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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
Thanks to @Jc9ers for recommending this to me (8 of 10).
*Consistently impressive, I swear*
The Stranger marked as Billy Joel's 5th album which released in September 1977. It was recorded over the last 2 months prior in A&R Recording, Inc. in New York.
Joel was almost dropped by Columbia Records due to the underperformance of his last album Turnstiles, which prompted him to feature his touring band during the making.
He also got the help of Phil Ramone, whose worked for other artists ... read more
After the good, but relatively decent "Turnstiles", Billy finally comes through with the album that truly put his name on the map as one of the best singer-songwriters of all time titled "The Stranger". On this masterpiece, Billy perfects his songwriting to a point that the song structures themselves compliment the lyrics to the point of pure genius. On "Movin' Out", Billy creates the sensation of a heart attack in song form, with the erratic pianos and smooth ... read more
The only negative thing I have to point out about The Stranger is that i find Barry White's cover of "Just The Way You Are" better, and if we're being honest it's not Billy's fault, and it shows that the song in itself is great.
Thanks to @Jc9ers for recommending this to me (8 of 10).
*Consistently impressive, I swear*
The Stranger marked as Billy Joel's 5th album which released in September 1977. It was recorded over the last 2 months prior in A&R Recording, Inc. in New York.
Joel was almost dropped by Columbia Records due to the underperformance of his last album Turnstiles, which prompted him to feature his touring band during the making.
He also got the help of Phil Ramone, whose worked for other artists ... read more
Pretty damn good.
Edit: 96 -> 97
I have been addicted to the title track ever since listening, I can’t help but give it a slight bump
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Track List
| 1 | Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) 3:30 | 98 |
| 2 | The Stranger 5:10 | 96 |
| 3 | Just the Way You Are 4:50 | 97 |
| 4 | Scenes from an Italian Restaurant 7:35 | 99 |
| 5 | Vienna 3:33 | 98 |
| 6 | Only the Good Die Young 3:55 | 96 |
| 7 | She's Always a Woman 3:22 | 93 |
| 8 | Get It Right the First Time 3:56 | 92 |
| 9 | Everybody Has a Dream 6:34 | 85 |
Total Length: 42 minutes
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Added on: January 2, 2015