28 July

The Stranger by Billy Joel

Columbia Records just recently released a remastered version of the Stranger in honour of its 30th year anniversary.. Which is odd because it came out in September of 1977.. so the 30th anniversary is long since past.. but anyway.. I got it.. and it got me to thinking how huge a part of my childhood Billy Joel was.. in particular The Stranger..

The Stranger was the first album I ever really connected with.. Billy Joel was the first artist I ever really connected with.. I was a baby.. all the smarmy and smug criticisms of his music by critics, saying he was shmaltzy and over sentimental.. that was all lost on me.. I loved the music.. I loved his voice and I loved the words.. I still do.. The first time I ever heard him was on a plane from France to America.. Moving Out was the song.. it was on one of those radio channels where you had spend money for a set of headphones which you have to give back at the end of the flight.. Anyway, I was completely blown away.. It was one of those life-changing moments.. We begged our mother to find the album and get it for us.. Apparently she was already familiar with him.. and the first thing back we got our copy of the Stranger.. our first copy of many.. because we played this album into the ground.. From Moving out to She's Always a Woman, this album is perfect.. I've always felt that the last two songs diminish the overall greatness, but still, 7 classic songs in a row.. not.. too.. shabby..

I've always felt that if a guy that looked and sounded like Billy Joel did in 1977 came out right now, with the exact songs he had.. He'd be a huge sensation.. and totally hip.. and yet, he's always been saddled with the rep of being a soft cock sapmeister..

Anyway, fuck that.. The Stranger's great we all know it.. so here you go.. The Stranger.. In all it's remastered Glory..

 

All songs by Billy Joel. "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" – 3:30 "The Stranger" – 5:10 "Just the Way You Are" – 4:52 "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" – 7:37 "Vienna" – 3:34 "Only the Good Die Young" – 3:55 "She's Always a Woman" – 3:21 "Get It Right the First Time" – 3:57 "Everybody Has a Dream" – 6:38 Produced by Phil Ramone Released 1977 Columbia Records

 

17 July

Side Two, Friends by The Beach Boys

This is one of the sparest rock records ever made... It's a very little known fact outside music lover's circles that the Beach Boys recording output was more than just the grandiose singles of the early 60s that espoused fun in the sun, surfing, California girls (a song irrevocably hamred by David Lee Roth's horrible version) and hot rods.. No.. The Beach Boys of the late 60s and early 70s, in my estimation were WAY fucking cooler... This album is my favourite of theirs... A bizarre lp in its brevity and feel, to me, Friends is a fucking masterpiece of understatement... What I really love about it is the contribution of Dennis Wilson... His weathered and soulful voice breaks your heart as the songs Little Bird and Be Still will prove to you... Busy Doin' Nothin' is a work of crazed genius and the ripping sax on Transcedental Meditaion is another highlight for me... This album is way more of a group effort from them... Brian Wilson was already too far gone to handle the reins by himself.. that makes it all the more interesting to me... This album is gold.. This side is genius.. It goes by in a minute... but it stays with you forever...

Side Two Anna Lee, the Healer" (Brian Wilson/Mike Love) – 1:51 Features Mike Love on lead vocals "Little Bird" (Dennis Wilson/Steve Kalinich) – 1:57 Features Dennis Wilson on lead vocals "Be Still" (Dennis Wilson/Steve Kalinich) – 1:22 Features Dennis Wilson on lead vocals "Busy Doin' Nothin'" (Brian Wilson) – 3:04 Features Brian Wilson on lead vocals "Diamond Head" (Al Vescovo/Lyle Ritz/Jim Ackley/Brian Wilson) – 3:37 Instrumental "Transcendental Meditation" (Brian Wilson/Mike Love/Al Jardine) – 1:49 Features Brian Wilson and Alan Jardine on lead vocals

 

3 July

Side Two, Tim Hardin 1 by Tim Hardin

Next to Harry Nilsson, Tim Hardin is my favourite singer of all time...and Tim Hardin 1 is one of my all-time favourite albums.. One of the greatest and most OVERLOOKED debut albums ever made.. Not only did he have one of the most beautiful voices, he was also one of the great songwriters as well.. His songs have been covered by many, many artists... most notably Rod Stewart's version of "Reason to Believe", which is on this album side.. Stewart did a fine job of it, but it's nothing like the original... I remember distinctly when I first heard Hardin's version... It was on Vin Scelsa's classic old radio programme, "Idiot's Delight"... My mind was blown.. I had never heard a voice like that before.. from that moment on I was a fan for life..

Hardin's story is a sad one... drugs, lack of success and personal pain, took his life at way too early an age... But he did leave behind some wonderful songs...

 

Side 2 (all songs written by Tim Hardin) "Reason to Believe" "Never Too Far" "Part of the Wind" "Ain't Gonna Do Without" "Misty Roses" "How Can We Hang On to a Dream?" Produced by Erik Jacobsen Released 1966 Verve Records