Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Billy Joel teamed with Phil Ramone, a famed engineer who had just scored his first producing hits with Art Garfunkel's Breakaway and Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years for The Stranger, his follow-up to Turnstiles. Joel still favored big, sweeping melodies, but Ramone convinced him to streamline his arrangements and clean up the production. The results aren't necessarily revelatory, since he covered so much ground on Turnstiles, but the commercialism of The Stranger is a bit of a surprise. None of his ballads have been as sweet or slick as "Just the Way You Are"; he never had created a rocker as bouncy or infectious as "Only the Good Die Young"; and the glossy production of "She's Always a Woman" disguises its latent misogynist streak. Joel balanced such radio-ready material with a series of New York vignettes, seemingly inspired by Springsteen's working-class fables and clearly intended to be the artistic centerpieces of the album. They do provide The Stranger with the feel of a concept album, yet there is no true thematic connection between the pieces, and his lyrics are often vague or mean-spirited. His lyrical shortcomings are overshadowed by his musical strengths. Even if his melodies sound more Broadway than Beatles -- the epic suite "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" feels like a show-stopping closer -- there's no denying that the melodies of each song on The Stranger are memorable, so much so that they strengthen the weaker portions of the album. Joel rarely wrote a set of songs better than those on The Stranger, nor did he often deliver an album as consistently listenable.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From 13,50€/month
Billy Joel, Vocal - Billy Joel, Composer - Billy Joel, Lyricist - Billy Joel, Piano - Billy Joel, Synthesizer - Billy Joel, Performer - Richie Cannata, Organ - Richie Cannata, Flute - Richie Cannata, Tenor Saxophone - Richie Cannata, Soprano Saxophone - Richie Cannata, Clarinet - Jim Boyer, Engineer - Ted Jensen, Mastering Engineer - Steve Kahn, Guitar - Steve Kahn, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Steve Kahn, Electric Guitar - Hiram Bulock, Electric Guitar - Doug Stegmeyer, Bass - Patrick Williams, Orchestrator - Liberty DeVitto, Drums - Phil Ramone, Producer - Phil Ramone, Engineer
(P) 1977 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Billy Joel, Vocal - Billy Joel, Piano - Billy Joel, Synthesizer - Billy Joel, Performer - Billy Joel, Composer - Ralph MacDonald, Percussion - Richie Cannata, Organ - Richie Cannata, Flute - Richie Cannata, Tenor Saxophone - Richie Cannata, Soprano Saxophone - Richie Cannata, Clarinet - Jim Boyer, Engineer - Steve Kahn, Guitar - Steve Kahn, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Steve Kahn, Electric Guitar - Hiram Bulock, Electric Guitar - Doug Stegmeyer, Bass - Patrick Williams, Orchestrator - Liberty DeVitto, Drums - Phil Ramone, Producer - Phil Ramone, Engineer
(P) 1977 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Steve Burgh, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Billy Joel, Vocal - Billy Joel, Composer - Billy Joel, Piano - Billy Joel, Synthesizer - Billy Joel, Performer - Phil Woods, Alto Saxophone - Didier Deutsch, Mastering Engineer - Ralph MacDonald, Percussion - Richie Cannata, Organ - Richie Cannata, Flute - Richie Cannata, Tenor Saxophone - Richie Cannata, Soprano Saxophone - Richie Cannata, Clarinet - Jim Boyer, Engineer - Ted Jensen, Mastering Engineer - Steve Kahn, Guitar - Steve Kahn, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Steve Kahn, Electric Guitar - Hiram Bulock, Electric Guitar - Doug Stegmeyer, Bass - Hugh McCracken, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Darcy Proper, Mastering Engineer - Patrick Williams, Orchestrator - Liberty DeVitto, Drums - Phil Ramone, Producer - Phil Ramone, Engineer
(P) 1977 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Steve Burgh, Electric Guitar - Billy Joel, Vocal - Billy Joel, Piano - Billy Joel, Synthesizer - Billy Joel, Performer - Billy Joel, Lyricist - Billy Joel, Composer - Richie Cannata, Organ - Richie Cannata, Flute - Richie Cannata, Tenor Saxophone - Richie Cannata, Soprano Saxophone - Richie Cannata, Clarinet - Jim Boyer, Engineer - Dominic Cortese, Acordeon - Steve Kahn, Guitar - Steve Kahn, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Steve Kahn, Electric Guitar - Hiram Bulock, Electric Guitar - Doug Stegmeyer, Bass - Hugh McCracken, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Patrick Williams, Orchestrator - Liberty DeVitto, Drums - Phil Ramone, Producer - Phil Ramone, Engineer
(P) 1977 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Billy Joel, Vocal - Billy Joel, Piano - Billy Joel, Synthesizer - Billy Joel, Performer - Billy Joel, Lyricist - Billy Joel, Composer - Richie Cannata, Organ - Richie Cannata, Flute - Richie Cannata, Tenor Saxophone - Richie Cannata, Soprano Saxophone - Richie Cannata, Clarinet - Jim Boyer, Engineer - Dominic Cortese, Acordeon - Steve Kahn, Guitar - Steve Kahn, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Steve Kahn, Electric Guitar - Hiram Bulock, Electric Guitar - Doug Stegmeyer, Bass - Patrick Williams, Orchestrator - Liberty DeVitto, Drums - Phil Ramone, Producer - Phil Ramone, Engineer
