The 1983 Listening Post - Billy Joel - An Innocent Man

Billy Joel - An Innocent Man

August 8 1983
Billy Joel
An innocent Man
4.25 out of 5

Highlights:
An Innocent Man
The Longest Time
Tell Her About It
Uptown Girl
Leave a Tender Moment Alone
Keeping the Faith

The nostalgia trip continues back in time to the 50s…

In a way, this is the apotheosis of the Billy Joel experience. One part soul. One part Elton John. A smattering of working man rock. A healthy dose of classic 1-4-5 songwriting. A little treacle. A little wannabe rock. An overdose of doo-wop.

I’m always reminded of Chuck Klosterman when I think of Billy since his essay in “Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs” so perfectly encapsulates Joel. Here is summary in The Guardian review: “In an essay on Billy Joel - whose significance is that he's a major pop musician whom no one, ever, can think of as "cool" or want to emulate - Klosterman declares that "the musical component of rock isn't nearly as important as the iconography and the posturing and the idea of what we're supposed to be experiencing" (an amazing and telling statement for a journalist who worked extensively at the music magazine Spin). The remarkable feature of Billy Joel's album Glass Houses is that "You can't characterize your self-image through its 10 songs". Aesthetic response doesn't exist for its own sake; only for self-fashioning.”

Yeah. Billy was never cool. Liking him would never be cool. He’s a history teacher who masquerades as a rock star. The album is actually an homage to a bunch of artists that influenced Billy in his youth and the influences are on his sleeve. And that makes so much sense.

There were SEVEN singles released from this album. It was a monster. Hearing it in it’s entirety for the first time is weird cuz I think I’ve heard every song on it. Or maybe I had access to the album in some form when it came out. I can’t remember.
And that’s Billy Joel, in sum.

But, damn is it listenable. I keep going back and forth between 4.25 and 4.5, even though it scores a solid 4. Because it’s so enjoyable but it’s also so derivative. Oh well. I think that also explains Billy Joel.