Billy Joel, "The Stranger"

Ken’s saving all his money for a Cadillac-ac-ac-ac

Ken’s Pitch:

It was hard to be a kid in the late ‘70’s and ‘80s without knowing every word to a bunch of Billy Joel’s hits.  It was even harder when you were a kid that spent 8 weeks every year at summer camp with a couple hundred other kids, about ⅓ of whom hailed from Westchester County and Long Island.

Of course, all that consumption of Billy Joel on the shores of New Hampshire’s Lake Winnipesaukee led me to discover an interesting phenomenon; not only is Joel not universally loved, he’s actually despised by a good portion of the population.  We had this guy that was a camp institution (he’d be on our camp’s Mt. Rushmore, if there were such a thing) that we referred to as “Doc” or “The Ol’ Doc” depending on how formal the occasion was.  I don’t know how it started, or if it was just a “bit” he was doing, but Doc HATED Billy Joel and he wasn’t shy about telling you about it.  It was cute, and it was a great running joke for years.

It wasn’t until I moved west to Arizona that I discovered how much company Doc had in his corner.  People outside of the Northeast generally had a great distaste for Billy Joel; they thought of him as a rich fraud that sang cheesy songs about things and places they hadn’t ever been and didn’t care about.  Okay, so that’s not wholly inaccurate.  Joel can be very cheesy, he does write about places in the Northeast, and he did spend years suppressing (some might even say hiding) his Jewish roots which is definitely a bit fraudulent.  The songs, however, are undeniably good and his 1977 album The Stranger, is his best.

The Stranger is more a collection of short stories than an album with a consistent theme.  It’s Joel’s piano playing and crystal clear vocals that is the glue that brings everything together, even while the stories go from love songs (“Just The Way You Are”) to working-class struggles (“Movin’ Out”), all the way to a beautiful mosaic (“Scenes From An Italian Restaurant”) about life in New York.

We can’t really discuss The Stranger without acknowledging its star-power.  There are 9 tracks on this album, and 6 of them are legitimate hits, including “Vienna” which I believe to be Joel’s best song, a lovely tale about slowing down your life and stopping to smell the roses.  

Between the beautiful melodies, the powerful lyrics, and some fantastic saxophone work, which I’m always biased towards, The Stranger is an auditory joy from beginning to end.

I don’t know if the arguments against Joel are warranted; is it that outside of the Northeast he’s unrelatable, or is it some sense of toxic masculinity that says (or used to say) that it’s just not cool to like a short, Jewish guy behind a piano?  Either way, there was a divide back then that I hope we’ve torn down here in the 21st century.  

I always liked the Ol’ Doc, and while he’s been gone for many years I will always remember him as a kind man that helped so many kids gain confidence and take pride in whatever it was that they chose to do.  But Doc, wherever you are...you were wrong about Billy Joel.  And I’ll gladly add The Stranger to the Newbury St. Collection.

---

---

Mitch’s Response:

Well, call me Ol’ Doc Brown, because just like Ken’s camp counselor I spent most of my life actively hating Billy Joel. In fact, one of the most heralded entries at my critically acclaimed blog was an essay entitled: “3 Rock & Rollers That Should Stop Rocking” (Elton John, Billy Joel & James Taylor, a.k.a. the Ken Warshaw pitch list). Please allow me to quote my adorably hilarious younger self:

Ironically, or perhaps not, the next contestant in our little game is Elton John’s touring partner Billy Joel. Now I will admit that I am unfairly biased against Billy Joel because he is the aural manifestation of Long Island. Having attended college in upstate New York, 90% of my classmates were Long Islanders and they loved two things: Long Island and Billy Joel. Now, I have nothing against Long Island (except for the clutter and the traffic) but I have nothing for it either. But Long Islanders act like Long Island is the South of France. It’s not. And years of living with people that possessed a ridiculously high opinion of Long Island (and Billy Joel) has caused me to hate Long Island (and Billy Joel.)

