re: Lets talk about Billy Joel's best album - Nylon Curtain

I have no idea what Billy Joel's best album is but wanted to talk about him so I picked this thread. I've been listening quite a bit to his Sirius 18 channel lately and realizing how much I've undervalued him over the years.

I grew up in the 80s and went to his concert at the Cajundome (Lafayette) when I was about 8 yrs old. His stories (on Sirius) of writing different songs are really interesting, including how New York State of Mind just came to him in less than an hour along with the talking about the real life characters in Piano Man. His love of The Beatles, Zeppelin, and Jimi Hendrix was interesting as they are some of my favorites (and obviously most people's favorites although I wouldn't think of them as his type of influence).

The Howard Stern Town Hall segment that they've been airing often is also very good. I've always thought of Joel as a piano guy but he's much more than that. His writing, emphasis on harmonies, incorporating other instruments, and transitions within a song are all seamless.

Not sure what my favorite song would be but there are at least 10 that would be considered. When I was a kid playing biddy basketball, there was a particular season where we had a lot of really close games and I happened to be the best on the team (that year). I read somewhere at the time that you perform better in those tense moments if you embrace the situation. Not knowing what 'Pressure' was about but liking the song, I would play the intro in my head (during the game) and it always seemed to give me the confidence to make the shot (or pass if needed).