Billy Joel--Just the Way He Is
 

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/...3barr.1901.jpg
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/ar...prod=permalink

Good article. So why am I posting it here? Because I think there are a few parallels with Lightfoot--not hitting all the high notes anymore, etc. It says something about seeing the originator of great songs performing them live.

Re: Billy Joel--Just the Way He Is
 

Billy, Like Lightfoot has never tried to be anything more than he is and has made a life and successful career from it.
Having seen BJ many, many times since the beginning of his career up to a few years ago, owning many of the different tour t-shirts and almost all the albums, including the remarkable instrumental only CD from several years ago I have always appreciated his onstage energy and antics and his ability to connect with the audience. He has always stated the obvious about his stature, his looks and his amazement that he is who he is in regards to the the music world.
He's had more than his share of drama in his life but like Lightfoot has come out on the other side more self aware and appreciative of what the hard knocks meant to his life. Summer Highland Falls is one of my fave BJ tunes. He's a great storyteller like Lightfoot - images and emotions that are right out there..and songs that can be listened to over and over without being bored.
Around this house BJ and GL fought for turntable time for a long long time..more recently GL has won out but I will pull out the BJ stuff now (it's in Lisa's room-she's a huge BJ fan, having being taken to a concert as a surprise birthday gift years ago cemented her fandom) and give it all a listen. Some BJ songs were 'our' songs and I'm sure listening again may be awkward..thankfully there's a 'skip' button on the cd player..
lol

rock on BJ - you do deserve it all. thanks for the music..

Re: Billy Joel--Just the Way He Is
 

Billy Joel at Maple Leaf Gardens promoting his '52nd Street' album if I remember correctly. I didn't record the date but it must have been sometime in late 1978 to 1979.
Photos not the greatest quality 80-200mm zoom lens with teleconverters from the 'nosebleeds'!
Great talent! Excellent concert...

Re: Billy Joel--Just the Way He Is
 

I have all the important Billy Joel albums to be sure and it's Billy I have to thank for still being on this earth.

His 1985 hit "You're Only Human" (from Greatest Hits) and it's accompanying video,completly changed my mind about "leaving life behind".

In the video a young teen boy is having a bad week,everything's going wrong in his life and he feels like a screw up.
The boy's about to jump off a bridge but,in an "it's A Wonderful Life" moment,Billy appears as a guardian angel sent to show the boy what his suicide would mean if he suceeded.

There were many scenario's but the one that sold me was when the police come to his mother's door and tell her the bad news. Her reaction made me think of my mom and how she's feel. I decided life (and even high school) wasn't "that" bad. :)

Thanks Billy!! ;) :cool:

Re: Billy Joel--Just the Way He Is
 

i've been a big fan ever since i heard We didnt start the fire

Re: Billy Joel--Just the Way He Is
 

Just like the Bob Marley saying - who doesn't like Billy Joel? He has always been a fantastic musician. I have never seen him live, but would love to.

Re: Billy Joel--Just the Way He Is
 

The only people who don't like Billy Joel are :

A. Music critics

B. People who have heard maybe 1 song and judge him based on that.

C. Meatal heads,grunge fans and other loud & annoying brands of music.

Re: Billy Joel--Just the Way He Is
 

http://magazine-directory.com/Macleans.htm
Billy Joel in a Shea Stadium state of mind, playing ballpark's final concert
July 19, 2008 - 0:37
JOSH HOFFNER, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK - Billy Joel bade a stirring farewell to Shea Stadium on Friday during an electrifying, sold-out final show at the same ballpark where the Beatles famously ushered in a new era in rock 'n' roll four decades ago.
He was joined by an all-star lineup of friends including Paul McCartney, who told Joel, "Came here a long time ago. We had a blast that night and we're having another one tonight."
Continued Below

