352 - Billy Joel - 52nd Street

When I was in middle school, I got Billy Joel's greatest hits volumes 1 & 2 on cassette. I really enjoyed that collection. I also got An Innocent Man when it came out. I thought the album was good, but I never really felt motivated to get any of his other albums. During high school and college, when I would talk to people who considered themselves Billy Joel fans, I kept hearing the same commentary - "Billy has great singles, but the other album tracks aren't any good." This cemented my opinion that I was in good shape just having the greatest hits. Since college, there has been a subtle change to what Billy Joel fans tell me. They tend to agree with the previous statement, but then add - "...that is true except for (insert favorite album here, usually The Stranger or Glass Houses)."

My listening to 52nd Street these past 4 days has been my first listen to any studio album other than An Innocent Man 25ish years ago. I can't say that this album has changed my feelings on Billy's albums. We start off strong with three singles - "Big Shot," "Honesty," and "My Life." After that, on my first listen, the songs seemed to be a boring string of strained, and yet boring, tracks.

But WHY did I love the first three tracks so much and found everything else to be lackluster? All of my subsequent listens were to focus on that question. "Zanzibar" actually sounds like it could have been on Steely Dan's The Royal Scam with its jazzy instrumentation. Unfortunately for Billy, that is one of my least favorite albums by SD and I found his drama-level cranked up to 11. At times, I felt the song had a closer connection to Barry Manilow's "Copacabana" than any of its potential twins on The Royal Scam. My attempts of deciphering why these album tracks weren't working for me was a frustrating task. The best conclusions I've come up with is the lack of a good hook, a tendency to have "over the top" moments that seemed fine on Broadway but overbearing while sitting around the house/office, and a general disinterest in the stories being told.

Songs I knew I liked: "Big Shot," "Honesty," and "My Life"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "Rosalinda's Eyes" is the only non-single track that I found myself enjoying.

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: "Zanzibar," "Stiletto," and "Until the Night"

351 - Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms

Brothers in Arms is a favorite album of mine. It would definitely be in a list of the Top 25 Albums I Must Have. Although I bought the album/cassette because of "Money For Nothing" and "Walk of Life," it was the moody, atmospheric sound of the rest of the album that reinforced my love of albums over singles. When I listen to the album now, it is hard to shut out a memory of mine from high school of riding in a car with Mike and Cam Nix down to Camp Sumatanga. Driving through the woods as the sun went down and this album played on the car stereo has made this a favorite album for me to put on in the evenings and late at night.

Because of my personal love for this album, it was with annoyance that I listened to this album now. Why was it at 351 and not somewhere closer to 250 or higher on the list? I can see why others may not be as drawn to it. If you aren't loving the jazz rock atmosphere, then the prolonged instrumental riffs on the several tracks that go longer than six minutes is probably annoying. The only really up-tempo songs are the two big singles. And, let's face it, there aren't many 17-20 year olds out there trying to emulate the songs on this album. Although, I do want to say that I think a lot of "past their prime" rock bands/artists tend to sound a lot like this album (from Pink Floyd's "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" and "The Division Bell" to many of the jazzy, bluesy albums by folks like Peter Wolf and Keith Richards). And as I've mentioned above, I love listening to this album...but when I'm putting my CD jukebox on shuffle and "Ride Across the River" comes on, I usually skip it.

Oh, and I feel a need to state that I wish that "The Man's Too Strong" could have been used somewhere in the Firefly series or movie.

Songs I knew I liked: Love the album, so all of it gets listed here.

Songs I didn't know but now like: Know the album too well for a new discovery this weekend.

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: Nope.