Streetlife Serenade

Streetlife Serenade
Studio album by Billy Joel
Released	October 11, 1974
Recorded	1974
Studio	Devonshire, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Pop rock soft rock
Length	37:41
Label	Family Productions/Columbia
Producer	Michael Stewart
Billy Joel chronology
Piano Man (1973) Streetlife Serenade (1974) Turnstiles (1976)
Singles from Streetlife Serenade
"The Entertainer" Released: November 1974 [1]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Christgau's Record Guide	C [3]
Rolling Stone	Unfavorable [4]

Streetlife Serenade is the third studio album by American recording artist Billy Joel, released on October 11, 1974, by Columbia Records.

The album peaked at No. 35 on the US album charts, eventually selling more than one million copies. Joel's live shows in the 1970s frequently featured the instrumental "Root Beer Rag" and the short song "Souvenir", which was often used as the final encore. Live versions of "Streetlife Serenader" and "Los Angelenos" appeared on Joel's first live album, Songs in the Attic (1981). A live version of "The Entertainer" appeared on Joel's 2006 album 12 Gardens Live .

Background

The album was recorded mostly with session musicians, the last such release until 1993's River of Dreams. Joel sang and played piano and other keyboards, including his first work with the Moog synthesizer.

Joel said that he had been touring in clubs and theatres and opening for big acts such as the Beach Boys, and was under pressure to put out a new album after Piano Man . With little time to write new songs, he included the instrumentals "Root Beer Rag" and "The Mexican Connection".

The back cover features a barefooted Joel sitting in a chair looking cross; Joel says that he had had his wisdom teeth extracted two days before the shoot. ^[5] The front cover is a painting by Brian Hagiwara of a hotel and café at 1002 South Gaffy Street in San Pedro, California. ^[6]

In a 1993 interview, Joel said of the album: "Interesting musical ideas, but nothing to say lyrically. I was trying to be Debussy in the title track — it didn’t work." ^[7]

Release history

In addition to the usual two-channel stereo version, the album was also released by Columbia in a four-channel quadraphonic mix on LP record and 8-track tape in 1974. The quad LP release was encoded in the SQ matrix system. In 2015, the album was re-issued by Audio Fidelity in the Super Audio CD format containing both the complete stereo and quadraphonic mixes.

Track listing

All tracks written and composed by Billy Joel.

One side (side one)

1. "Streetlife Serenader" – 5:17
2. "Los Angelenos" – 3:41
3. "The Great Suburban Showdown" – 3:44
4. "Root Beer Rag" (instrumental) – 2:59
5. "Roberta" – 4:32

Another side (side two)

1. "The Entertainer" – 3:48
2. "Last of the Big Time Spenders" – 4:34
3. "Weekend Song" – 3:29
4. "Souvenir" – 2:00
5. "The Mexican Connection" (instrumental) – 3:37

Personnel

Billy Joel – vocals, acoustic piano, keyboards, Moog synthesizer, arrangements William "Smitty" Smith – organ Richard Bennett – guitars Gary Dalton – guitars Mike Deasy – guitars Don Evans – guitars Al Hertzberg – guitars Art Munson – guitars Raj Rathor – guitars Michael Stewart – guitars, arrangements Tom Whitehorse – banjo, pedal steel guitar Wilton Felder – bass Emory Gordy Jr. – bass Larry Knechtel – bass Ron Tutt – drums Joe Clayton – congas, percussion

Production Michael Stewart – producer Ron Malo – engineer Joseph M. Palmaccio (erroneously credited to Ted Jensen) – 1998 CD digital remastering John Naatjes – tape research Ron Coro – art direction, design Brian Hagiwara – cover painting Peter Cunningham – photography Jim Marshall – photography

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1974–75) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report) [8] 85 Canadian Albums (RPM) [9] 16 US Billboard 200 [10] 35

Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales United States (RIAA) [11] Platinum 1,000,000^ ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Strong, Martin Charles (1995). Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 436. ISBN   978-0-86241-541-9.
2. Streetlife Serenade at AllMusic
3. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: J". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved February 27, 2019– via robertchristgau.com.
4. Holden, Stephen (December 5, 1974). "Billy Joel Streetlife Serenade > Album Review". Rolling Stone . No. 175. Archived from the original on May 3, 2008. Retrieved November 29, 2008.
5. "Billy Joel - Billy Joel on STREETLIFE SERENADE - from THE COMPLETE ALBUMS COLLECTION". March 15, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2022– via YouTube.
6. "PopSPots". popspotsnyc.com. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
7. "Billy Joel critiques himself". Entertainment Weekly. September 10, 1993. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 156. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
9. "Top Albums/CDs – Volume 22, No. 22, January 25, 1975". RPM . April 8, 1978. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
10. "allmusic ((( Streetlife Serenade > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". AllMusic. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
11. "American album certifications – Billy Joel – Streetlife Serenade". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved July 25, 2012.