Okay, so the other day, I was digging through my old CDs – yeah, I still have those – and I stumbled upon a bunch of Billy Joel stuff. It got me thinking, “Which albums really stand out?” So, I decided to make a day of it, revisiting all his classics and jotting down my thoughts.
Started the morning with some coffee and The Stranger from 1977. Man, this one’s a gem. It’s no wonder everyone says it’s his best. It’s got everything – great tunes, awesome piano work, and it just feels so complete. I listened to it front to back, and honestly, it deserves all the praise it gets. It even hit Diamond status in the US, which is insane! Ten times Platinum – that’s a lot of records.
Then I moved on to his Greatest Hits collection. Now, this was released in two sets, and I have the first one, Volume I and Volume II, from way back in 1985. It was a nice trip down memory lane, playing all those familiar hits. Felt like flipping through an old photo album, you know? Each song brought back a different memory.
- Spent the afternoon diving deep into his other albums.
- Realized how much music he’s actually put out over the years. It’s pretty impressive.
- Made notes on which songs still hit me the hardest.
By the evening, I had a pretty solid list going. The Stranger, of course, was at the top. No surprise there. It’s like comparing it to The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s, which everyone says is one of the most important rock ‘n’ roll albums ever. Or even The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, which supposedly influenced Sgt. Pepper. The Stranger is right up there in terms of impact and quality, I’d say.
It was a fun day, blasting Billy Joel and really thinking about his work. It also got me browsing online, looking for more CDs to add to my collection. Sometimes it’s good to just unplug and enjoy the music, right?
