| Turnstiles | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 19, 1976 | |||
| Recorded | Mid-1975 to January 1976 | |||
| Studio | Ultrasonic Recording Studios, Hempstead, New York; Columbia Recording Studios, New York City, New York; Caribou Ranch, Nederland, Colorado | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 36:22 | |||
| Label | Family Productions/Columbia | |||
| Producer | Billy Joel | |||
| Billy Joel chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Turnstiles | ||||
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Turnstiles is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released May 19, 1976.
Joel recorded Turnstiles in part as a celebration of his return to his native New York City. [2] Three of the album's tracks reference New York: "Summer, Highland Falls", "New York State of Mind" and "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)". It begins with "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" (inspired by The Ronettes song "Be My Baby") and also includes "I've Loved These Days", a tongue-in-cheek expression of regret at leaving behind Hollywood decadence. In an interview, Joel stated that the lyrics to the song "James" referred to various different people he knew in real life, with the title character being a "composite" of those people. [3] In the song "Prelude/Angry Young Man", Joel opens and closes the song rapidly hammering the piano, which was meant to simulate the drum part in the song "Wipe Out" by The Surfaris. [4]
The songs were first recorded at Caribou Ranch (near Nederland, Colorado), with members of Elton John's band (Nigel Olsson on drums and Dee Murray on bass) and produced by Chicago producer James William Guercio. Dissatisfied with the results, Joel took over as producer and returned to New York, where he re-recorded the album from start to finish, with his own touring band, which consisted of Long Island musicians Richie Cannata and the members of the band Topper: Liberty DeVitto, Russell Javors, Howie Emerson, [2] and Doug Stegmeyer. Turnstiles marked the first time that Joel's band played on one of his studio albums.
The album cover photo was shot in the uptown platform of the New York City Subway's Astor Place station. According to Joel, each of the characters on the album cover was meant to represent a particular song (e.g., the girl in headphones for "All You Wanna Do is Dance", the wealthy couple for "I've Loved These Days"). [5] [6]
Barbra Streisand covered "New York State of Mind" on her album Superman, released in the Spring of 1977, opening up Billy Joel's music to a mainstream audience. He thanked her for the exposure, and also told her his New York relatives were duly impressed to have the Queen of Brooklyn cover one of his songs.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| Blender | [8] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | C+ [9] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [10] |
Robert Christgau of The Village Voice wrote that Joel's craft improves, but "he becomes more obnoxious: the anti-idealism of 'Angry Young Man' isn't any more appealing in tandem with the pseudoironic sybaritism of 'I've Loved These Days.'" [9] In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that "the key to the record's success is variety, the way the album whips from the bouncy, McCartney-esque 'All You Wanna Do Is Dance' to the saloon song 'New York State of Mind'; the way the bitterly cynical "Angry Young Man" gives way to the beautiful 'I've Loved These Days' and the surrealistic apocalyptic fantasy 'Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway).' No matter how much stylistic ground Joel covers, he's kept on track by his backing group." [7]
Cash Box called the single "James" "a song to an old friend, wondering what he’s doing now," saying "This beautiful tune kicks off with some sensitive playing on the Fender Rhodes, accompanied solely by bass. Gradually, as the song builds, so does the instrumentation." [11]
Cash Box said that the single "I've Loved These Days" creates "a perfect mood of grand cinema romance" and commented on "its elegant strings and crashing piano." [12] Record World said that "both melody and lyrics stand out on this powerful ballad, that could put him over the top." [13]
All tracks are written by Billy Joel
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" | 4:36 |
| 2. | "Summer, Highland Falls" | 3:15 |
| 3. | "All You Wanna Do Is Dance" | 3:40 |
| 4. | "New York State of Mind" | 5:58 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | "James" | 3:53 |
| 6. | "Prelude/Angry Young Man" | 5:17 |
| 7. | "I've Loved These Days" | 4:31 |
| 8. | "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" | 5:12 |
| Total length: | 36:22 | |
Many tracks have alternate mixes exclusive to the Quadrophonic LP release including "New York State of Mind", "Prelude/Angry Young Man", "I've Loved These Days" and "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)". Contrary to some sources, the saxophone solo on "New York State of Mind" was never re-recorded by Phil Woods for the release of Greatest Hits, Vols. I and II. The only time that Phil Woods performed on a Billy Joel recording was the song "Just the Way You Are" in 1977.[ citation needed ]
Adapted from the AllMusic credits. [14]
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
| Certifications
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The Nylon Curtain is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on September 23, 1982, and produced by Phil Ramone.
Glass Houses is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on March 12, 1980. It features Joel's first song to peak at No. 1 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart, "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me". The album itself topped the Pop Albums chart for six weeks and was ranked No. 4 on Billboard's 1980 year-end album chart. The album is the 41st best selling album of the 1980s, with sales of 7.1 million copies in the U.S. alone. In 1981, Joel won a Grammy Award for "Best Male Rock Vocal Performance" for his work on Glass Houses. According to music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the album featured "a harder-edged sound" compared to Joel's other work, in response to the punk and new wave movements. This was also the final studio album to feature the original incarnation of the Billy Joel Band, augmented by new lead guitarist David Brown. Multi-instrumentalist Cannata left the band just before the sessions began for Joel's next studio album, 1982's The Nylon Curtain.
