900. Billy Joel / Piano Man. 1973. 3.5/5

After some tough personal issues, having his first album mixed incorrectly and thus terminating his relationship with that company and finding his way onto a major label, the release of Piano Man gave Billy Joel an international profile that may well have exceeded his expectations. It certainly gave him a chance to show that apart from his song writing he was able to incorporate much more into his music than just lyrics and piano.

The album immediately comes across as far more upbeat both lyrically and musically. "Travelin' Prayer" reminds me of that old favourite "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", with the obvious reason being the violin fiddling away at a furious pace at different sections of the song. Add to this the honky tonk piano and the banjo and the similarities in style are complete.
"Piano Man" is the obvious gold nugget of the album, the song that has defined the artist and his career. Based around his own experiences of playing at a bar over those early years, the almost autobiographical song is known by people of all ages all over the world, and is the one song everyone can identify with Billy Joel. It still sounds as marvellously fresh and vital as it must have done on its release.
"Ain't No Crime" is a good follow up, no doubt drawing on personal experiences to put together the lyrics. "You're My Home" was written by Billy as a gift for his wife on Valentine's Day, as he had no money at the time to buy her anything. It must be nice to be able to be talented enough to do such a thing.
"The Ballad of Billy the Kid" is lyrically, in Billy's own words, factually inaccurate, with many lines within the song having no part of the actual life of Billy the Kid. Despite this revelation, the song itself sounds great and is another sing-along hit. "Worse Comes to Worst" combines variations of themes such as country, rock and gospel in a mix that strangely works, mainly through Billy's heartfelt vocals and marvellous piano playing.
"Stop in Nevada", "If I Only Had the Words (To Tell You)" and "Somewhere Along the Line" all feel a bit monosyllabic in regards to the music, if not the song lyrics themselves. "If I Only Had the Words (To Tell You)" is the best of the three songs.
"Captain Jack" was the song that is credited with Columbia records wanting to and eventually signing Billy Joel to a record deal. On tour before this album was even thought of, Billy and his band played this at a live performance for a radio station, who then played that live version of this song for the next 12 months, not only gaining popularity from its listeners but gaining interest from record companies. It has been a favourite ever since, and one that I've always enjoyed because of the move from sublime to the raucous rendition of the chorus throughout. As a closing song, it is instrumental in wanting you to play the whole album over again because of the enjoyment you get from this finishing melody.

While the overall songs here are another step in the direction that Billy Joel eventually found as his middle ground, I would not class this as a better album overall than Cold Spring Harbor. The two standout songs aside, there is not much difference in the quality and enjoyment of the songs here and from his first album. And that is not meant in a negative way because they are all enjoyable and have wonderful musicianship, but there was better yet to come.

Rating:  "Sing us a song, you're the piano man".   3.5/5