The Cold Spring Harbor Problem

For the next couple of weekly entries, I will be discussing my opinion on each of Billy Joel's albums.

The Cold Spring Harbor Problem:
This is an album that probably could have been way better, if it was originally produced correctly. Why, however, do the songs on this album get overlooked so much? I'm not saying that each song on here is the greatest thing ever written or that they are some kind of masterpieces, but there are a lot of hidden gems on this album. For example, just listen to "Tomorrow is Today." I often think that this is one of the most overlooked Billy Joel songs. Even with the messed up production, you can hear and tell how great the vocals are. Especially when he sings the section that begins with, "Oh my going to the river." For me, his voice just sounds and feels so powerful here. I would love to hear this song remade today. I think that his voice now would be perfect for this song.

Another often missed song on this album is "Nocturne." Now, I know that this song is just an instrumental piece, however, it just feels so emotional and powerful. It is just so beautiful. For me, I can really wrap my emotions in this piece.

The song "Got to Begin Again" is just another fabulous song off of this album. I really just love the lyrics to this one. The vocals could be a little bit better, but I will attribute that to the poor originally quality.

One of the songs on this album, though, that is not exactly up to par is "You Look So Good to Me." At one time, I kind of actually enjoyed this song. The main problem that I have with this song is the fact that the music sounds so dopey, almost as if helium were put into the music. I also find the lyrics to be a little bit on the lame side. The thing that does save this song, is when Billy Joel's vocals start to shine through. In some spots, you can here the greatness that was exhibited in "Tomorrow is Today." However, there are only a few instances of this. Other spots sound chip-monk or helium like.

The track "Everybody Loves You Now," is one of the tracks on this album that does not have a lot wrong with it. It does not seem to be as effected by the production mess up as other songs. The only thing that this song could really use, is a little more kick to the music. It sometimes feels like it is lacking power. Otherwise, this is a good song.

What exactly is the problem with Cold Spring Harbor? If you look closely at all of the songs, you can find greatness in each of them. The last three songs on this album are probably the best all around.

Respones to Ron Rosenbaum's blog

I recently read a blog by Ron Rosenbaum that stated that Billy Joel was the worst pop-singer ever. Now, I find this a bit harsh. Of course I have a bit of a biased opinion, since I am a Billy Joel fan; however, this is still an uncalled for classification. Even if I was not the big fan that I am, I would find this article to be uncalled for. Billy Joel is a popular, successful, and talented musician and does not need me, one blogger, to defend him or his music; however, I feel the need to because the article itself does not even present a valid argument for the dubbing of Billy Joel as the worst pop singer ever. It tries to make a point by picking on certain songs, but the points really have no substance to them whatsoever. In my opinion, it seems as though this writer just has it out for him and his songs. There are way worse songs out there, when you think about it. Billy Joel's lyrics are not nonsense. When you think of some of the lyrics out there today, his are like pure poetry. I just heard a new song on the radio the other, I won't name the band, however, the lyrics made no sense at all. I don't even think that it was grammatically correct. Now, I know not everyone has perfect grammar, but this was just made no sense at all. The vocals were good, though, at least. When you listen to a Billy Joel song, you can relate to the lyrics. They come out like a story and make sense. Okay, there are a couple of expecptions where this does not hold true, but for the most part, his songs make sense. When I think of what the worst pop singer would be like, disliking a singer's songs does not make them the worst. It is just a difference in preference. Each person has their own perception of talent. There are some artists out there that I do not like, for some reason or another. However, I would not go as far to say that they are the worst singer ever. What would cause an singer to be able to be named "the worst pop-singer ever"? I don't think there is such a thing yet. Each artist out there has something at least positive thing about them.

First post

Hmm...I really do not know where to start for writing this blog. There is nothing that seems to fit as a good first post topic and I have never "blogged" before. I guess I'll stay true to the title of this blog and do some rambling. I have been a Billy Joel fan for basically all of my life. I am pretty sure that he is the first artist that I was actually aware of. I don't remember ever really thinking about specific musicians, until I heard his music. Next month (February), marks the month that I first discovered his music. I remember that day very well. As soon as I heard his music, it was basically love at first sound. Since then, I have collected all of his CDs and know all of his songs. I don't think a day goes by where I don't listen to one of his songs. I really do not know what direction this blog will go. Maybe it will start with some album discussion. I do not have any exact plans or agenda. The only thing I know is that it will involve Billy Joel lol. There might possibly be discussion of other artists or of news stories that I deem interesting. Anyways, so long for to the next post. Hopefully tomorrow or maybe the next day.