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Billy Joel hit back as hard as he could with Glass Houses, his bid to prove that he could rock as hard as any of those new wave punks. He might not have proven himself a punk -- for all of his claims of being a hard rocker, his work inevitably is pop because of his fondness for melody -- but he proved to himself that he could still rock, even if the critics didn't give him any credit for it. It was now time to mature, to move pop/rock into the middle age and, in the process, earn critical respect. In short, The Nylon Curtain is where Billy Joel went serious, consciously crafting a song cycle about Baby Boomers in the Reagan era. Since this was an album about Baby Boomers, he chose to base his music almost entirely on the Beatles, the pivotal rock band for his generation. Joel is naturally inclined to write big melodies like McCartney, but he idolizes Lennon, which makes The Nylon Curtain a fascinating cross between ear candy and social commentary. His desire to record a grand concept album is admirable, but his ever-present lyrical shortcomings mean that the songs paint a picture without arriving at any insights. He occasionally gets lost in his own ambition, as on the waterlogged second side, but the first half of the song suite -- "Allentown," "Laura," "Pressure," "Goodnight Saigon," "She's Right on Time" -- is layered, successful, mature pop that brings Joel tantalizingly close to his ultimate goal of sophisticated pop/rock for mature audiences.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Andy Hofman, 2nd Engineer - Billy Joel, Composer - Billy Joel, Lyricist - Billy Joel, Performer - Billy Joel, Piano - Billy Joel, Synthesizer - Billy Joel, Vocal - Dave Grusin, Arranger - Doug Stegmeyer, Bass - Jim Boyer, Engineer - Jim Boyer, Re-Mixer - Larry Franke, 2nd Engineer - Liberty DeVitto, Drums - Liberty DeVitto, Percussion - Michael Christopher, 2nd Engineer - Phil Ramone, Producer - Russell Javors, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Russell Javors, Electric Guitar - Ted Jensen, Mastering Engineer - Ted Jensen, Re-Mastering Engineer
(P) 1982 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Andy Hofman, 2nd Engineer - Billy Joel, Composer - Billy Joel, Lyricist - Billy Joel, Performer - Billy Joel, Piano - Billy Joel, Synthesizer - Billy Joel, Vocal - Dave Grusin, Arranger - Doug Stegmeyer, Bass - Jim Boyer, Engineer - Jim Boyer, Re-Mixer - Larry Franke, 2nd Engineer - Liberty DeVitto, Drums - Liberty DeVitto, Percussion - Michael Christopher, 2nd Engineer - Phil Ramone, Producer - Russell Javors, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Russell Javors, Electric Guitar - Ted Jensen, Re-Mastering Engineer
(P) 1982 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Andy Hofman, 2nd Engineer - Billy Joel, Composer - Billy Joel, Performer - Billy Joel, Piano - Billy Joel, Synthesizer - Billy Joel, Vocal - Dave Grusin, Arranger - Doug Stegmeyer, Bass - Jim Boyer, Engineer - Jim Boyer, Re-Mixer - Larry Franke, 2nd Engineer - Liberty DeVitto, Drums - Liberty DeVitto, Percussion - Michael Christopher, 2nd Engineer - Phil Ramone, Producer - Russell Javors, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Russell Javors, Electric Guitar - Ted Jensen, Re-Mastering Engineer
(P) 1982 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Andy Hofman, 2nd Engineer - Billy Joel, Composer - Billy Joel, Lyricist - Billy Joel, Performer - Billy Joel, Piano - Billy Joel, Producer - Billy Joel, Synthesizer - Billy Joel, Vocal - Dave Grusin, Arranger - Doug Stegmeyer, Bass - Jim Boyer, Engineer - Jim Boyer, Re-Mixer - Larry Franke, 2nd Engineer - Liberty DeVitto, Drums - Liberty DeVitto, Percussion - Michael Christopher, 2nd Engineer - Phil Ramone, Producer - Russell Javors, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Russell Javors, Electric Guitar - Ted Jensen, Mastering Engineer - Ted Jensen, Re-Mastering Engineer
(P) 1982 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Andy Hofman, 2nd Engineer - Billy Joel, Composer - Billy Joel, Lyricist - Billy Joel, Performer - Billy Joel, Piano - Billy Joel, Synthesizer - Billy Joel, Vocal - Dave Grusin, Arranger - Doug Stegmeyer, Bass - Jim Boyer, Engineer - Jim Boyer, Re-Mixer - Larry Franke, 2nd Engineer - Liberty DeVitto, Drums - Liberty DeVitto, Percussion - Michael Christopher, 2nd Engineer - Phil Ramone, Producer - Russell Javors, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Russell Javors, Electric Guitar - Ted Jensen, Re-Mastering Engineer
