| steven 35638 16.05.2008 08:10 |
Both my girlfriend and I have an immense amount of respect and admiration for Billy Joel, as he is quite the musical mastermind. Together we have started collecting his material, including his comprehensive box set, which has yet to cease our interest. The whole reason I got into Queen is due to their musical diversity and wonderful musical capabilities, and for the first time since then, an artist, being Billy Joel, has encaptured my attention due to such reasons. He must be one of the greatest composers of all time; he ventured off into classical music (his suites for piano, opuses, which are all excellent), western (somewhat Copland, in which on his first album he makes sure to add some wonderful string parts and brass), and of course the traditional element of great rock and roll! If a Queen fan is having trouble moving on to other music, Billy Joel would be right up his or her alley. If you have read thus far, I thank you. Please leave any comments, positive or negative; whatever it takes for a decent discussion. |
| PieterMC 16.05.2008 09:27 |
I love Billy Joel. I only have a couple of albums of his that I still need to get. Erin and I saw in him in concert with Elton John and then by himself a couple of years ago. Hopefully he will play somewhere around here again soon. |
| Ms. Rebel 16.05.2008 09:35 |
I <3 Billy Joel :) |
| Erin 16.05.2008 10:52 |
Dan likes him so much, he bought a $60 Billy Joel mug! ;-) |
| Micrówave 16.05.2008 12:17 |
Can I get some "whatah"? |
| Dan C. 16.05.2008 18:20 |
Erin wrote: Dan likes him so much, he bought a $60 Billy Joel mug! ;-)HA! I DO love Billy Joel... |
| Mr.Jingles 16.05.2008 20:43 |
I really wanted to go to one of the 2 last shows at Shea Stadium before the demolition for a new Mets Stadium. The venue held it's first rock gig with The Beatles back in 1965, and who better than a New York rock legend like Billy Joel to close it. The best seats available where on the upper levels of the stadium where hardly anything can be seen. In order to get good seats in the front I'd have to dish out $500 to $2000 bucks. I ended up getting tickets to see him at the Mohegan Sun Arena in CT. |
| PieterMC 16.05.2008 21:34 |
Mr.Jingles wrote: In order to get good seats in the front I'd have to dish out $500 to $2000 bucks.I guess your not a real fan then!! ;-P |
| Charlie Brown 16.05.2008 23:15 |
I would like to put a word in for Billy Joels Stormfront album. Some outstanding songs from the album, Stormfront, Shameless, Downeaster Alexa, I Go To Extremes. |
| steven 35638 17.05.2008 00:47 |
It's wonderful to see we have several Billy Joel fans on Queenzone! So far, my favorite album of his is 'Piano Man', but then again I've only heard two Billy Joel albums in their entirety. Speaking of 'Piano Man', I really love 'You're My Home'. Beautifully crafted song; from note to note it is utterly romantic and moving. When I first heard it I immediately thought of my girlfriend. So, in your opinion, what is Billy's best album? |
| Mr.Jingles 17.05.2008 04:07 |
PieterMC wrote:LOL!Mr.Jingles wrote: In order to get good seats in the front I'd have to dish out $500 to $2000 bucks.I guess your not a real fan then!! ;-P Me thinks I should come up with an Artist Arena page for Billy Joel fans. |
| The Real Wizard 19.05.2008 22:04 |
Steve wrote: He must be one of the greatest composers of all timeHe's amazing, but I wouldn't go so far, when you've got guys like Stevie Wonder and Frank Zappa in the running. |
| steven 35638 19.05.2008 22:21 |
Sir GHIt's just my opinion. |
| PieterMC 19.05.2008 23:23 |
Sir GHI'll take Billy Joel over those two any day. It's just a matter of personal opinion. |
| Yara 19.05.2008 23:38 |
Steve wrote:Which is not in any way inferior to anyone's! It's just SirGH's opinion that SW and FZ are better too! ;-) Though, granted, he's a most distinguished knight who knows more about music than I'll ever know.Sir GHIt's just my opinion. Don't get apologetic for stating your opinions. You're doing great, I like your posts, they're very thoughtful, you seem to be very dedicated to music and very sensitive. I wish you the best, to you and your girlfriend. |
| QueenMercury46 20.05.2008 02:40 |
I love Billy, I saw him live in February. |
| Mr.Jingles 20.05.2008 08:22 |
PieterMC wrote:Stevie Wonder and Billy Joel are two of my favorite singers/songwriters.Sir GHI'll take Billy Joel over those two any day. It's just a matter of personal opinion. I'll have a blast watching them live this summer. |
| The Real Wizard 20.05.2008 10:59 |