"Good evening, Shea Stadium. Is this cool or what?" Joel told the crowd at the New York Mets' home field, which is to be razed after the baseball season to make way for a new stadium across the street.
"They're gonna be tearing this place down, but I wanna thank you ... for letting me do the best job in the world," he said.
The show paid homage to Shea's baseball glories, with Mets highlights playing on jumbo screens during "Zanzibar." But the concert also was a mark of the stadium's place in music history.
The show came 43 years after the Beatles' legendary show at Shea - the first concert at the ballpark. The concert came at the height of Beatlemania and demonstrated the sheer power of rock 'n' roll and the Beatles: 55,000 screaming fans at a U.S. ballpark was virtually unheard-of at the time, and the show gave the Fab Four even more cachet among the Beatle-crazed American public.
Joel has always strongly embraced his New York and Long Island roots, and that makes for memory-making concerts every time he plays in the city. Throngs of fans know his music so well they can pretty much take over any chorus they like.
And as if the "Piano Man" playing the last concert at Shea wasn't thrilling enough, high-wattage guests turned up the excitement level.
Tony Bennett sang "New York State of Mind" with Joel on Friday, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler performed "Walk This Way," and Roger Daltrey of the Who did "My Generation. At the end of "My Generation," Joel smashed a guitar against the stage, breaking it in two.
McCartney came on at the end. He sang "I Saw Her Standing There" while on guitar and "Let It Be" on piano - the last song of the night. Joel sat on top of piano and sang backup.
Garth Brooks appeared on stage earlier wearing a Mets jersey, and in the audience, one of Joel's famous fans - ex-wife Christie Brinkley - sang along, word for word, to the chorus of "She's Always a Woman."
During the first installment of Joel's "Last Play at Shea" on Wednesday, John Mellencamp came on stage to perform his hit "Pink Houses," and Don Henley underscored the baseball theme with his standard "Boys of Summer."
The Beatles and baseball shared the spotlight at the concerts. Joel played three Beatles songs ("A Hard Day's Night," "Please, Please Me" and "She Loves You") during Wednesday's set, and introduced his signature "Piano Man" with "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." He also played the national anthem to start the show.
"I want to thank the Beatles for letting us use their room. Best band that ever was, best band that ever will be," Joel told fans Wednesday.
Diane Gentile saw the Beatles play at Shea in 1966 - their second visit to the stadium after the historic show a year earlier. Her recollection of that summer night 42 years ago: "Oh, my God, there are the Beatles on that stage, and here am I."
"It was unbelievable. It was exciting; you could feel the electricity. Right before the concert we were singing 'Happy Anniversary' to John because his anniversary was that day," Gentile recalled.
On Friday, Gentile was back at Shea to watch Joel for what she predicted would be the best concert she'll ever see.

Re: Billy Joel--Just the Way He Is
 

Just to report I too am a huge Billy Joel, AND, Gordon Lightfoot fan.

Saw Mr. Joel live about five times: at Maple Leaf Gardens, 1989, and, I believe, at Maple Leaf Gardens, circa, 1994, and at the then-SkyDome with Sir Elton John, ca. 1995, and at Air Canada Centre, circa, 1998, and, 2007.

Saw Mr. Lightfoot live about five times too: at Massey Hall once in a while approximately every 18 months and also at an outdoor freebie concert at Peterborough, ON, circa, 2002, and at Orillia circa, 2005. Plus at "Farm Aid" at SkyDome/Rogers' Centre circa 2000 perhaps.

Mr. Joel's best tunes in my estimation are "You're My Home", and, "An Innocent Man".

Mr. Lightfoot's best tunes in my estimation are "The Great Canadian Railroad Trilogy", and, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".

It might be very fine if the two esteemed gentlemen collaborated, playing at least portions of each other's signature songs: e.g. Piano Man, .../... Alberta Bound ... The Entertainer .../...Pussy Willows

Long Live Mr. William Joel Martin, AND, Mr. Gordon Meredith Lightfoot!!!

Re: Billy Joel--Just the Way He Is
 

"Summer Highland Falls" has always been one of my favorites, too, Char. When my kids were tiny, "Songs in the Attic" got a lot of playtime at my house, along with several GL favorites. My son could sing all the words to "Miami 2017" by the time he was something like two-and-a-half. Once he could talk, I always skipped "Captain Jack" so he wouldn't pick up the line about "and you just sit at home and masturbate." With my luck, he would have sung it at pre-school or at church, or even worse, for the in-laws.

Re: Billy Joel--Just the Way He Is
 

"Downeaster Alexa" influenced by The Wreck:
http://www.joelfan.com/forum/viewtop...?p=93740#93740

and YouTube: