The 100 Best Live Recordings - No. 93: Billy Joel: Songs From The Attic
No. 93 - Billy Joel: Songs In The Attic (Columbia Records, 1981)
In his review of Rocketman (New Republic Pictures, 2019) New York Times movie critic A. O. Scott remarked of Sir Elton John:
"But the point of Rocketman isn't self-aggrandizement. It's fan service of an especially and characteristically generous kind. It's certain that Elton John has nothing left to prove, but it's also possible that he's underappreciated. He has been part of the pop-music mainstream for so long—more than 50 years!—that the scope of his genius and the scale of his accomplishments risk being taken for granted.”
Can we not say the same about Billy Joel? His recording career began in 1971 with the release of Cold Spring Harbor (Columbia Records) and spanned the same 50 years of recording and touring that included Elton John. The two artists frequently toured together between 1994 and 2010. They both sold millions of recordings as evidence of their superb songwriting abilities. No, the time has long passed to consider Joel in this same light and to express the fact1.
Joel’s breakthrough recording was The Stranger (Columbia Records, 1977). Shortly after the release of Glass Houses (Columbia Records) in 1980, Joel made the novel decision to release a live recording highlighting the lesser-known material he recorded before The Stranger2. While novel, the release of live recordings not focussing on the “hits” of a prominent artist was not unheard of. Neil Young released Time Fades Away (Reprise Records) in 1973, and Jackson Browne released Running On Empty (Asylum Records) in 1977. Both live recordings featured music not previously released on studio recordings. Critics and the public well received both recordings. Joel’s Songs In The Attic received similar critical and commercial attention.
The music Joel produced ahead of Glass Houses included the singles “She’s Got A Way” (1971), “Piano Man” (1973), “The Ballad Of Billy The Kid” (1973), “Worse Comes To Worst” (1974), “Travelin’ Prayer” (1974), “The Entertainer” (1974), “James” (1976), “I’ve Loved These Days” 1976), “Say Goodbye To Hollywood” (1976), which is impressive by any measure. Songs In The Attic gleaned four from these singles (“She’s Got A Way,” “The Ballad Of Billy The Kid,” “I’ve Loved These Days,” and “Say Goodbye To Hollywood”).
To these singles, Joel cherry-picked music that would remain in his concert setlist on Live at Shea Stadium: The Concert (Columbia Records, 2011, recorded 2008), including "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway),” “Summer, Highland Falls,” "Everybody Loves You Now," and one of Joel’s earliest popular heartbeats, “Captain Jack.” Added to this are the fabulous and powerful “Los Angelenos,” and the gritty “Streetlife Serenader.” Joel and what would be his longtime band recorded these pieces between June 24 and July 23, 1980, during performances given on his Glass Houses Tour. This is the young, vibrant Billy Joel, the Billy Joel whose creative juices flowed rich, hot, and unabated. Still married to his muse, Elizabeth Weber, who would become his wife and manager, was present in those capacities during these recordings. This was the time to have seen Billy Joel3.
But then again, there were later live recordings of note. КОНЦЕРТ (Columbia Records, 1987) and its extended A Matter of Trust: The Bridge to Russia (Columbia Records, 2014) contain material through The Bridge (Columbia Records, 1986) performed with Joel’s earlier fire tempered with life. 12 Gardens Live (Columbia Records, 2006) documented Joel’s first residence at Madison Square Garden, a run of 12 sold-out concerts in early 2006. Joel's fine band, which he accumulated over the previous 30 years, backs him while he remains in wonderful voice.
So, yes. We should speak of Billy Joel in the same breath as we speak of Sir Elton, admitting that he performed at such a high level for so long that we took him for granted. That may be our greatest compliment to him.
I wrote this review while watching Billy Joel: And So It Goes (Hazy Mills Production, 2025). The documentary informed this piece. Greatly.
This pre-The Stranger period included the releases of Cold Spring Harbor, Piano Man (Columbia Records, 1973), Streetlife Serenade (Columbia Records, 1974), and Turnstiles (Columbia Records, 1976).
On Thursday, March 22, 1979, I saw Billy Joel at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, Arkansas. The singer had released 52nd Street the previous October and was making a swing around the United States promoting it. The setlist included: “Big Shot,” “Honesty,” “My Life,” “Rosalinda's Eyes,” “Movin' Out (Anthony's Song),” “The Stranger,” “Just the Way You Are,” “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant,” “Only the Good Die Young,” “She's Always a Woman,” “Say Goodbye to Hollywood,” “New York State of Mind,” “James,” and “Prelude/Angry Young Man.” I recall this as the best “rock” concert I had seen because of its deliberately dramatic execution and expert pacing and production. It continues to be such.