So I am reworking some CDs as usual – “jeez, do I really want Jungleland there? I’m not a huge Boss guy or Born To Run guy and those nine minute epics get a little schmatltzy. I think a little Tenth Avenue Freezeout works better there…” And I’m at the spot where Billy Joel is needed. Now on the first mix, I had The Stranger here – good song, flexes a little muscle without being overpowering – but after Freezeout, it doesn’t quite roll right. Because of the long opening and coda with the whistling. So I tried a couple of things – right now All For Leyna from Glass Houses is holding the spot but I haven’t road tested this one yet, so we’ll see. But also considered Vienna and Get It Right the First Time [The Stranger] and Stiletto from 52nd Street.

But it got me to thinking about LPs I’ve had for a long time. And who listens to the B side.

Now The Stranger happens to have a couple of hits on the B side – Only the Good Die Young and She’s Always A Woman – so maybe it had a few more listens than the average album. Aerosmith’s Toys In the Attic side 2 kicks off with Sweet Emotion which slams into the really good No More No More. The Who’s Who’s Next has Going Mobile and Won’t Get Fooled Again on side 2. The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Are You Experienced has one of the greatest side 2s ever: The Wind Cries Mary, Fire, 3rd Stone From the Sun, Foxey Lady and the title track. I love side 2 of Little Feat’s Feats Don’t Fail Me Now with the medley of Cold Cold Cold and Tripe Face Boogie. I might argue that side 2 of Kiss’ Dressed To Kill is BETTER than the A side!

But Glass Houses? Probably could have been blank as far as most people are concerned. It is not littered with Joel’s best songs. The vocals on I Don’t Want To Be Alone and Sleeping With the Television On sound like they were recorded in desperation like two nights before the album was due and Billy suffering a head cold. C'Etait Toi (You Were the One) with William Martin Joel singing in French?

Having said all that, side 2 of Glass Houses was one of my bedtime albums. As was side 2 of the Cars Panorama. And The Beatles [aka ‘the white album’]. One might think that putting an album on to go to sleep to it would indicate a complete lack of interest, an argument not without merit. One thing I notice is that they winddown into softer 3rd songs [well nothing really hard on the white album – Don’t Pass Me By is maybe the hardest thing], so maybe 8-9 minutes to get settled in the a calming thing? But Panorama ends with a couple of upbeat numbers, really a couple of my faves: Running To You and Up And Down. Maybe the tone arm lifting after that last chord of Up And Down was the signal that it was over and it really was time to get to sleep? 

But all of that got me mulling over Billy Joel and I have finally come to the conclusion I was looking for. People LIKE Billy Joel or they like Billy Joel's songs. But no one's FAVORITE ALL TIME SONG is a Billy Joel song.

Billy Joel just doesn't inspire fanaticism like Led Zeppelin or the Beatles or the Stones or the Who or Kiss. You might turn up the radio when a particularly favorite Billy Joel comes on but it's not like Free Bird or Born To Run or Jumpin' Jack Flash or Won't Get Fooled Again. Not Big Shot [which I like] Piano Man [which I don't] Scenes From An Italian Restaurant, Just the Way You Are, Honesty, We Didn't Start the Fire, Captain Jack, New York State Of Mind... None of them are someone's all time favorite.

It's weird because Billy has sold millions of records. But he's not cool. Liking Billy Joel was cool from about 1976 to 1982 when you couldn't escape the man's records. But none of those records no matter how many they sold are talked about in the same breath as Born To Run, Rumours or Hotel California. Because it's Billy Freaking Joel!