(P) 1977 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Billy Joel, Vocal - Billy Joel, Composer - Billy Joel, Lyricist - Billy Joel, Piano - Billy Joel, Synthesizer - Billy Joel, Performer - Richie Cannata, Organ - Richie Cannata, Flute - Richie Cannata, Tenor Saxophone - Richie Cannata, Soprano Saxophone - Richie Cannata, Clarinet - Jim Boyer, Engineer - Ted Jensen, Mastering Engineer - Steve Kahn, Guitar - Steve Kahn, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Steve Kahn, Electric Guitar - Hiram Bulock, Electric Guitar - Doug Stegmeyer, Bass - Patrick Williams, Orchestrator - Liberty DeVitto, Drums - Phil Ramone, Producer - Phil Ramone, Engineer
(P) 1977 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Steve Burgh, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Billy Joel, Vocal - Billy Joel, Composer - Billy Joel, Lyricist - Billy Joel, Piano - Billy Joel, Synthesizer - Billy Joel, Performer - Richie Cannata, Organ - Richie Cannata, Flute - Richie Cannata, Tenor Saxophone - Richie Cannata, Soprano Saxophone - Richie Cannata, Clarinet - Jim Boyer, Engineer - Ted Jensen, Mastering Engineer - Steve Kahn, Guitar - Steve Kahn, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Steve Kahn, Electric Guitar - Hiram Bulock, Electric Guitar - Doug Stegmeyer, Bass - Hugh McCracken, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Patrick Williams, Orchestrator - Liberty DeVitto, Drums - Phil Ramone, Producer - Phil Ramone, Engineer
(P) 1977 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Billy Joel, Vocal - Billy Joel, Piano - Billy Joel, Synthesizer - Billy Joel, Performer - Billy Joel, Lyricist - Billy Joel, Composer - Richie Cannata, Organ - Richie Cannata, Flute - Richie Cannata, Tenor Saxophone - Richie Cannata, Soprano Saxophone - Richie Cannata, Clarinet - Raloph MacDonald, Percussion - Jim Boyer, Engineer - Steve Kahn, Guitar - Steve Kahn, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Steve Kahn, Electric Guitar - Hiram Bulock, Electric Guitar - Doug Stegmeyer, Bass - Hugh McCracken, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Patrick Williams, Orchestrator - Liberty DeVitto, Drums - Phil Ramone, Producer - Phil Ramone, Engineer
(P) 1977 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Gwen Guthrie, Background Vocal - Billy Joel, Vocal - Billy Joel, Piano - Billy Joel, Synthesizer - Billy Joel, Performer - Billy Joel, Composer - Billy Joel, Lyricist - Richard Tee, Organ - Ralph MacDonald, Percussion - Patti Austin, Background Vocal - Phoebe Snow, Background Vocal - Richie Cannata, Organ - Richie Cannata, Flute - Richie Cannata, Tenor Saxophone - Richie Cannata, Soprano Saxophone - Richie Cannata, Clarinet - Lani Groves, Background Vocal - Jim Boyer, Engineer - Phil Ramone, Producer - Steve Kahn, Guitar - Steve Kahn, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Steve Kahn, Electric Guitar - Hiram Bulock, Electric Guitar - Doug Stegmeyer, Bass - Hugh McCracken, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Patrick Williams, Orchestrator - Liberty DeVitto, Drums - Phil Ramone, Producer - Phil Ramone, Engineer
(P) 1977 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Albumbeschreibung
Billy Joel teamed with Phil Ramone, a famed engineer who had just scored his first producing hits with Art Garfunkel's Breakaway and Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years for The Stranger, his follow-up to Turnstiles. Joel still favored big, sweeping melodies, but Ramone convinced him to streamline his arrangements and clean up the production. The results aren't necessarily revelatory, since he covered so much ground on Turnstiles, but the commercialism of The Stranger is a bit of a surprise. None of his ballads have been as sweet or slick as "Just the Way You Are"; he never had created a rocker as bouncy or infectious as "Only the Good Die Young"; and the glossy production of "She's Always a Woman" disguises its latent misogynist streak. Joel balanced such radio-ready material with a series of New York vignettes, seemingly inspired by Springsteen's working-class fables and clearly intended to be the artistic centerpieces of the album. They do provide The Stranger with the feel of a concept album, yet there is no true thematic connection between the pieces, and his lyrics are often vague or mean-spirited. His lyrical shortcomings are overshadowed by his musical strengths. Even if his melodies sound more Broadway than Beatles -- the epic suite "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" feels like a show-stopping closer -- there's no denying that the melodies of each song on The Stranger are memorable, so much so that they strengthen the weaker portions of the album. Joel rarely wrote a set of songs better than those on The Stranger, nor did he often deliver an album as consistently listenable.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 9 track(s)
- Total length: 00:42:28
- Main artists: Billy Joel
- Composer: Billy Joel
- Label: Columbia
- Genre: Pop/Rock
(P) 1977 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.