Fully agreed, opinions are opinions. Personal taste will ultimately decide who is most popular and who is most influential (particularly to others in their field), but they will not decide who will have contributed more to the evolution of music. If everyone was influenced by Jennifer Lopez, we'd be at a grinding halt. The words used were "one of the greatest composers of all time". That really isn't an opinion being expressed. It's a mention of an incredibly elite group that only a very few (spanning the entire history of music) belong to. With Stevie Wonder, Frank Zappa, Miles Davis, Bela Bartok, Edgard Varese, and Igor Stravinsky in the picture, you're not going to find too many trained musicians (shouldn't they be the ones voting, since they can best guage these things from experience and understanding of their field?) who will vote for Joel here. The key to joining this group is innovation. Joel isn't the first pop-oriented musician to branch out into classical. Decades before, bands like Yes created new sounds by using classical structures within rock, which is a step ahead. It can be argued that side A of the Close To The Edge album contributed more to the evolution of music than Joel's entire catalog has. As admirable as his move was, Joel's classical works don't stand up against anything written in that field in the last 100 years. We can mention guys like Phil Collins and Elton John, as their quality of songwriting, diversity, accessibility, and range of audience are well worth commending like Joel's, but they're not among the greatest composers of all time. The world of contemporary popular music is only a small fraction of what exists, but it is also only what the overwhelming majority of the population are exposed to, for a number of reasons. That said, a hundred years from now, if only one of the above will be grouped in with the "greatest composers of all time", it will most likely be Stravinsky or Zappa. Stravinsky tread more new ground in the Firebird alone than most who came later have in their entire career, likewise with Zappa on Hot Rats or Jazz From Hell. Speaking of jazz, there's another entire world of musical evolution worth discussing. But with the way things have so rapidly declined in the last 25 years (compared to about 1000 years of steady growth), who knows how much influence from the truly great contemporary writers will ever be felt...? And since this is a Queen forum, maybe we should ask, how many 6-minute pop-oriented songs as diverse, complex, and accessibile as Bohemian Rhapsody have reached the level of popularity and success as it did? The answer is zero, because there is no room for another Bohemian Rhapsody - in the mainstream. Look elsewhere and you will find. Wherever this discussion goes, just don't shoot (or even discuss) the messenger(s). Let's focus on the topic on hand. |
| Carol! the Musical 20.05.2008 23:21 |
I should visit these boards more... There are always nice threads when I'm gone. :P I love Billy Joel to bits! I saw him live last year in May, and it was fantastic. :DDDD |
| pma 29.05.2008 09:43 |
Why Oh why isn't Billy Joel doing any touring in Europe. I'm already paying a ridiculous price to see some old hoarse sounding bald hasbeen and his Red Piano-blandness in December, so I'd easily dish the same money for some BJ... |
| steven 35638 31.05.2008 00:46 |
Yara wrote:Thanks for the kind words, Yara. I'm sorry I didn't read this until now (I've been quite busy). The feelings are mutual, I admire your knowledge and love for music as well. :)Steve wrote:Which is not in any way inferior to anyone's! It's just SirGH's opinion that SW and FZ are better too! ;-) Though, granted, he's a most distinguished knight who knows more about music than I'll ever know. Don't get apologetic for stating your opinions. You're doing great, I like your posts, they're very thoughtful, you seem to be very dedicated to music and very sensitive. I wish you the best, to you and your girlfriend.Sir GHIt's just my opinion. |
| steven 35638 31.05.2008 00:48 |
Sir GHWonderful post! I enjoyed reading it! |
| FreeSpirit328 25.06.2008 03:32 |
I love Billy Joel! He's on my top lists of artist along with Queen and Heart. Such talent! I have all his CDs...well up until 1997 anyway. I will admit that I don't like the classical stuff, so perhaps I'm not as big a fan as I'd like tothink, but I love everything he did prior to turning to classical music. |
| QueenTaylor 25.06.2008 09:51 |
must've missed this topic before...but I agree :) I love Billy Joel's music! He's a great musician. I wanted to get tickets to see him in concert, but by the time I did, they were all sold out. |