AnotherScott Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 I think I've heard all his records. That's the one with Jeff Lynne, correct? No, but it is the one where he did a duet with Ray Charles. Also, one with Cyndi Lauper. And the album after that, Storm Front, is also worth a listen, I liked 5 of its 10 songs, which is still above average for me. Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathOfInsects Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 I think I've heard all his records. That's the one with Jeff Lynne, correct? No, but it is the one where he did a duet with Ray Charles. Also, one with Cyndi Lauper. And the album after that, Storm Front, is also worth a listen, I liked 5 of its 10 songs, which is still above average for me. Ok, I wiki'd. It's definitely the one I remember; "Big Man on Mulberry Street" is the jazz-ish tune I was thinking of. I know he co-wrote that one song with Cyndi Lauper, and I thought I remembered him saying he had writer's block on that record and Jeff Lynne helped him through it. I may be wrong about that, of course. Steve Winwood is on it, so maybe he was the one who pushed BJ to the other side of the block, so to speak. That actually sounds right now. I liked Storm Front, particularly the title track. I have some vague memory that I secured a B-side somewhere solely because it had a song that was cut from Storm Front, that I really liked, called "House of Blue Light." In the one minute between the last sentence and this one, Professor Google reveals it was in fact the B-Side to "We Didn't Start the Fire." For fuller reference, I was pretty serious about collecting records back then, so I tended to go for artists' complete catalog, even rarities. I have a couple copies of The Hassles record and an original "bad" pressing of Cold Spring Harbor as well. Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material. www.joshweinstein.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathOfInsects Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 You know how Brenda and Eddie started to fight when the money got tight, and then broke up? In retrospect, I bet they wish they hadn't blown all their savings on a dumb waterbed. Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material. www.joshweinstein.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthaholic Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 "Just The Way You Are" is undeniably a superior song to just about any ballad that has been released in the last 40 years. Also one of the only songs that has been elevated to being a 'standard', since George Harrison's 'Something'. Nothing to sneeze at. The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottom End Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 I have always thought that BJ was one of the great contemporary song writers, up there with Burt Bacharach, McCartney, Lennon, and Elton John. So many great, DISTINCTIVE songs. Think about it... Allentown, Scenes From an Italian Restaurant, Movin Out, Roberta, Downeaster Alexa, and on and on. Very few songs sound the same. Plus he can tune his voice to fit the song, So happy to read that She's Right on Time is one of his favorites. I have always loved that song. So much emotion, and a great musical arrangement with a wonderful bridge. The Hammond work in that song is sublime. And Liberty DeVito's drums adds so much power to the transitions and fills... especially after the harpsichord break. So simple, but so powerful! [video:youtube] Your mention of Liberty Devito reminded me of a documentary of the sidemen backing the stars, only other musos know their names. "Hired Gun" that premiers in theaters on Friday Link to video and the website here "Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me.'-Hamlet Guitar solos last 30 seconds, the bass line lasts for the whole song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherScott Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 "Just The Way You Are" is undeniably a superior song to just about any ballad that has been released in the last 40 years. Also one of the only songs that has been elevated to being a 'standard', since George Harrison's 'Something'. Nothing to sneeze at. I can't argue with its success, but I never liked that song. Though it did have the virtue of knocking "Feelings" off its perch as most over-played ballad of the decade. And getting back to the topic of "who is Billy Joel doing now?," this one always seemed to me to be his take on 10 CC's "I'm Not in Love" (a much better song), with its queasy Rhodes and banks of Ahs. One thing I'll say for it is it's got some killer sax work. (p.s. - from the same album, I did like the other major ballad, "She's Always a Woman") Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthaholic Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 "Just The Way You Are" is undeniably a superior song to just about any ballad that has been released in the last 40 years. Also one of the only songs that has been elevated to being a 'standard', since George Harrison's 'Something'. Nothing to sneeze at. I can't argue with its success, but I never liked that song. Though it did have the virtue of knocking "Feelings" off its perch as most over-played ballad of the decade. And getting back to the topic of "who is Billy Joel doing now?," this one always seemed to me to be his take on 10 CC's "I'm Not in Love" (a much better song), with its queasy Rhodes and banks of Ahs. One thing I'll say for it is its got some killer sax work. (p.s. - from the same album, I did like the other major ballad, "She's Always a Woman") I never liked it until I started playing and singing it. Now I love it and appreciate it much more. And I love playing both the sax solos - the one at the end is just as good as the mid-song one. And, funny coincidence, I just yesterday finished updating my old sequence for "I'm Not In Love", and plan on doing it again this weekend. I did have to lower it to Ab, though. My upper range has gone to shit lately. Can't sing 'Piano Man' any longer in the record key, either, so I just dropped that one. Doesn't transpose well. The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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