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From the Vault...
07/11/1999
#637 |
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info
Billy Joel
"Cold Spring Harbor"
© Columbia Records
Year of Release: 1972
Rating:
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track listing
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She's Got A Way
You Can Make Me Free
Everybody Loves You Now
Why Judy Why
Falling Of The Rain
Turn Around
You Look So Good To Me
Tomorrow Is Today
Nocturne
Got To Begin Again
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Billy Joel
"Cold Spring Harbor"
Billy Joel protrayed himself as a premiere piano player in his very early
years. His debut album in 1972, Cold Spring Harbor, showcases his
expert piano playing, as it displays a particular kind of music (classical)
which he would focus on this type of music 25 years later. It just didn't
seem at the time that his kind of piano playing would relate to classical,
it just reminded us of the lone player in a smoke-filled bar room, collecting
tips for playing some beautiful sounding tunes from the piano, naming Billy
Joel the Piano Man in his early years.
"She's Got A Way" is a very touching song, with its loving lyrics,
and it features Billy Joel on vocals with only his piano. It is probably the
only song on this album that most Billy Joel fans may remember right away.
"You Can Make Me Free" starts out with just vocals and piano, then kicks
in with the band. However, his vocals are just a trend high, and some of
these high notes seem to struggle in Joel's vocal range.
"Everybody Loves You Now" features a ragtime piano style.
"Why Judy Why" is another touching ballad, as it features the accoustic
guitar and vocals. "Falling Of The Rain" returns the piano playing, as
it has a more classical (in a fast tempo) than ragtime style.
"Turn Around" has an early Elton John style. "You Look So Good
To Me" has a nice, bouncy pop beat. "Tomorrow Is Today" is another
ballad in the style of "She's Got A Way" and "Why Judy Why".
"Nocturne" is a very, very beautiful classical music instrumental,
and we can easily see why there aren't any vocals in this song. It doesn't
need any, as 25 years later, Billy Joel is now concentrating on this particular
style of music. And in looking at the liner notes, all of the songs on this
album were written solely by Billy Joel.
The album closes with "Got To Begin Again", and again, it is in the
same musical style as the previous ballads, like "She's Got A Way".
The touching ballads are the ones that stand out the most on Cold Spring
Harbor, as it focuses a promising star (at that time), writing love songs
and especially featuring his piano style playing. Another artist in that same
time in music was another promising piano player by the name of Elton John.
Both Elton John and Billy Joel had one thing in common when they first
started out in their early years: They both wrote (well, in EJ's case,
co-wrote) songs in a beautiful ballad style, that would interest anyone's
love for this kind of music. And they both went on to write songs in the
pop/rock style, and continue writing more ballads.
Billy Joel's Piano Man comes to mind in comparing Cold Spring
Harbor, likewise the early works of Elton John. If this is the kind of
music that inspires and entertains you, then Cold Spring Harbor is an
album that will surely get some "airplay" on either your CD and/or cassette
machines.
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