909. Billy Joel / The Bridge. 1986. 3.5/5

After the longest break between albums in his career - straddled only by the release of Greatest Hits: Volume I & Volume II - The Bridge brings yet another marked change in the genre and synopsis of Billy Joel's music. While his previous album An Innocent Man channelled the past in his writing, The Bridge goes for a more modern sound, incorporating the synth pop that proliferated the decade of the 1980's into his own unique brand of music to produce an album of varying degrees.

Would you like to know a secret? Thirty years ago, as much as I really loved An Innocent Man, I was really disappointed with what Billy had given us on this album. Go figure, huh? To be honest though, by the time this was released I was listening almost totally to heavy metal music, and albums like this did get short shrift at the time. There was recognition of some songs, but overall I was nonplussed by its contents. Once again though, as the years have passed and I have rediscovered albums such as this and recovered my equilibrium in regards to all genres of music, I can appreciate it much better than in years past.
The good songs here outweigh the average, and the 'current' sound they have compared to the predecessor album makes it more accessible in this way. "Running on Ice" sets up the album nicely, clipping along at a zippy pace that brings immediate enthusiasm to the album. This is followed by the slower, more reflective yet catchy "This is the Time", where Billy's emotive vocals make the best of the song. "A Matter of Trust" and "Modern Woman" were both big singles off this album, and as such they do tend to dominate the first half of the track list. "Modern Woman" is the epitome of an 80's single for Billy Joel, it has that keyboard that makes itself known through the track, and with its lively vibe it is rooted to the decade in which it was written.
"Baby Grand" is a duet performed with Ray Charles, and indeed could well be mistaken for a Ray Charles song. "Big Man On Mulberry Street" is a big number jazz track with horns and all, making it a performance piece that certainly seems grander than the other songs played on the album. "Temptation" brings the mood back, Billy crooning over his piano in a style he did more often in his middle-albums career.
"Code of Silence" was co-written with Cyndi Lauper, who also contributed vocals to the track. It actually comes across really well. It's nice to hear the urgency in Billy's vocals throughout, and Cyndi's co-operative backing vocals add to the song as well. This is probably my favourite song on the album. The closing track "Getting Closer" does enough to make this an excellent collection of similarly good songs.

I'm not sure what I would have given this all those years ago when it was released. Probably no more than a two. It was a different era for me, and a different time of my life. In the years since this, I have certainly come to appreciate this much more, to the point where I find this at least as entertaining as I do the previous album, and with that as the case then the rating has to be similar.

Rating:  "You don't want to lose a friendship, there's nothing that you have to hide".  3.5/5