The Bridge is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on July 25, 1986. It was Joel's last studio album produced by Phil Ramone as well as the last to feature Joel's long-time bassist Doug Stegmeyer and rhythm guitarist Russell Javors. The album yielded several successful singles, including "A Matter of Trust", "Modern Woman", and "This Is the Time".
The Stranger is the fifth studio album by American singer Billy Joel, released on September 29, 1977, by Columbia Records. It was the first of Joel's albums to be produced by Phil Ramone, with whom he would work for five subsequent albums.
Songs in the Attic is the first live album by Billy Joel, released in 1981.
2000 Years: The Millennium Concert is a two-disc set and the third live album by Billy Joel, released in 2000. On May 31, 2000, it was certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of 250,000 copies.
"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" is a song written and recorded by Billy Joel originally appeared on his 1977 album The Stranger as its opening track. The track details the singer's disgust with the upwardly mobile bourgeois aspirations of working- and lower-middle-class New Yorkers who take pride in working long hours to afford the outward signs of having "made it". Characters have blue-collar jobs, and Joel considers their rejection of their working-class roots (trading a Chevy for a Cadillac and buying a house in Hackensack, New Jersey) ultimately futile. Near the end of the recording is the sound of a car starting up and driving away; the bass player Doug Stegmeyer's 1960s Corvette was used.
"New York State of Mind" is a song written by Billy Joel that initially appeared on the album Turnstiles in 1976. Although it was never released as a single, it has become a fan favorite and a song that Joel plays regularly in concert. Joel famously played the song at The Concert for New York City, the October 2001 benefit concert for the New York City Fire and Police Departments and the loved ones of families of first responders lost during the terrorist attack on New York City on 9/11. He reprised that theme, playing it during his set at 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief at Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 12, 2012, where he changed lyrics to include the likes of "Breezy Point".
Liberatori "Liberty" DeVitto is an American rock drummer. He is best known for his work as a drummer for singer-songwriter Billy Joel's recording and touring band. He has also been a session drummer on recordings of other artists. He is credited as a drummer on records that have sold a combined total of 150 million units worldwide.
"My Life" is a song by Billy Joel that first appeared on his 1978 album 52nd Street. A single version was released in the fall of 1978 and reached No. 2 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart. Early the next year, it peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Richie Cannata is an American music producer, saxophonist, keyboardist and studio owner. He is most notable for playing saxophone in Billy Joel's band alongside Liberty DeVitto, Russell Javors, and Doug Stegmeyer. After leaving the band in 1981, he opened Cove City Sound Studios in Glen Cove, New York. Artists including Celine Dion, Billy Joel, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony have recorded in Cannata's studio. Cannata also worked with The Beach Boys for most of the 1990s, touring and occasionally recording with them during this period.
"It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" is a song written and performed by Billy Joel, from the hit album Glass Houses. Released in 1980, the song peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, from July 19 through August 1, 1980. The song spent 11 weeks in the top 10 and was the 7th biggest hit of 1980 according to American Top 40.
"You May Be Right" is a song written and performed by rock singer Billy Joel, released as a single and the opening track from his 1980 album Glass Houses. The single reached No. 7 on the US charts and No. 6 in Canada. It failed to chart, however, in the UK unlike his preceding and succeeding singles "All for Leyna" and "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me". The Japanese single features "Close to the Borderline" as a B-side.
"Don't Ask Me Why" is a 1980 song by Billy Joel released as the third single from the album Glass Houses. The song spent two weeks at number one on the Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Until the Night" is a song written by Billy Joel for his 1978 album, 52nd Street. Although passed over for single release in the US, "Until the Night" was issued as the second single from 52nd Street in the UK - following "My Life" - in March 1979 and reached #50 on the UK Singles Chart.
Russell Javors is an American rock guitarist. He is best known as a rhythm guitarist for Billy Joel from 1976 to 1989.
Douglas Alan Stegmeyer was an American musician who was best known as a bassist and back-up vocalist for Billy Joel. Stegmeyer also performed as bassist for Debbie Gibson and Hall & Oates.
The Lords of 52nd Street is a rock band that primarily comprises members of the line-up which backed singer-songwriter Billy Joel from 1976 to 1981, the period during which Joel initiated a run of albums that reached the top ten on the Billboard charts.
Greatest Hits Volume III is the second greatest hits album from American singer songwriter Billy Joel. The volume follows Greatest Hits – Volume I & Volume II and includes hits from 1983 to 1993. Two previously unreleased studio tracks are included, Bob Dylan's "To Make You Feel My Love" and Goffin/King's "Hey Girl", while the third new track, "Light as the Breeze", was originally recorded for a Leonard Cohen tribute album known as Tower of Song in 1995. Cover songs are a rare occurrence in Joel's catalogue.
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