Word: strangers
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...Stranger, Joel's latest release, the native Long Islander who mentions New York in almost all his songs appears to be telling the world that he can do more than just coast through slow, moving ballads. He already hinted at that hidden diversity on the Turnstiles album with a bluesy tune called "New York State of Mind" and upbeat rockers such as "All You Wanna Do Is Dance" and "Say Goodbye to Hollywood." The last song overflowed with the famous heavy Phil Spector drumbeat that pervaded the rock...
They're the faces of the stranger...
...popularity of side one, the album's second side has remained obscure. For six years, Billy Joel has been turning out superb music that has gone relatively unnoticed, and the success of the four cuts on side one of The Stranger is a first for him. It seems that the listening public has now accepted the Billy Joel who has been around for years, but they are not yet ready to accept his new experiments--or as he calls it, "a face that we hide away...
...Stranger has suddenly earned Billy Joel the airplay he has lacked in the past is a mystery, especially to his long-time fans. The Stranger is a solid album with a particularly good first side, but it is certainly no stronger than Turnstiles, and not nearly the phenomenal collection of songs that made up Piano Man. Still, with a second consecutive solid album (after a weak follow up to Piano Man called Streetlife Serenade), Joel has reassured his fans and impressed upon new listeners that his tremendous talent will leave a lasting impression on the pop musical world...
ALTHOUGH The Stranger has ended his absence form the airwaves, it has not succeeded in getting the listening audience to accept Joel's diverse talent. To most, Billy Joel is still a stranger: they know him only as the piano man. But Billy Joel is much more than that, and The Stranger demonstrates his range of abilities. The experimentation of side two is still a bit rough, but Joel should not abandon his experiments. Along with the attempts at diverse types of music, Joel might do well to return with some instrumentals like "Root Beer Rag" and "The Mexican Connection...