Billy Joel: 52nd Street (1978)

I've been down this road before. An artist or group releases an exceptional album, e.g. Pink Floyd "The Dark Side of the Moon", Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman "Bat out of Hell", Alanis Morissette "Jagged Little Pill", and then they have to produce the follow-up. "The Dark Side of the Moon" yielded "Wish You Were Here" which is my personal favourite Pink Floyd album, Meat and Jim produced "Dead Ringer" after Meat Loaf lost his singing voice and Jim recorded the original follow-up "Bad for Good" as his own album, and for Alanis it was 1998's "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie".

For Billy Joel, he had just struck it big with "The Stranger" after five years, writing and performing both in the studio and on tour, having released: "Cold Spring Harbor" (1971), "Piano Man" (1973), "Streetlife Serenade" (1974) and "Turnstiles" (1976). Singles from "The Stranger" included "Movin' out (Anthony's Song)", "Just the Way You Are", the title song, "Only the Good Die Young", and "She's Always a Woman". That was half of the album. "Just the Way You Are" had given Billy the Song of the Year Award at the Grammys, while the album itself got Record of the Year. No tall order then trying to follow this up. Oh no, none at all.

The album that appeared on 11 October 1978 on Columbia Records, just over a year since the release of "The Stranger", was called "52nd Street". It gave Billy another sensational success.

Why was this you think? Well, it's a very strong album to begin with. I can’t think of a weak moment on it. Even "The Stranger", for me, had "Get it Right the First Time". Many of these songs became well known singles like "Big Shot", "Honesty" and "My Life", which were also given music videos, the first time I believe Billy had ever really done that. I watched them growing up on a greatest hits VHS. From memory, I thought they were all effective.

Crucially for me though, it's because Billy was always trying to make his albums different. I've mentioned this before and it's important. "52nd Street" wasn't supposed to be "The Stranger Part 2" just like "The Stranger" wasn't supposed to be a continuation of "Turnstiles". The albums had different themes. "Streetlife Serenade" was Los Angeles, "The Great Suburban Showdown". "Turnstiles" was Billy returning to New York. "The Stranger" was like a rock album with great narrative songs. "52nd Street" had an infusion of jazz, because after all 52nd Street in New York was a place of jazz.

In short, there was nothing on "The Stranger", to my ears at least, that was like "Zanzibar" on "52nd Street".

Of course, we can't forget the band and the collaboration with producer Phil Ramone. They had all been part of the big success before, and now they were back together again making a new record in the studio.

Whatever happened, really, "52nd Street" gave them a second hit. It topped the US Billboard 200 albums chart, reaching 1 in Australia and Canada, and the Top 10 albums in the UK. Singles included "My Life", "Big Shot" and "Honesty", all of which reached the US Top 40, and "Until the Night". The album has sold something to the effect of 7 million copies since 1978. Historically, it was Billy's first LP to be issued on CD in 1982. It also won two 1980 Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance-Male, having also been nominated for Song of the Year on "Honesty" (thanks again, Wiki). So, really not bad!

Let's have a look at the songs.

"Big Shot" --- we get off to a monster of a start with this one. I have always loved the bouncy beat, and then you've got lines like "The Dom Perignon in your hand and the spoon up your nose". Just wow!

"Honesty" --- one of the best ballads Billy has produced in a long and successful career of masterful ballad writing. I wonder what he would have made of this song back in 1971 when he was putting together "Cold Spring Harbor".

"My Life" --- this is the song from this album that I instantly recognize, the one which I've heard the most. Again, this can be a little overly familiar but that's nothing against it. I can't really imagine a 70s pop/rock scene without "My Life" in it.

"Zanzibar" --- this album gets more and more colourful as it goes along. This is one of my favourite songs on here, on an album where most everything is a favourite. The little jazz break in the middle is just simply superb.

"Stiletto" --- I had heard the intro as a kid on the music video for "My Life", and imagine how I felt as the rock band suddenly repeated that opening theme, full blast, in the instrumental. It was extraordinary. This is another one of my favourites. It is sheer awesome.

"Rosalinda's Eyes" --- the beat alone sticks in my mind, especially when everything just fades away behind it at the end. Billy had written this I believe because he thought it should have been the song his father wrote for his mother. I can hear that here and it just adds more to my appreciation.

"Half a Mile Away" --- I would have released this as a single too! It would also be a great one to hear live! This album is just not letting up in its greatness here.

"Until the Night" --- Billy was trying to write a song that would feel like the Righteous Brothers. In that sense, it sort of feels like it could have been a song from "An Innocent Man". This is sort of related to that for me. The title song from "Innocent Man" also reminds me of this. This should have been bigger than it was.

"52nd Street" --- we end on this little jam, which is probably just the trick we needed right at this point. And that brings us to the finish.

I cannot fault a single thing about this album. I am only realizing this now, after all the years listening to it. When you look at it that way, you can see why it worked so well. So there you have it. Coming up next: "Glass Houses"!

Thank you for reading,

Ryan.