "Old Billy Joel". This basically includes all of his material from "Cold Spring Harbor" through "Turnstiles". These are perhaps the strongest days as the piano sound, but they also contain most of Joel's least heard material. The next phase is what I call "Middle Billy Joel". This was his most successful period and covers from "The Stranger" to "Billy Joel Greatest Hits Volume 1 and 2". Joel would go through a transition during this phase - expanding his musical horizons and exploring different avenues. The final phase is the "Later Billy Joel" phase - this covers "The Bridge" to "River of Dreams". In this phase, Billy would start to incorporate some of his older styles of music while not abandoning his desire to continue to explore new avenues. While "Songs in the Attic" was released in the "Middle Billy Joel" (Phase 2) period, all of the music comes from "Old Billy Joel" (Phase 1).

"Songs in the Attic" provides 11 tracks from the "Old Billy Joel" phase. The songs are distributed from the four albums from this period: "Cold Spring Harbor" ("She's Got a Way", "Everybody Loves You Now"); "Piano Man" ("You're My Home", "The Battle of Billy the Kid", "Captain Jack"); "Streetlife Serenade" ("Streetlife Serenader", "Los Angelenos"); "Turnstiles" ("Say Goodbye to Hollywood", "Summer, Highland Falls", "I've Loved These Days", "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)". While this collection does contain some well-known songs such as "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" and "Captain Jack", I give credit for Billy Joel for going out on a limb an stay away from the more commercially known hits. In the liner notes, Billy does explain that he looked to include songs that had a lot of passion when played live. Many of the old songs translated into some very passionate performances. He explains that "Piano Man" wasn't included because it sounds similar live as it does on the studio version. Once again, Billy succeeds at including a collection of songs that display passion. Ath the same time, I would have liked to have seen more than two songs from both "Cold Spring Harbor" and "Streetlife Serenade".

When I review a live album, I usually prefer the album to basically be a full recording of a concert. In other words, I prefer the tracks come a single night's performance and be arranged in the order that they were played in concert. I normally am not one for edited concerts or live compilations. However, as far "Songs in the Attic" goes, I feel I have to bend my rule. Billy Joel's intent wasn't to release a live album, but to bring visibility to the passion and the energy generated from those older songs. While I still would have liked to seen all of these songs from a single performance, this might have been a very difficult thing to accomplish.

There are no poor performances on this collection, however there are going to be some tracks that stand out above some of the others. I was very surprised that it was "She's Got a Way" was the single that garnered the most attention. While it's a nice song, I would definitely categorize it as one of the album's weaker tracks. Perhaps one of the best songs is "Los Angelenos". This is often a forgotten song when looking at the Billy Joel music portfolio. While we think of Billy as a "New York Kind of Guy", Billy did spend some of the early years of his career in California. Billy delivers an outstanding passion and energy of this song - complete with good use of Synthesizers. When it comes to forgotten tunes, many forget about some of the outstanding tracks on Billy's debut "Cold Spring Harbor". One standout song on "Cold Spring Harbor" is "Everybody Loves You Now". When you listen to the live version included on "Songs in the Attic", you will hear an even better version of this track. Finally, the live version of "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" is another Billy tune that gets forgotten about. This version will eclipse the version that was found on "Turnstiles" - and once again succeeds in delivering the passion that was a goal Billy had set forward when making this collection.

The enhanced version of this collection includes video versions of three of the songs on this collection: "Say Goodbye to Hollywood", "Los Angelenos", and "You're My Home". These videos aren't going to be the best in terms of quality, but they may still satisfy the Billy Joel fan. The liner notes for "Songs in the Attic" are outstanding - especially for a live collection. There are two write-ups - one by producer Phil Ramone and one by Billy himself. Also included in the liner notes are lyrics - something very unusual for a live and/or compilation album. Overall, this is a very good live collection. Not only will this satisfy the serious Billy Joel fan, but someone who has a casual interest will want to check this out as well. Highly recommended.

Songs in the Attic is a wonderful glimpse at a performer at his peak. Coming off of the huge commercial success of Glass Houses and 52nd Street, Billy changes gears completely. Instead of releasing a live album that recycles his more recent hits, he dusts off some of his earlier work and presents it to us in a live setting.

You can see in these performances the brilliance and passion of an artist who is completely committed to his material. Whether it be the intimacy of "You're My Home" performed in a small club or the intensity of "Captain Jack" in a large arena, each performance seems perfectly set in the appropriate venue.

Billy Joel is at his absolute best here. I particularly recommend "Songs" to the fan who has only seen Billy in his more mundane concerts of the last few years, often paired with Elton John. This album shows you a performer at his creative peak.

Songs In The Attic is a very unique live album...a collection of his early songs that were recorded on tour during 1980 in some very diverse settings.

