Billy Joel - Piano Man (1973)

Note: the CD I listened to was not the 2011 "Legacy edition" reissue.

Trying something different today: even though I consider myself to be a big Billy Joel fan from 1977 on, I've never heard this particular album complete. So when I recently saw this CD in the clearance bin for $3, I couldn't pass up the opportunity, despite the frightening cover art. Admittedly, I'm familiar with a few tunes from their inclusion on Songs in the Attic, and the title track is an Irish bar singalong waltz classic, but I'm counting 6 of the 10 tracks that might be new to me. On first blush:

• Travelin' Prayer ✘
• Ain't No Crime
• Worse Comes to Worst (music isn't bad, but the lyrics may be Joel's worst, pun intended)
• Stop in Nevada ✔
• If I Only Had the Words (To Tell You) ✔
• Somewhere Along the Line ✘

Initial take: the sound of a songwriter still finding his style. He picked the correct songs for inclusion on Songs In The Attic. No liner notes included, so how am I to know that Larry Carlton played on this?

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #27

Tracks: see above

For more information on the brief life of the CD longbox,
go visit The Legend of the Longbox.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, obviously

Previously revisited for the blog:

My Lives (2005)
2000 Years: The Millennium Concert (2000)

To Make You Feel My Love (1997)

Storm Front (1989)

The Bridge (1986)

An Innocent Man (1983)

The Nylon Curtain (1982)

Songs in the Attic (1981)

Glass Houses (1980)

52nd Street (1978)

The Stranger (1977)

Turnstiles (1976)