from Billboard--

Despite New Song, Joel Still In Composing State Of Mind


Billy Joel

May 02, 2007, 11:30 AM ET
Gary Graff, Detroit

Despite the recent appearance of "All My Life," his first new pop song in 14 years, Billy Joel says he doesn't foresee a re-opening of the creative floodgates that led to 33 Top 40 hits.

"I'm not ruling out the possibility of writing songs again," Joel tells Billboard.com. "I suppose if I had the motivation to write a song, I'm not gonna stop myself from doing it. I just haven't felt the compulsion to write songs in pop form. I guess these days I just think of myself as a composer."

Joel -- whose last album of original material, "River of Dreams," came out in 1993 and concluded with, appropriately, a track called "Famous Last Words" -- says that he currently has "lots of thematic pieces" that he's composed in the Long Island home he shares with his third wife, culinary journalist Katie Lee Joel.

"Some of them are fragments," he notes, "some of them are halfway (finished). There's so many different ways to go with that music. I don't even want to call them classical pieces," adds Joel, who released a classical album, "Fantasies & Delusions," in 2001. "It's piano music. It's pieces that can be used for orchestra. Some of these things might be used for a movie soundtrack. I'm not even all that anxious to have them performed. Right now all I'm interested in is just composing and writing music. If something happens with it, great. If something doesn't happen, that's fine."

"All My Life," meanwhile, was something of a surprise. Joel composed the American Songbook-flavored track in 2005 as a first anniversary gift for his wife, with hopes that Tony Bennett would record it. He decided to make his own version for their second anniversary -- "Call me a cheapskate," he cracks -- and was surprised when Columbia Records executives campaigned to release it as a digital single.

And if nothing else, he notes, it's given him at least one new song to perform at his shows, although he wraps up his current road trek May 9 in St. Paul, Minn., and has no definite plans ahead of him.

"Look," Joe says, "I still love rock'n'roll. I still love pop music. I haven't divorced myself from the material I wrote before. That's why I'm out here on the road playing this stuff. I still believe in it."

And thank goodness...'cause that last pop song he released was CRAP!

To be honest, the fact that Billy Joel's not feeling like writing pop songs makes me...shrug. Whatever.

Is that any reason to foist him on the classical music loving public? What did we ever do to you?

Billy Joel is my favorite musician.

from Billboard - Billy Joel not motivated to write pop songs...

from IMWAN - Gary Dunaier not motivated to buy Billy Joel records...

Two good albums: "52nd Street" and "The Stranger". And of course his breakthrough single, "Piano Man".

If he was broke he'd get motivated.

Maybe he needs to hit the bottle again. Between him and McCartney thinking they are Mozart or Beethoven just shut up and Rock and Roll man!!

Two good albums: "52nd Street" and "The Stranger". And of course his breakthrough single, "Piano Man".



Really? Glass Houses and The Nylon Curtain are both great and so is Turnstiles. Wait, so is Street Life Serenade. And, Piano Man is a great album too. Certainly more than 2 good albums!
Glass Houses rocks-a great mix of New Wave and adapting to the times. I didn't care for anything after The Nylon Curtain, but he still came up with a good batch of songs per album.
I doubt he's good another good album in him, but I'd be willing to listen if he tried.

Cold Spring Harbour found its way into my listening rotation about a week ago. It's very good, especially for a debut. Frankly, I don't think Billy has released a truly bad album at all -- some are stronger than others, of course, but they all have more than a couple of enjoyable songs.

There are probably good songs to be found throughout Billy's catalog, but from what I've heard, "52nd Street", "The Stranger", and maybe a comp for the rest, is enough for me.

Is this a quote from 1977?

Best screensaver ever?

Is this the scene just before, just after or during the car accident?

Is that Alexa Joel?

Is it just me, or have Billy Joel and Peter Gabriel become twins lately?

Then you're not going to like what he's doing for your least favourite team ...

http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/articl ... &fext=.jsp



Joel concert to help close Shea era

By Ben Apatoff / MLB.com
02/07/2008 2:26 PM ET

NEW YORK - If anyone at Thursday's press conference at Shea Stadium needed a refresher on the venue's rock 'n' roll history, they got it in the form of a video montage introduced by Mets Executive Vice President Dave Howard. Footage of the Beatles playing the first major outdoor rock concert in history and now-legendary shows by the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen preceded the introduction of the man who will headline the final musical performance at the Amazin's ballpark: New York's own Billy Joel.

Joel, looking every bit the everyman in a baseball cap and goatee, took the podium to much applause. The native New Yorker acknowledged the honor of being chosen for this performance. "I remember when the Beatles played in '65 at Shea; they were my idols and still are," said Joel. "This is something I never dreamed of back in the day."

The concert, dubbed "The Last Play at Shea," will take place on Wednesday, July 16, 2008. The show will make Joel the first artist in history to perform at all four of New York City's major sporting venues; Shea Stadium, Yankee Stadium, Giants Stadium, and Madison Square Garden, where Joel sold out a record-breaking 12 consecutive shows in 2006.

"Shea Stadium is one of the most hallowed venues in rock 'n' roll history and it's an honor to help throw Shea the ultimate concert farewell party," said Joel, in a prepared statement. "As a sports fan and a music lover, I will always have a place for Shea Stadium in my heart. I thank the Mets for giving me and my fans a chance to rock Shea Stadium one last time for the ages."

Joel expressed his thanks at the press conference, where he was given a Mets jersey with "JOEL 08" inscribed on the back. The rock singer, who has sold over 100 million records worldwide, engaged the press with stories about his boyhood baseball fandom, from overcoming his distress that the Dodgers left Brooklyn to watching Mets pitcher Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell in the 1960s. "I've been to more Mets games than Yankees games," said Joel, who claimed that he would have written more songs about the Mets had he known more words that rhyme with "Mets."

Despite remaining hugely popular on the concert circuit, Billy Joel has not released a record of original pop music since 1993. When asked if his touring success had inspired him to write more, he smiled. "No. It's inspired me to keep touring," said Joel. "Hopefully we'll have something new to perform here." Joel did not elaborate on whether it would be a new song or a new aspect to his performance.

Since his first solo album in 1972, Billy Joel has had 33 Top 40 hits and 23 Grammy nominations, winning six. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, and is also well-respected for his copious amounts of charity work, which earned him the 2002 MusiCares Person of the Year award from the MusiCares Foundation.

Shea Stadium opened in 1964 and has been the home of the Mets ever since. It was the home of NFL's New York Jets for 20 seasons and the New York Giants in 1975, and has also hosted several significant rock concerts, including 1970's Festival for Peace concert with Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jimi Hendrix, Paul Simon, Janis Joplin and many others, and the Elton John and Eric Clapton double bill in 1992. Shea Stadium is scheduled to be replaced by Citi Field, which is currently under construction, in 2009.

I wonder if they asked Paul to play .
If not, they should have.
I'm not a Joel fan, so I'm disappointed that he will be the last musical performer there.

My Billy Joel collection consists of his 1st 4 CBS albums: Piano Man, Streetwise Serenader, Turnstiles & The Stranger. He lost me after that; too poppy.

It's a shame, especially the first 3 were really great records & back in those days he put on an amazing live show.