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Billy Joel

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I realize this is a matter of personal taste ... but I just don't think the last 3 tunes you mention come anywhere near the beauty of "Just The Way You Are".  I suppose it possible that I love the early stuff so much it's hard for me to accept or appreciate the later stuff.

Christopher,

I agree 100%, "Just the Way You Are" is light years ahead of the other three. I would like to tout "Goodnight Saigon" however. I think it is a poignant, lyrical description of the Vietnam War, especially the opening four lines:

We met as soul mates

On Parris Island

We left as inmates

From an asylum

Also, I remembered another song that I think deserves an honorable mention, "Allentown". I agree with you that this is a personal issue, and I'm glad that we both agree on the older and much better Billy Joel.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've got to say whenever I'm feeling down, I can throw on some Joel tracks or James Taylor and my I always feel uplifted. Billy Joel is also what I like to call "soul food" music. You know how people say a certain meal or fragrance will evoke a feeling of childhood memories or warmth in the soul? Well certain music does that for me like Led Zep due to childhood familiarity with the music. ANyone else have that going on--soul food music I mean?

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I've got to say whenever I'm feeling down, I can throw on some Joel tracks or James Taylor and my I always feel uplifted.  Billy Joel is also what I like to call "soul food" music.  You know how people say a certain meal or fragrance will evoke a feeling of childhood memories or warmth in the soul?  Well certain music does that for me like Led Zep due to childhood familiarity with the music.  ANyone else have that going on--soul food music I mean?

If you are a Taylor fan, have you seen the movie Two Lane Blacktop that he made with Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys and Warren Oates? I always feel a certain "groove" for lack of a better word to describe it after watching the movie. I had a ye ancient 8mm copy of the movie until it got released mercifully on dvd a year ago. The characters don't ever bother having names. The ending is totally left up to you to decide what happens as to the whole role of Warren Oates "GTO" character.

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What are some of his songs?

And by the way Michero, who is that in your avatar?

The woman is my favourite actress Katherine Hepburn--

if you want a great james taylor album I'd buy "Live James Taylor" and I never ever recommend live albums, but James' background info on the songs is great and he sounds just as good live as in studio (which is another rare utterance of mine)

Edited by Free Thinker
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I like Taylor, but my one gripe with him is that he should never sing "Fire and Rain". It's an intensely mournful song, and his range just doesn't encompass mournful. "Wistful" is about as close as he can get. If you want to hear the way that song should sound, listen to the Blood, Sweat and Tears version.

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The woman is my favourite actress Katherine Hepburn--
Oh. I didn't recognize her. (My fav actress is Lauren Bacall :D )

if you want a great james taylor album I'd buy "Live James Taylor" and I never ever recommend live albums, but James' background info on the songs is great and he sounds just as good live as in studio (which is another rare utterance of mine)

I'll look into it. Thanks!

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...I would like to tout "Goodnight Saigon" however.  I think it is a poignant, lyrical description of the Vietnam War...

Fair enough. I personally don't like the music as much as earlier though.

I agree with you that this is a personal issue, and I'm glad that we both agree on the older and much better Billy Joel.

Good deal. "Much better" is definitely how I see it also! :)

I can't respect someone that doesn't like James Taylor.  I mean, I just can't.

Well, maybe this will liven things up a bit then...

I CAN'T STAND James Taylor. :D

To be fair, I think he is good at what he does. However, I don't value what he does.

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He's a great artist, too bad he's fought and lost against alcoholism his entire life.

And he drives a Citroen. I know he had to declared bankruptcy and all but to come back from so much in life you go and drive a 40 year old Citroen into the wall of a building and not even have the suggestion that you were drinking at the time. Just a bad driver. I feel for the guy. Everyone instantly assumed he was drunk and Saturday Night Live even did a skit and the guy was sober. I wish him well.

I am a big fan and I saw an ad that got under my skin this weekend. It was for a "groundbreaking" Paul McCartney concert in Red Square he did last year. Oh please. Now when Billy Joel performed in Russia in the 80's, that was majorly ground breaking. It also bankrupted him thanks to his brother in law's bad business skills sadly. Though I think Christie Brinkley's brother technically was a thief in addition to being a bad businessman.

I still remember watching the broadcast from Moscow live and then they had that insanely lame Russian band Cotton Candy play live here in America in return. I still remember the stern look the Russian guards got if they looked like were enjoying the decedent American music. Almost funny in retrospect.

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Is that James Taylor song on the Toy Story soundtrack (You've got a Friend) ? Is so, I think he is kind of corny.

No, that is Randy Newman. The same guy that sang Short People (if I remember he's like over 6 feet tall as well) and the song I Love LA.

Edited by Free Thinker
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:)  You don't value what James Taylor does?  What, in your view, characterizes his work?

I don't like his overall approach to songwriting or performance. His work is too laidback, easy-going for my tastes. His melodies & harmonic structures are very homogenous & bland - no extreme highs & lows. The overall timbre of his tunes is usually that stereotypical 70s strummy acoustic guitar 'soft-rock' approach that is, admittedly in my estimation, devoid of passion, excitement.

I can't remember ever hearing a song by JT that sounded powerful or heroic. I do remember hearing him cover some old jazz standards (can't remember specifics) & noticing that he was changing/simplifying the chord progressions to the point that it was annoying to me.

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Actually, now that you mention, I think you're right. I think as a musician perhaps you weigh certain aspects of music differently, as do I. Have you listend to Steamroller? I think that song has more dynamics than any of his others.

That's funny about the jazz standards. What, did he play Giant Steps in a blues progression? lol

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