I was so obsessed with Joel and this album that, in addition to buying the record, cassette and CD, I bought the 45s because they had different versions of the hits – a dance mix of “Tell Her About It” and an extended version of “Keeping the Faith.” And I also remember going to England over the summer seeing huge posters promoting the album and ads for Billy Joel playing Wembley Stadium, hearing “Leave a Tender Moment Alone” on British radio and being struck for the first time just how big of an international artist Joel was.
High waiting to pick up my then girlfriend after school. I remember blasting (as best my crappy speakers could) “Uptown Girl” in my first car, a brown 1977 Datsun B-210, while parked in front of North Miami Jr. I remember listening to Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 to hear where the hits from the album fell on the countdown and being particularly thrilled when “Uptown Girl” climbed to number 3 (and annoyed when it didn’t make it to No. I remember waiting for the MTV debut of “Tell Her About It.” I remember going to Vibrations Records to buy the record on vinyl.
#UPTOWN GIRL BILLY JOEL ALBUM APPLE MUSIC MOVIE#
I remember like it was yesterday going to see the movie “Easy Money” just to hear that song before it was put on the album. This album was released at the apex of my fandom for Billy Joel. You know the good ole days weren’t always good Iridescent socks with the same color shirtĪte an awful lot of late night drive-in food Only Flagg Brothers had them with a Cuban heel Oh, then you should have known me much better Given the news of late, I sure hope tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems. After admitting that he’s been “lost in let’s remember,” Joel shifts his attention back to the present: “You can get just so much from a good thing / You can linger too long in your dreams / Say goodbye to the oldies but goodies / Because the good ole days weren’t always good / And tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems.” This album is a ton of fun, with Joel’s affection for each of these musical styles fully evident in the performance and production - from the lighthearted ‘Uptown Girl,’ ‘Tell Her About It’ and ‘The Longest Time’ to the deeper ‘An Innocent Man’ and ‘Leave a Tender Moment Alone.’įinal track ‘Keeping the Faith’ is a favorite of mine, and serves as a nice summation of the whole project.
Yes, Billy Joel was a freaking juggernaut. While Nylon went “only” double-Platinum, this album went 7x Platinum and ties with 52nd Street and Glass Houses as his second most successful album, behind the Diamond-level The Stranger. An Innocent Man, Billy Joel’s tribute to the R&P, soul and doo wop music of his youth, is my #7 album of 1983.Ī Innocent Man was Joel’s follow-up to the excellent, but under-performing (by his standards), The Nylon Curtain.
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