The Songs:





1) She's Got A Way

2) You Can Make Me Free

3) Everybody Love You Now

4) Why Judy Why

5) Falling of the Rain

6) Turn Around

7) You Looks So Good To Me

8) Tomorrow Is Today

9) Nocturne

10) Got to Begin Again

The Breakdown

My Ranking

Falling of the Rain Everybody Loves You Now Got to Begin Again Tomorrow Is Today You Can Make Me Free She's Got A Way Why Judy Why Nocturne You Look So Good To Me Turn Around

My Final Rating:





7.6/10

Hey, Josh aka "Bobcat" here for my first post!When I first listened to, I wasn't the biggest fan. However, the album has grown on me as of late. I believe that this album does follow the trend that debut albums tend to have where there are strokes of genius throughout the album that may not be present in all of the later releases. This album is a lot simpler than Joel's later albums, but it still has its moments of great arrangements. This album is also frequently panned for how its mixing was screwed up, but the mix doesn't both me, and it isn't even too noticeable to me outside of the first 2 measures of the opening track. So without further ado, let's jump right into my track-by-track review ofby Billy Joel.As mentioned earlier, the first 2 measures bug me. I don't know what it is, but it just seems off. Billy Joel is only playing simple G major chords, but for some reason they sound dissonant, which doesn't make any sense. I believe it's how the chords ring out after their initial playing, but I still can't explain why this is happening. Aside from that, this is a very beautiful love song, and the much better version fromhas gotten me to the brink of tears several times on many a lonesome night. It's a simple love song, but sometimes less really does say more. I think everyone who's ever been in love can relate to this song because it perfectly describes the mindless love of everything someone does that is called "love." The lighter, more melodic voice Billy Joel had in his earlier albums fits this song very well, and it makes for a great opening to an amazing career.I will give this song a 7.0/10This song is the first glimpse we look into the beautiful orchestrations present in Joel's later works. Yet another love song (this album has a lot of those), this song's message is yet another simple one, stating how love makes people feel like they are capable of anything. I like how this song builds up to the orchestration. It starts of with just piano then introduces in order: bass, something high (maybe synth or acordian), drums, and finally guitar. I also am a fan of how start to see a bit of Joel's vocal diversity with lines like "OH DON'T YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN MAKE IT SO MUCH BETTER" towards the end and just his general small moments of belting. In general, this is a great follow up to, slowly building up to the more exciting air of the next song on the album.I will give this song a 7.3/10Oh boy, now we're starting to get to the bangers. For awhile this was my favorite track on the album, and I know it is for many others. Picking up the pace with that exciting piano playing quick arpeggios. The drum work is also very fantastic, excellently complimenting the fast, energetic style of the song. Now, for a long time I thought this song was yet another song of adoration, but a few weeks ago I realized that it's actually the complete opposite. He's writing this for someone he can't stand, whether it's about a real person, we may never know though. Joel's very subtle passive aggressive tone makes this song for me now that I've realized that, if you never realized that, I could totally understand why. This song also provides a title drop for the album, which is something I always enjoy hearing within an album. While I'm not always one to look at chord progressions, I like this song's chord progression in particular because it uses vi6 and viidim chords and makes them fit right into the natural flow of the song. I'm sure I could find examples of that in other songs, but this is the only one I've actually tried to learn to play.I will give this song an 8.3/10This track especially was a real grower for me. I love the little acoustic guitar solo in the middle, I think it adds a special touch to the song. Something I find interesting is that this song is composed as a love song, but it's really about a broken heart. While that in itself is not too uncommon, this song goes all in on that style, bringing in the romantic violins and everything. The acoustic guitar solo I mentioned earlier if taken completely out of context, I would assume it's a love song. I could presume that it's a song about trying to win Judy back, but there's nothing else to really prove that. He sometimes refers to Judy in the third person, so he can't be singing to her, so I think it's merely him trying to move on and just wishing he knew why she let him go. Melodically, this song is very nice. It is also the first instance of "true" orchestration with the strings in the background. Tonally, this song is sweet, hard-wrenching, and relatable for anyone who has ever been dumped before.I will give this song a 6.8/10This right here is my favorite song on this album. For whatever reason, I feel like others don't see the same beauty in this song that I do. Joel's use of imagery and story telling creates a compelling and beautiful yet melancholic narrative in the span of just 2:37. This song is all about the passing of time, and how it can't be stopped and will always catch up to you, so there's no use in trying to ignore it. Personally, this song has added a beauty to rain that I can't unsee. However, it's a unique kind of beauty. It's