The Stranger - Billy Joel (1977)

Ideated from: I heard Billy Joel on the radio and thought, “why haven’t I written up Billy Joel yet?”

Edit: adding the “three months in 77” tag

Billy Joel is easy to dismiss because you know dozens of his songs and hear them at the grocery store or the mechanic’s waiting room or whatever. But some people get that level of recognition because of their celebrity or the force of their personality or because they showed up on TV at the right moment. Billy Joel just writes great tunes, and the fame he’s achieved is because you can dismiss him, but you’ll always find a lot to enjoy in his music in spite of yourself.

By my count, 5 of the 9 tracks here are those “grocery store songs” that are just part of the background sounds of American life. They’re maybe not individually amazing songs, but the consistency and diversity of approach is remarkable. He’s no Stevie Wonder or Bruce Springsteen, but there’s a reason he’s such a big part of the popular music world.

Tracks I Liked

The Stranger - kind of a deep cut compared to the big hits here, but it’s one of his brainiest songs