Ok nominations are up. I decided to just go ahead and put every song that got at least 2 nominations, or a nomination and a second, from the previous thread. So there are a lot of choices, but who knows, maybe one of these dark horse candidates will pull through for a victory.
So, of the nominated songs listed on the poll, which is the best Billy Joel Song of all time?
If your personal choice for best song didn’t make the nominations, vote for your favorite that did get on the list, or complain about it in a post. There is no “other” option for a reason!
I would have been comfortable with voting for half a dozen other songs, but “The Stranger” is very different from the others in terms of composition and theme, so I went with it. The whistled opening theme kind of kicks it up to a higher level.
New York State of Mind evokes homesickness and longing, and is one of his best efforts, but as a Vietnam vet, Goodnight Saigon really hits hard with me.
I find it interesting that Billy Joel’s personal favorite of his songs is apparently Vienna, which only one person here has voted for. You don’t suppose…?
I didn’t know Vienna was his own personal favorite. In the nominations thread it was definitely one of the more popular choices though.
Interesting, though not surprising, that Piano Man has the 2nd most votes and almost tied for first, considering it took a long time for it to get nominated and didn’t have nearly as many nominations as other songs did.
This series of threads got me putting in some Billy Joel albums that I haven’t listened to in a long time; I listened to him a lot between the ages of 12-18, after which my interest kind of petered out.
I forgot how good he is, and what a unique artistic voice he has. Certainly it’s a rock and roll that is in its own category.
I love so many of the songs in this poll, but after going back and listening to each one before voting, I had to pick Captain jack. There’s such an overpowering sense of sincere white middle-class ennui/depression that comes through in that song, musically and lyrically. The picture he paints is strong, evocative, and unlike any other song I can think of.
I voted Pressure. I’m surprised to see all the love for Piano Man. That’s one song that has been just overplayed to death, I can’t even evaluate it fairly. Every time I think of the song, I get horrible flashbacks to bad karaoke versions of the song or else a bunch of drunk 30 something females singing along with the song in dive bars.
Again, imagine how Billy Joel feels: the dude can presumably drop any other song from his set, but he pretty much has to do that one every time, right?
I think Songs from the Attic was the first CD I ever bought. Granted, this was early in the adoption of CDs, so the selection at the local record shop wasn’t outstanding. But no regrets.