Classic epic songs Miami 2017 and The Ballad of Billy The Kid were recorded in New York's Madison Square Garden and more warmer songs You're My Home, Everybody Loves You Now and Summer Highland Falls were recorded in the intimate setting of the club Bayou in Washington D.C. He captured the perfect ambience for this diverse collection of his early songs. The insightful and humorous liner notes about the songs and his touring crew are a nice addition to this delightful revival of Billy Joel's early and previously infrequent heard songs.

Billy and his stellar backing band really bring these songs new life and establishes this new "live" collection of older songs as an essential Billy Joel album.

Pre 1981, these songs may have been in the proverbial attic. They soon became some of Billy's most popular tunes. Like other reviewers here, I am not one who enjoys live recordings. They tend to lack depth, and I just get annoyed with the volume control on audience cheers - intense solo: make the crowd cheer...now! Bands always record audience noise for obvious reasons as it's a whole part of the live feel.

This crowd cheering that occurs on Captain Jack is the most humorous, and I almost feel like it *wasn't* mixed, too much anyways. Joel begins playing a fabulous piano intro and the crowd gets louder when it thinks it recognizes the song, and then quickly dies down...the piano solo keeps going, building up, and then he breaks out into Captain Jack. The crowd goes wild! The crowd also goes wild after "...and you just sit at home and m---..." and also after "smoke your pot."

There are at least five (!) sound engineers who worked on Billy's concerts during these years, and they did an exemplary job of capturing the music and the crowds...and it shows. The mixing (re-mixing done by Phil Ramone, et al.) between tracks in the small venue and the large arenas is so well done, you feel as if 1) the entire album is done in one show, or 2) the crowd magically dissipates or recrudesces without being annoying. It's very well done.

To the people who think The Ballad of Billy the Kid is self-reflexive, the answer is actually a Billy who tends bars in Oyster Bay. Don't believe me? Read the extremely interesting liner notes that Mr. Joel wrote himself for each song. I have never seen *any* musician take the time out to do this. He also writes a small paragraph for each of his 21 crew members. As if that's not enough, there is a short essay on why Billy recorded this, and a picture of Billy when he was probably 14 years old. There is also a lengthy note from Mr. Ramone himself, plus lyrics.

The album cover is classic, with the piano man throwing light on an old dusty piano, designed by Paula Scher who became somewhat of a visual arts celebrity herself in the 1990s. You can buy her book "Make It Bigger" online.

Considering I don't even have the remastered version of this album (I'm sure that one has more goodies), this album sure packs a punch!

To conclude in Billy's own words: "...invite your cranky neighbors over and play this record as loud as you can."

The liner notes say it, everyone repeats it, and it's true: This is a CD to be played LOUDLY. The difference between these live recordings of Joel's early work and the studio recordings of those pieces is amazing. As soon as the band smashes its way in on "Miami 2017," you're on a roller-coaster ride that just doesn't stop. Initially, I was a little skeptical about the idea of choosing audience sizes to match the songs, but it works perfectly here, proving that Joel knew exactly what effect he was trying to create with each of these pieces. This album's brilliance lies in the way it redefines songs I passed right over before. "Los Angelenos," for example, is fairly mellow on "Streetlife Serenade"; here it's a funky, energetic rocker. Similarly, I never cared much for "Captain Jack," but this live performance transforms it into a 7-minute epic of guitars and drums and Billy Joel playing the piano so hard he (allegedly) breaks strings. In addition, we get such fare as "You're My Home" and "Everybody Loves You Now," both of which are gems that could easily have gone unnoticed otherwise. The adrenaline running through the crowds on each of these performances gives these songs the hard-rocking quality Billy Joel always wanted them to have, as opposed to the somewhat oversentimentalized feel some of them had on his other albums. This is a CD you'll listen to again and again, and it'll pump you up every time. For all those people who thought Billy Joel was only about soft-rock ballads: think again.

I can't even begin to imagine how many times I've listened to this CD. Every single song is worthwhile. My favorites are "You're My Home" (one of the best love songs ever), "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" (the live version is a thousand times better than the original from Turnstiles), and "I've Loved These Days" (the lyrics bring to mind my senior year of college). If I'm alone in the house, I always find myself singing along. This album is GUARANTEED to put you in a great mood. There simply is nothing better!

I'm not kidding. I think this is probably the best live CD I own. I had no idea what I was getting into when I bought this, and did so on somewhat of a whim. The entire CD is incredible, not a weak track on there. The sound quality is astounding, the shows were recorded so well you often forget you are listening to a live performance (and the remastering sounds good too). But really its Billy and the band that make the album what it is, and this disc contains versions of Billy's songs that have never sounded better. Yes, I would say all the songs on this CD are far superior to their original album versions (which were excellent to begin with), especially tracks like Ballad Of Billy The Kid and Miami 2017. Do yourself a favor and get this CD, its only 9.99 and you won't be disappointed. Oh and listen to it LOUD. On a good system. Then pick your jaw up off the floor.