Streetlife Serenade – BILLY JOEL***

Streetlife Serenader/Los Angelenos/The Great Suburban Showdown/Root Beer Rag/Roberta/The Entertainer/ Last Of The Big Time Spenders/Weekend Song/Souvenir/The Mexican Connection

With Streetlife Serenade the profile of singer songwriter Billy Joel continued to increase. However, he was still a few years away yet from his sensational breakthrough into public consciousness. (US:35)

“You can't question the musicianship on the album, but it does feel as though there is something missing in the song writing. The Entertainer is the absolute stand out song, but the others all have little to distinguish themselves from the ordinary.”

“As a singer songwriter Billy's albums are weak when his writing is weak, and there are fewer gems on this album that most. This is far better than any of Joel's later work, but it's a mis-fire on the route to success.”

“Streetlife Serenade would find him moving away from the basic simplicity of earlier LPs, and experimenting with a number of styles. The finished product would have a polish and lyrical sophistication that looks ahead to his future work”

“It's weird now to think that there was a point where he thought it was a good idea to head out to LA in order to further his career, given how much his music is now associated with New York. Still, I can't help liking the album; it's extremely light-weight fare, even more so than is typical of Joel.”

“Definitely a step backwards after Piano Man. Two of the songs are instrumentals, and many of the rest are not quite up to the standard set on the previous album, which leads me to believe this was a bit of a rush job. The instrumentals aren't bad, but I am guessing they would not have been included if Joel had had couple more proper songs written and ready to record.”

“Unfortunately, Joel's song Streetlife Serenader is quite possibly his most overlooked piece. With a beautiful score matched with incredible lyrics, it encapsulates all that Billy's music stands for: passion and emotion.”

“Listening to this album, one is struck by the amazing variety of the songs Billy presents. Streetlife Serenade as an album certainly has more scope and variance than previously, containing a mix of hard rock, classical, instrumentals, ballads, and even a ragtime piece. It is very enjoyable listening.”