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 Billy The Entertainer Nov 04, 2009
As a commentator on his rags-to-better-rags-to-near riches life as a musician in New York City Billy Joel was coming up roses during his early hitless years in the mid 70's,right along with his contemporaries Springsteen,Jackson Browne and veterans like Dylan. In terms of it's concept this album basically picked up where Piano Man but,unlike that one nothing on this album became very commercially successful and it still remains a somewhat obscure item in his catalog. That reasoning being the mere fact Billy was known primarily for hits and not as an AOR character. Yet while he was seeking those hits this album not only went right for the album rock sound pretty straight up while at the same time expanding on the previous albums themes. One story song follows another here and not only that a couple of instrumentals too. The title track leads off the back,a fairly typical song for Joel but you can also hear a faint twinge of synthesizer in the mix. "Los Angelenos" is the perfect kind of jazz-funk tinged rocker with it's fender rhodes and bumping groove-the fairly loud guitars (for Billy at this point that is) kind of puncuating the tunes theme of urban youth California street life of the period. Many of these tracks show Billy's talents with his variation as a jazz flavored singer/songwriter-telling a witty "board with the folks on a Sunday afternoon" story on "The Great Suburban Showdown" and seeming to fall hard in love with a hard working prostitute on "Roberta". "The Entertainer" really does pick up where the title song of the last album left off:the "piano man" is now singing songs for the AM radio and realizing the many unfair and obnoxious aspects of the music industry. Interesting that despite his gorgeous melodies and way with songwriting there are times when Billy Joel seemed to have more the attitude of a punk than a confessional songwriter. Actually he was both and on "Last Of The Big Spenders" and the great rocker "Weekend Song" you see that in your face. The two instrumentals here are fantastic. Your gonna want to get up and dance when "Root Beer Rag" comes on;the influence of Scott Joplin comes through as Billy pulls through on the idea of a "rock n ragtime" song-not a bad subgenre of music to jumpstart and the combination ends up being boogie woogie in the end more or less. "The Mexican Connection" has sort of a latin pop-jazz sort of flavor to it and,musically it would prove very significant to the one he'd use on his breakthrough The Stranger a couple albums later.Any pop music and/or Billy Joel fan who missed out on this one should head to your record store,who at this point usually have this relatively unknown album in consistant stock for some reason and at least take a listen to this because you might be surprised at what you'll find.
 great but obscure album May 24, 2009
I was a budding songwriter, and it was suggested to me, that if I wanted to get better, I needed to learn from the masters. Billy Joel is definitely a proven hit maker. This album is a collection of songs that while not in the charts, purely shows his path to hitting the mark. The first song has chords that are sings of good things to come ala Only The Good Die Young, depicting a person that is just singing on the streets "never sang on stages". Los Angelenos is a catchy romp that talks about the culture at the time. The Great Suburban Showdown is an isolated Billy talking about life as a musician, that doesn't seem to dig modern American life. "think I'm gonna hide out in my room" I liked it because I could relate being a kid of divorce. The Entertainer is a mirror of what it's like behind the scenes in a 'glamorous" music biz. It's up beat as hell. It's kinda the prequel to Piano Man. The Last Of The Big Time Spenders is a great song that I could relate to, being a musician and being broke all the time. Root Beer Rag is a nice instrumental where Billy shows his impressive piano chops. Roberta is about falling in love with a prostitute I think...The Weekend Song. Is a great gem that I feel needs to be in every bar band set list. It needs more exposure. Souvenir is a great coping song about letting go which is healing. The Mexican Connection is another great instrumental...if you're looking for pop tunes, don't bother. If you are an artist this album is for you. I think it's why when I got the album it was on vendor delete. If you love Billy Joel, it's a must
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Still Terrific... Jan 03, 2009
A refreshing renewal of awareness for Joel's early work. Very fun, genuine, and VERY easy to listen to...while still rocking! The trip down memory lane doesn't hurt either...
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