The Stranger
by Billy Joel

From Medelsvensson 06/06/2018 01:42 | #216197 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

This album is SHOCKINGLY underrated in the overall score. Jesus christ people, look at the average ratings for the songs and compare it to others who score around 80-82 overall. I mean, I let a lot of stuff go on here, but COME ONNN

Easily Billy Joel's best album. The stranger, sees Joel at the peak of his songwriting powers, in a record that contains all that's great about an incredibly underrated songwriter. Movin'out, kicks the album off in superb style. The title track, another Joel classic, precedes one of his most celebrated pieces. Just the way you are, wasn't originally intended to be on the LP, but fortunately for Joel, was persuaded otherwise. It's slick, extremely sentimental, but it is lovely. The original first side ends with the centrepiece of the album. Scenes from an Italian restaurant, is one of, if not the greatest of all Billy Joel compositions. Epic in scale, it was inspired by the medley on the second side of the Beatles masterpiece, Abbey road, this is his Italian/American version. Vienna opens the second side, another excellent cut. It's followed by two more Joel stunners. She's always a woman, is a beautiful folk ballad, another of his best, and that's followed by the catchy, only the good die young, wonderful. If there is a weak moment, it's probably the penultimate track, get it right the first time. It's still a good song, but it's not in the same class as the rest. The intro also sounds like the theme tune to the old children's t.v. show, rainbow. The album ends on a spectacular note. Everybody has a dream, is a moving ballad about someone living in their imagination, but hoping his dreams come true, it's fantastic. And that's it. If you haven't heard this album before, give it a go. If you appreciate great songwriting, you will love it. Excellent.

Billy Joel is highly underrated on this site! I love This album! It's his best effort and in my top 20 favorite albums of all time. He was a talented songwriter and it's amazing how his sound evolved over the years.

A classic record that deserves more praise on this site than it gets. If you look at it on its base level it is genius catchy pop and rock songs spearheaded by Billy Joel on piano that you can't get out of your head. On deeper inspection, you start to see the intricacies and intelligence of the music on here. It is packed full of a huge array of diverse instrumentation all played beautifully to match the style of each song perfectly. When you listen properly it becomes clear that Billy Joel has gone beyond a pop record to create a grand and rich experience that I can't get enough of. The first 7 songs on the album are all elite and they work together so well that before you know it the record is closing up as you have become completely lost in the music. The final two songs are a small step down but they are still great with Everybody Has A Dream being an epic closer that wraps up what you have just experienced superbly. Billy Joel is huge on this album as well with his lyrics being enjoyable to explore and his voice being fantastic the whole way through. Overall, this record is genius and it has completely hooked me in with its beautiful instrumentation, song writing and vocal performance making it one of my most frequently revisited records. (Edited)

Billy Joel doesn't get enough love on this site. This is one of the greatest albums of all time. The first seven songs are instantly recognizable classics, and the final two tracks are two of Joel's best and most underrated tunes. It's no wonder most people consider this to be his finest works. I think my favorite song from the Piano Man is Vienna. It's just so beautiful.