Cold Spring Harbor - BILLY JOEL***

She's Got A Way/You Can Make Me Free/Everybody Loves You Now/Why Judy Why/Falling Of The Rain/You Look So Good To Me/Tomorrow Is Today/Nocturne/Got To Begin Again

Cold Spring Harbor was the debut album from the New York singer songwriter and pianist Billy Joel. Although he would take a few years to achieve commercial success, by the end of the decade he had become one of the hottest popular music performers.

“For the most part this is a sombre, melancholy and reflective album. Whereas the Billy Joel that most music listeners know has songs that are upbeat, the majority of songs here are set back, happy to float out at you rather than jump out. What you will hear is that wonderful piano sound that dominated the 1970s. When the piano takes centre stage, with the drums and bass playing as the background, and Billy's vocals crooning over the top, that is when his songs, and this album, sounds best.”

“This album is full of things that are nothing like the better known happy-go-lucky Billy Joel, full of smiles and humour. This album is not like that at all. Billy Joel fans hate it because it is not what they expect.”

“It's not loaded with radio hits like his later LPs, but that's part of the charm. I felt I was getting a glimpse of the past, while still being quite aware of the future. I like listening to this knowing that it was the first public steps taken by a then unheralded artist, who would later become one the world's most respected musicians.”

“Much of this album paints Joel as a tender balladeer, which is fine, except for one problem - he hadn't yet developed a diverse songwriting approach, so almost none of these tunes stand out from one another.”

“Billy Joel suffered his share of hard knocks growing up in the music business, but the focused sound of Cold Spring Harbor proves that those travails didn't keep him down. This is a sparse, beautiful album that showcases a budding artist with loads of talent and an innate tenderness within a rough-and-tumble exterior. If you like piano and enjoy singing along to catchy songs, you'll love this album.”

“It's almost unrecognisable as Billy Joel, as it's filled with little innocent gems largely performed solo at a piano. To me it's the clarity of the uncluttered piano playing that makes Cold Spring Harbor such an enjoyable listen. It tumbles, it shimmers, it perfectly compliments both the lyrics and the vocals. If you ever doubted Joel's skill as a piano player, here is proof that he knew what he was doing.”