Billy Joel: Storm Front (1989)

By 1989, Billy Joel had released ten studio albums: "Cold Spring Harbor", "Piano Man", "Streetlife Serenade", "Turnstiles", "The Stranger", "52nd Street", "Glass Houses", "The Nylon Curtain", "An Innocent Man" and "The Bridge", in addition to "Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II" and the two live albums "Songs in the Attic" and "Концерт".

On 17 October 1989, "Storm Front" was released on Columbia Records marking a sea change in Billy's career. All of the albums from "The Stranger" onward had been produced by Phil Ramone. All of the albums had contained the work of Billy's band members who had recorded and toured with him since the days of "Turnstiles" and "The Stranger".

The new album would be co-produced by Billy himself with Mick Jones, best known as one of the members of the group Foreigner. Instead of rhythm guitarist Russell Javors, Joey Hunting was brought in for the album while Tommy Byrnes played on tour. The new bassist was Schuyler Deane, while drummer Liberty DeVitto had been retained along with David Brown on guitar and multi-instrumentalist Mark Rivera who did not appear to play on the album. Meanwhile vocalist and percussionist Crystal Taliefero joined the band too. Thank you again, Uncle Wiki.

Would the changes work? Would it be something that Billy would go on to regret in some way? I can't answer that last question and I can only imagine what it would have been like for everyone involved, but what I do know is that from listening to this album, although I'd never really heard all of it (from what I remember) until last year, it works for me. It was different but successful.

Chart wise, "Storm Front" manages Number 1 on the US Billboard 200, 5 in the UK, 1 in Australia and 9 in New Zealand, and as low as 33 on the Finnish album charts.

Singles wise, there were a whopping seven, reminders of "An Innocent Man" in 1983 which too had a lot of singles. "We Didn't Start the Fire" got to Number 1 on the Billboard 200, while hitting 7 in the UK and 1 in Australia. It's no wonder that I remember hearing this song on the radio probably two years after it came out. The next single "I Go to Extremes" rose to 6 on the Billboard 200, 4 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart and 10 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart.

Other singles such as "Leningrad", "The Downeaster 'Alexa'", "That's Not Her Style", "And So It Goes" and "Shameless", later recorded by Garth Brooks in 1991, were also released to varying degrees of success in countries around the world.

"We Didn't Start the Fire" scored Billy three Grammy Award nominations for Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male. The album itself was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male and Producer of the Year (Non-Classical).

All of this aside, and just listening to the album without any preconceptions or grasp of what happened behind the scenes during the making of it and the contributions many people have brought to Billy's arrangements over the years, I'm a fan. And I'll tell you something: the more I listen, the more I appreciate and enjoy.

Let's take a look at the songs.

"That's Not Her Style" --- just listening to this after "The Bridge" and "An Innocent Man", you can tell already that there's been a shift in the sound. It's rockier than before. I really get into it.

"We Didn't Start the Fire" --- this was never an easy song for Billy to sing. Try it yourself sometime, if you haven't already. If you make a mistake with the verses, the whole thing derails. I wonder what an updated version would be like, of all the things that have happened since 1989. Isn't there some writer out there at least who could pull it off and make us think it was actually real? I'm just curious, that's all.

"The Downeaster 'Alexa'" --- yes, absolutely, this is one of the best post-"An Innocent Man" songs that I've heard from Billy. I think it's magnificent.

"I Go to Extreme" --- this is one you can relate to as well if you have mental health issues. I think that was the place these lyrics were coming from. This one is great too.

"Shameless" --- the one Garth Brooks covered in 1991, which I've never actually heard. I'm sure it's decent. I've just never heard it. This wasn't one of my favourites but it grows on me. I can see why someone would want to record this. I wish they'd record more of Billy's songs.

"Storm Front" --- hands down, this is one of the highlights from this album, plus as a lyricist myself I love the way Billy manages to use a word like "cumulonimbus". This is just terrific.

"Leningrad" --- Billy wrote this inspired by a clown he met who entertained his daughter while he was touring the Soviet Union. It is a beautiful, moving piece.

"State of Grace" --- this is a relatively recent discovery for me and all I can say at this point is better late than never, because I just love this one. If I had my way, it would have been a hit from this album. It wasn't even released as a single which, personally, beggars belief.

"When in Rome" --- the only song on this album I haven't really grasped so far. It sounds fun, but it doesn't grab me the way the others have, but I guess it needs to be here, after "Downeaster 'Alexa'" and other songs.

"And So in Rome" --- Billy had written and recorded a demo of this around the time of "An Innocent Man", but he didn't include it because it didn't fit the theme of the album. Finally, it's come home and I love the way this ends things. If Billy hadn't made "River of Dreams" four years later, this would have been quite haunting. I can't express how much I love this song.

So we come to the end of the "Storm Front". What will the future hold for Billy? It was probably not what a lot of people had been expecting at this point, probably not what some people had been able to accept, but what a wonderful collection of songs he'd managed to put together.

Thank you for reading,

Ryan.