Throwback Thursday: Billy Joel’s “The Stranger”
Welcome back to throwback Thursday! This week I’ve decided to take it back to the seventies and discuss one of Billy Joel’s most acclaimed albums, The Stranger. The Stranger was Joel’s fifth studio album, released on September 29, 1977. All four singles from this album were top 40 hits on Billboard’s chart, making this his commercial breakthrough. There have been over 10 million units sold worldwide, and it has been named the 169 best album of all time by The Rolling Stone.
The Stranger is an especially important album to me. Growing up, there was always music playing in my house and Billy Joel was among the many artists that have always provided me with a sense of warmth and nostalgia. All that being said, the album opens with “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” which is arguably one of Joel’s most iconic songs of all time. Its introduction is instantly recognizable, and the track is a relatively upbeat one with nods to characters working blue collar jobs and aspirations of “making it”. Billy Joel has said that Anthony is not a real person per say, but just a kid who is trying to make it. One of my favorite things about this song is the clear picture that it paints in my mind. There are characters, places, certain cars and jobs people have, and I can’t help but play this story out in my mind every time it comes on. At the end of the song, we hear the sound of a car’s engine starting up, essentially letting us know that Anthony’s chapter has come to an end, and he is, in fact, moving out.
The second track on The Stranger is the title track for the album. This one starts with a more mellow sound to it, opening with Joel on the piano and whistling a tune that is carried throughout the song. Once the song opens up, it becomes a groovy rock track. “The Stranger” also ends with the same piano riff and whistling, providing a nice round close to the track, making it feel complete. On track three we hear more horns, which I am personally partial to. “Just The Way You Are” was the second single off of The Stranger and was Billy Joel’s first single to be certified gold in the United States. He stated that the melody came to him in a dream, and that the song was initially not going to be included on the final cut of the album, but after some deliberation and persuasion from those around him, it ended up as track three.
“Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” is the fourth song on The Stranger and is another classic. This track is one of Joel’s longest songs, with a duration of seven minutes and 37 seconds. Although it was never released as a single, “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” has become a fan favorite, and is instantly recognizable from the opening piano chords. Its inspiration stemmed from a few restaurants in New York, not just one place— making this a song that describes the general feeling of being somewhere familiar and comforting. The song starts off slow and gradually morphs into a more upbeat track infused with horns. There are two characters we follow named Brenda and Eddie, and we listen to their failed love story. The song itself does not feel like the full seven minutes that it is because of this switch in the melody, and I personally enjoy when this happens in songs at longer lengths.
We follow “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” with one of my all time favorite songs, “Vienna”. This song was not a single, either, but over the years has become a fan favorite and has gained much more traction since its initial release. It’s a song about the qualms of growing older, and taking time to live in each moment as it’s happening. Aging can be daunting, as is growing up, and taking the time to appreciate each moment as it comes is something that does not happen easily. “Vienna” was written with Joel’s father as his inspiration, who he had not known for most of his life following his parents’ separation. It was when they reunited in Vienna, Austria, that the song came to fruition. I think everyone can relate to this song in one way or another, but especially young people. It’s sometimes hard to not get caught up in life and this piece has a way of bringing me back to reality. “Only the Good Die Young” is yet another classic. This was one of the four singles on The Stranger, and was inspired by a girl named Virginia that Billy Joel attended high school with in Long Island, New York. The song was considered controversial for it’s time because of its meaning, and although there were attempts made to censor the song from public radio, this only made it gain more popularity. This song, in my opinion, is one of the catchiest on the album.
The seventh track on The Stranger is titled “She’s Always a Woman”, and this is another one of my personal favorites. It was written about Joel’s ex-wife Elizabeth Weber, whom he divorced in 1982. This ballad is a love song that describes falling for someone despite their flaws. He describes the woman in the song as independent and ahead of her time, and the raw sound of the piano and hums really allows the message to be captured. The penultimate track, “Get It Right the First Time”, is an upbeat song with a fun, disco-like infusion. It’s about making a good first impression on someone, and letting go of that initial fear.
Last but not least, The Stranger closes out with “Everybody Has a Dream'', which has a sort of gospel feel to it. Although it is on The Stranger, it was actually written in 1971, and was changed around a bit to fit the feel of the album as a whole. At the end of the song, there is a sample from title track, giving it a very final feel, in addition to finishing the album in a really nice and certain way.
