The Billy Joel album that he never played on
No one can blame Billy Joel for wanting to hang up his career as a studio songwriter. Although the ‘Piano Man’ has talked about how proud he is of his body of work, Joel also thinks that he is much better off as a working musician rather than having to submit to the sounds of the pop charts over and over again. Although Joel can still fire it up in the studio, there was one album that didn’t even feature him behind the keyboard.
Granted, Joel was always more than just a pianist. Throughout the first few albums, fans got a look at a musical storyteller throughout every single song, whether it was talking about the shady drug dealer that he would see every day in ‘Captain Jack’ to the mild critique of the industry on the song ‘The Entertainer’.
With the release of The Stranger, though, Joel would become a household name, as each song became a signature part of his setlist, like ‘Just the Way You Are’ and ‘Only The Good Die Young’. While there were traditional pop songs sprinkled throughout the mix, a song like ‘Scenes From an Italian Restaurant’ was indicative of where Joel wanted to go in the next few years, featuring a story that unfolded over seven minutes of music.
Compared to the usual pop formulas, Joel thought that he was better suited to making songs that could stretch out far beyond what was accepted on the radio. Although he would still make phenomenal works of art on albums like An Innocent Man, River of Dreams would become his final record of pure pop music, after which he left the recording industry to focus on his life as a touring musician.
Outside of the pop music world, Joel was always a massive fan of classical music. When approaching each of his classic tunes, Joel equated his songs only by how well they worked if performed in a classical style, thinking that he hit upon a brilliant melody if it worked. While anyone can try to infuse Mozart into a traditional rock and roll song, Joel was ready to step up to the big leagues in the early 2000s.
Going back to his roots, Fantasies and Delusions would become Joel’s first album of classical pieces, all of which were arranged for piano. Although every song is an exciting look at how skilled Joel is when writing notation, don’t expect to hear him behind the keys for any of the songs.
While he did compose the majority of the songs, Joel ultimately had to hire a session musician to play the versions that are heard on the record. Even though Joel would have gladly played them himself, the dexterity involved with performing every part was beyond his capabilities at the time, making it one of the only Billy Joel albums where Joel doesn’t show up in the recording booth.
Despite being MIA for most of the tracks, Joel should still be commended for writing a record this off-brand from his usual style. Even though he may not have been able to do the songs justice physically, Fantasies and Delusions is still a fascinating look at what a different side of Joel’s musical mind sounds like.
