 Billy Joel Things get off to a shaky start with "Easy Money," giving the general impression of hopping into a ramshackle getaway car after a poorly executed bank heist. It's so over-the-top in its enthusiasm for itself that I usually laugh whenever it comes on. I can think of no other great album that kicks off with a theme song from a Rodney Dangerfield movie, except for maybe the Ladybugs soundtrack. From there, however, An Innocent Man is probably Billy Joel's best album—thoughtful, honest, inspired, and almost unbelievably tuneful. His jaded archness and faux-"anger," his desire to be seen as a "serious artist," his tendency toward unpleasant melodic angles to give himself "edge"—all of this falls away, leaving Billy and his audience equally intoxicated with love. Oh wait, perhaps I shouldn't talk about him being intoxicated. At any rate, with this album, Billy Joel puts away the postures, drags out his old 45s, and rediscovers the music he loves, reinventing doo-wop and 60s soul as an avenue to write the ultimate love-letter album. The Drifters, the Five Satins, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, Dion & the Belmonts … very little here couldn't have been written in 1961. It's how all albums would sound if those fuckin' Beatles hadn't come along. I don't know how flattered Christie Brinkley was or is by "Christie Lee," which sounds like a bad Springsteen outtake, but it's got some rollick to it regardless. She probably was impressed, though, with "Uptown Girl" and "The Longest Time" … for how could you not be? Of course, as we've learned, you can write the best song in the world for her and it won't necessarily guarantee that the girl will stay with you … especially if your drinking is out of control. My favorite songs on here are "Keeping the Faith" and "Careless Talk," both almost Disney-esque in their absolute immersion in yet transcendence of cliché—they're as good as my favorite 60s pop singles. No wonder Baby Boomers loved this album so much. The thing that gets overlooked about An Innocent Man is that the lyrics are so insightful—it's all about relationships, and Billy takes everything head-on. Very personal stuff. That's why it works better than pretty much anything else he's done … it's real. "Tell Her About It" is sort of like if they did a Schoolhouse Rock! edition on relationships – I love advice songs. And you know what? I agree entirely with all the advice in this song (and "Leave a Tender Moment Alone")—and following it saved my marriage. Too bad Billy didn't heed his own prolific advice. Maybe he ought to have included a song on here called "Make Sure Not to Be a Belligerent Drunk," just to remind himself. Now Christie Brinkley is mine!
Review by Lavatory Amos |