Unlike Elton, who reliably writes great ballads and shitty rockers, Billy is all over the map. He’s written some really good songs (e.g. “New York State of Mind”) and he’s written a ton of bad (but popular) songs. But nothing is quite as bad as his pathetic rockers. The stinkers include “Movin’ Out”, “Big Shot”, “Pressure”, “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” and “We Didn’t Start the Fire”. I’m suicidal just thinking about those songs. And why do weak-ass rockers always have to include the word “rock” in their song titles? I suspect that Billy doth protest too much.

In retrospect, perhaps I was the one who doth protested too much. Over the years I have come to realize that Billy Joel is just a mirror of our true selves - that what we hate about Billy Joel is really what we hate about ourselves. And what Billy Joel represents is a regular guy who isn’t comfortable in his own skin and had the bravery to write songs about his vulnerabilities. He was the nerdy little Jewish kid who tried to be a cool rocker but could never escape his true self. Over the years, as Billy became more comfortable in his skin, and as I became more comfortable in my own skin (oof, that’s way too much skin), I no longer had the need to hate Billy Joel - but I still hate this deeply schmaltzy album.

• Pitch Failed (but Liberty DeVito is a killer drummer)

---

CJ’s Response:

“Dad, what’s a real estate novelist?”

That’s the question my kids always asked me anytime Billy Joel’s titular song “Piano Man” popped up on our playlist. Joel fans will no doubt remember that the real estate novelist is Paul, who never had time for a wife on account of all the refinancing-based fiction he was penning.

I think this is the fundamental problem I’ve always had with Lon-Gyland’s favorite son. When you strip away the pretty music, his lyrics often go from profound and insightful to banal and ridiculous. The Stranger is Billy Joel at his lyrical best and worst.

First, the best. “Only The Good Die Young” is a long-time favorite. Deconstructing the religious reasons a young woman may have for not sleeping with you is not only a clever game plan, but it also makes for an excellent sing-along party song. 

I can’t say anything bad about “Just The Way You Are” because it was our wedding song. (I’ve mentioned that I’m a basic white guy, right?) 

And “She’s Always A Woman” is that magic intersection of smart lyrics and silky smooth music.

Now for the worst. “Movin’ Out” sounds like the rejected theme song for a ‘70s sitcom. In one verse, Billy acts like he’s telling the company softball team where to meet for drinks after the game.

“Let’s go to Mr. Cacciatore’s.”

“The one on Bleeker?”

“No, the one on Sullivan Street, across from the Medical Center.”

“Solid. See ya there.”

Yeesh.

And what the hell is happening on “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant”?

Things are okay with me these days

Got a good job, got a good office

Got a new wife, got a new life

And the family is fine

It reads like the second-worst Facebook post ever, right behind “Anybody gonna be in DC on January 6th?”

Silly lyrics notwithstanding, my biggest issue with The Stranger is that it doesn’t take any chances. Everything is safe, familiar and uncomplicated. That’s just not rock ‘n’ roll to me.

In the Newbury St. Collection, you’ll find artists who took big swings. Billy Joel is the Wade Boggs of the music world. He hit for average, not for power. And average don’t cut it on Newbury St.

• Pitch Failed (I think Brenda and Eddie just got their own reality show.)

---

Ken’s pitch was not successful and Billy Joel’s The Stranger has been exiled back to the Hamptons!

---

We didn’t start the fire, but we’d sure appreciate some honesty in the comments section about Billy Joel and The Stranger. Do you want to tell her about it or is it goodnight, Saigon?

---

Please join us next week as CJ finally pulls us out of the ‘70s and pitches a tasty treat from the alt-rock era, Cake’s Fashion Nugget.

---

The Exile on Newbury St. Spotify playlist features our favorite songs from all the albums we’ve discussed to date. Subscribe today and listen back on the fun we’ve had so far.

---

Exile on Newbury St. is a weekly newsletter competition between some old friends to see who has the best taste in music. Learn more about us and the rules of the game.