(P) 1982 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Andy Hofman, 2nd Engineer - Billy Joel, Composer - Billy Joel, Lyricist - Billy Joel, Performer - Billy Joel, Piano - Billy Joel, Synthesizer - Billy Joel, Vocal - Dave Grusin, Arranger - Doug Stegmeyer, Bass - Jim Boyer, Engineer - Jim Boyer, Re-Mixer - Larry Franke, 2nd Engineer - Liberty DeVitto, Drums - Liberty DeVitto, Percussion - Michael Christopher, 2nd Engineer - Phil Ramone, Producer - Russell Javors, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Russell Javors, Electric Guitar - Ted Jensen, Re-Mastering Engineer
(P) 1982 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Andy Hofman, 2nd Engineer - Billy Joel, Composer - Billy Joel, Lyricist - Billy Joel, Performer - Billy Joel, Piano - Billy Joel, Synthesizer - Billy Joel, Vocal - Dave Grusin, Arranger - Doug Stegmeyer, Bass - Jim Boyer, Engineer - Jim Boyer, Re-Mixer - Larry Franke, 2nd Engineer - Liberty DeVitto, Drums - Liberty DeVitto, Percussion - Michael Christopher, 2nd Engineer - Phil Ramone, Producer - Russell Javors, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Russell Javors, Electric Guitar - Ted Jensen, Re-Mastering Engineer
(P) 1982 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Andy Hofman, 2nd Engineer - Billy Joel, Composer - Billy Joel, Lyricist - Billy Joel, Performer - Billy Joel, Piano - Billy Joel, Synthesizer - Billy Joel, Vocal - Dave Grusin, Arranger - Doug Stegmeyer, Bass - Jim Boyer, Engineer - Jim Boyer, Re-Mixer - Larry Franke, 2nd Engineer - Liberty DeVitto, Drums - Liberty DeVitto, Percussion - Michael Christopher, 2nd Engineer - Phil Ramone, Producer - Russell Javors, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Russell Javors, Electric Guitar - Ted Jensen, Re-Mastering Engineer
(P) 1982 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Andy Hofman, 2nd Engineer - Billy Joel, Composer - Billy Joel, Lyricist - Billy Joel, Performer - Billy Joel, Piano - Billy Joel, Synthesizer - Billy Joel, Vocal - Dave Grusin, Arranger - Doug Stegmeyer, Bass - Jim Boyer, Engineer - Jim Boyer, Re-Mixer - Larry Franke, 2nd Engineer - Liberty DeVitto, Drums - Liberty DeVitto, Percussion - Michael Christopher, 2nd Engineer - Phil Ramone, Producer - Russell Javors, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Russell Javors, Electric Guitar - Ted Jensen, Re-Mastering Engineer
(P) 1982 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Album review
Billy Joel hit back as hard as he could with Glass Houses, his bid to prove that he could rock as hard as any of those new wave punks. He might not have proven himself a punk -- for all of his claims of being a hard rocker, his work inevitably is pop because of his fondness for melody -- but he proved to himself that he could still rock, even if the critics didn't give him any credit for it. It was now time to mature, to move pop/rock into the middle age and, in the process, earn critical respect. In short, The Nylon Curtain is where Billy Joel went serious, consciously crafting a song cycle about Baby Boomers in the Reagan era. Since this was an album about Baby Boomers, he chose to base his music almost entirely on the Beatles, the pivotal rock band for his generation. Joel is naturally inclined to write big melodies like McCartney, but he idolizes Lennon, which makes The Nylon Curtain a fascinating cross between ear candy and social commentary. His desire to record a grand concept album is admirable, but his ever-present lyrical shortcomings mean that the songs paint a picture without arriving at any insights. He occasionally gets lost in his own ambition, as on the waterlogged second side, but the first half of the song suite -- "Allentown," "Laura," "Pressure," "Goodnight Saigon," "She's Right on Time" -- is layered, successful, mature pop that brings Joel tantalizingly close to his ultimate goal of sophisticated pop/rock for mature audiences.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 9 track(s)
- Total length: 00:41:23
- Main artists: Billy Joel
- Composer: Billy Joel
- Label: Columbia
- Genre: Pop/Rock
(P) 1982 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
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