the type of beauty that you can only find if you take a close look and learn to appreciate all the little things. It's the type of beauty that is universal, and yet no one seems to notice it. It's the type of beauty that is born from sorrow and looking back on how it made you better. The song's subtext conveys the message of "don't cry because it's over, smile because it happening." (Whoo, now I'm starting to get a little emotional thinking about certain events that have transpired lately, resulting in the death of someone I had watched on YouTube for years.) The simple arrangement only adds to the beauty of this song. I genuinely don't know if I can describe my feelings for this song better than I already have.I will give this song a 9.4/10Yet another beautiful song about I think heart break???? The message isn't too clear to me, except the whole thing about having to begin anew. The orchestration of this song is also really good. While it isn't one of my favorite songs on the album, I certainly still like it. There isn't too much I can say about this song because there's nothing particularly of note in my opinion. If you know what the message this song is trying to convey is, please tell me because I already like this song, and I think that could potentially elevate this song for me.I will give this song a 6.1/10I really like the happy go lucky tone this song has. It's likeonly more upbeat. Joel's simple look on love present throughout this album is extra present here. Yet another relatable love song that conveys the feeling when you absolutely adore someone. While I like this song, it's another one where I only sorta like it. At least in this one I can extrapolate a message from it. Something in the arrangement I like it how the "piano part" is mainly played by a synth, but at times, a real piano plays along with the synth. Here we have the first use of harmonica in a Billy Joel song, which he is well known for using, and the harmonica solo is very nice and fun.I will give this song a 6.7/10This is a lovely ballad. The part where Joel switches to a rougher, more throaty tone is very fun, and I like how in the last few word he smoothly goes back into his softer voice. This is another one where I'm not completely sure about the message, but I think it's another one about love and the passage of time. However, unlike Turn Around, I like this song so much that I don't really need a message to enjoy it as much. In fact even without a message, this song still gets me emotional, and in my opinion, the mark of a truly great song and/or artist is one that can get you to feel the emotion the song is trying to convey. Joel is a true master of making somber songs that put a pit in your stomach, and I think this song is an excellent example of that.I will give this song a 7.7/10Oh boy, this is gonna be an interesting review. Even though I am a musician and listen to some classical music, I'm not great at describing the specific musical things I'm hearing in songs just by listening. That might just be a problem since this is a piano only piece. I like whatever the left hand is doing; I'm not sure if it's arpeggios or scales. I also like how each time the main "verse" of the song repeats, it starts off slowly and then does a quick poco a poco accelerando, which for you non-music nerd means getting faster little by little. The right hand is nice, but it's nothing too special. The grace notes before every note add a nice touch. A little after hand way through and again towards the end, it seems like the song picked up the tempo, but it's at the the same tempo, it's just that right hand is playing note more often, which I think is cool. The composition is very nice, but it's nowhere near one of my favorite piano pieces.I will give this song a 6.8/10This is the final song of the album, and it's an excellent end to a great album. This album is very clearly a heart break song. However, I've always interpreted this as going along with losing a spouse or someone close to you and wishing you spent more time in the now with them, appreciating the time you have. If anyone has lost someone close to them, I think they can understand what I mean. This song is very beautiful, and the message of focusing on the now and "you don't know what you have until it's gone" are both beautifully conveyed through the song. To anyone reading this that's going through a rough patch, remember to listen to this song, just focus on the now and begin again, carrying on with your life despite how hard it may be. I don't know what else I can say about this song. I think what I've already said speaks loudly enough for how I feel about this song.I will give this song an 8.1/10This album is vastly underrated in my opinion. It may be very raw with the simpler arrangements, but I think that plays to this album's strengths. In terms of the ability to convey emotion, I would say this is Billy Joel's best album, hands down. The part where this album loses points is diversity. All these songs are about 1 of 2 things: The beauty of love or the pain of love. Compared to an album likewhere all of the songs are about painting love in a good way, this album just cannot compete. Even thoughis less diverse when it comes to themes, it's consistent and the actual songs are very different. There isn't that much variation from song to song onwhich makes it feel fairly stagnant. However despite what I've just said, I preferover, but that's just due to personal preference. But if you listen to this album and really listen to it, you're gonna be in for an emotional joy ride.I rank the songs like this:Keep in mind that this is all just my personal opinion