Billy Joel - Streetlife Serenade

After the success of "Piano Man", Billy's current label 'Columbia' wanted to capitalize on the success of that album, so a little over a year later, as Billy was feeling the burn and stress of the fame, they rushed out Billy's next album "Streetlife Serenade". This in turn, caused the album to flop on release, And boy, oh boy, does it show on here.

There really isn't anything this album does different compared to "Piano Man" or "Cold Spring Harbor", as many of these piano passages and vocals aren't really different or memorable compared to stuff from those records. Now granted there ARE some good moments on here, such as the only single on here "The Entertainer" which is a really interesting commentary on the drawbacks of fame as an artist. Also the track "Los Angelenos" where we get an insight of Billy's distaste he has now of the city of LA from his fame. Also, despite not having lyrics, "Root Beer Rag" fucking SLAPS! But yeah, other that that and a few other good points, there isn't much else on here worth more than one listen, if any. But, yeah, this is by far his most boring effort so far, I'm hoping this was a fluke and "Turnstiles" will pick this momentum back up.

Best Tracks: Streetlife Serenader, Los Angelenos, Root Beer Rag, Roberta, The Entertainer, Souvenir
Worst Track: Weekend Song