The Stranger
Details
LP / Format
Columbia / Label
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CRITIC REVIEWS
90
Even if his melodies sound more Broadway than Beatles ... there's no denying that the melodies of each song on The Stranger are memorable, so much so that they strengthen the weaker portions of the album. Joel rarely wrote a set of songs better than those on The Stranger, nor did he often deliver an album as consistently listenable.
80
Billy Joel’s seminal 1977 release The Stranger is a concept album of sorts, an ode to the singer’s native New York underscored by his paranoid obsession (and resistance) to change.
100% PURE BOOMER-CORE
100% MUSIC THAT I LOVE
In France, being a Billy Joel fan is no picnic. In this country, the simple evocation of "Piano Man" is necessarily accompanied by an embarrassed silence or by a "WHAT!???! This guy's a fucking 'has-been', SHAME ON YOU!". Here, frenchie pitchforks often calls him "the worst pop singer of all time", some pretentious intellectuals even speak of "a plague on sound waves more contagious than the West Nile virus" ... read more
100% MUSIC THAT I LOVE
In France, being a Billy Joel fan is no picnic. In this country, the simple evocation of "Piano Man" is necessarily accompanied by an embarrassed silence or by a "WHAT!???! This guy's a fucking 'has-been', SHAME ON YOU!". Here, frenchie pitchforks often calls him "the worst pop singer of all time", some pretentious intellectuals even speak of "a plague on sound waves more contagious than the West Nile virus" ... read more
This is an album I have been streaming so much lately, I’m really getting into different music more while I’m here enjoying my time as a student. It’s such a different life and I’m really enjoying it so far, what this does mean is that I have a little less time on my hands to listen to music.
This album resonates with me on so many levels, it’s incredible. I don’t even know where to start.. is it the incredibly beautiful and lively instrumentals? Is it the ... read more
This album resonates with me on so many levels, it’s incredible. I don’t even know where to start.. is it the incredibly beautiful and lively instrumentals? Is it the ... read more
This album really solidified Billy Joel as one of my favorite songwriters ever. This album is filled with such delicate sorrowful instrumentals, not 1 bad song and nothing short of a excellent performance from Joel in every track. Beautiful.
A stroke of genius, some of the best songwriting of all time. I don’t want to say anything else about “The Stranger” because it would be beating a dead horse at this point.
Color: Orange
FAV TRACKS: all of them!
LEAST FAV: n/a
Color: Orange
FAV TRACKS: all of them!
LEAST FAV: n/a
One of the greatest singer songwriter albums I’ve heard. The themes as well as depth of love and identity on top of the production and Joel’s performance was absolutely enthralling. So happy I finally gave this a go.
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Track List
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Added on: January 2, 2015