52nd Street

52nd Street Artist: Billy Joel
Label: Sony
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1
EAN: 5099749118522
ASIN: B00002467E


Release Date: 1999-08-18

52nd Street


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Tracks:

  1. Big Shot
  2. Honesty
  3. My Life
  4. Zanzibar
  5. Stiletto
  6. Rosalinda's Eyes
  7. Half a Mile Away
  8. Until the Night
  9. 52nd Street

Similar Items:

  1. The Stranger
  2. Glass Houses
  3. Turnstiles [Enhanced Version]
  4. Piano Man
  5. An Innocent Man

Amazon.com

Following up his 1977 breakthrough smash The Stranger was no easy task for Billy Joel; 52nd Street shows he wasn't quite up to the challenge, though it sold similarly well and kept the momentum for his fast- track career until the more impressive Glass Houses appeared in 1980. 52nd Street isn't without its moments: "My Life" remains one of Joel's most memorable hit singles, "Half a Mile Away" is a wonderful slice of infectiously upbeat pop, and "Rosalinda's Eyes" sways to an alluringly airy Latin feel. But macho poseur numbers such as "Big Shot" and "Stiletto" are embarrassingly overwrought, while the arty "Zanzibar" ultimately comes across more as pretentious than adventurous. The closing title track fails to convince anyone Joel is a cool blues hound. --Peter Blackstock

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars What Billy Joel Does for an Encore.......2007-05-21

Hot on the heels of the smash hit that "The Stranger" was, Billy Joel deals us 52nd Street. It is a capable , listenable product, but the material here leaves me not as enthusiastic as that in the previous album.

The album opens with "Big Shot," a tough rocker with a bitter attitude about a misbehaven girlfriend. The aggressive power-riff guitar introduction leads into this mean-spirited rocker. But then that is followed up with the sappy, bitter "Honesty". Even though not his best, he's still ahead of the pop music game even when he's not in top form. The hit "My Life" is on this album, too; here's Joel's seemingly blunt statement about self-assertion. "Zanzibar" is an uneven, but ultimately fascinating long piece; it has blatant jazz overtones in it up to its jazzy trumpet solo. Don't expect the same kind of thematic music here that you got in the previous album's Italian Restaurant." In Rosalinda's Eyes, Joel references latin sounds with rather cornball effects; still, the end result in infectious enough.

Despite it not quite being up to the high standards of "The Stranger" the album still sold millions.

5 out of 5 stars Fantastic.......2006-11-07

As the follow up to Joel's breakthrough The Stranger, this album suffered in comparison to the hit-packed Stranger. However, with 27 years of perspective, it is time to acknowledge the true genius of this album.

As always, Joel tries to be all things to all people. There are the obligatory top 10 hits ("Big Shot," "Honesty," "My Life.") There are some smooth jazz riffs ("Zanzibar," "Stiletto," "52nd Street.") There's even a little Latin music ("Rosalinda's Eyes.") The real hidden gem here, though, is Joel's unexpected Righteous Brothers tribute "Until The Night."

All in all, this deserves a worthy spot on any "Desert Island Disc List."

5 out of 5 stars Billy Joel's best by far.......2006-08-07

I read in a book once that Joel Would find it difficult to come up with a follow up to the breakthrough album "The stranger-" and what to call it "The Stranger 2" or maybe "Son of the Stranger-" nah that would be boring....
Instead Billy gave us analbum totally different in concept to that of its predecessor but with the same energy and purpose.
As with "The Stranger" this album sounds like Billy Joel is really enjoying himself, unlike his first couple of albums.

52nd Street is an even more mature sound than the sound captured on Stranger and demonstrates not just Joel's superb musicianship but his influence all musical genres including Jazz, broadway and The Beatles.

The album kicks off with a bang on "Big Shot," probably the rockiest of Billy's numbers, then progresses through arguably the best Mcartney tribute on the beautiful "Honesty" and on to one of the most well known Joel songs in "My Life"

From then on, the album takes on a real Jazz feel with plenty of brass and latin percussion, including a guest appearance by jazz legend Freddie Hubbard on "Zanzibar"

The album's closer and title song is probably the only weak point of the album, sounding like a bit of a filler , although as with "keeping the Faith" on his 1983 album "An Innocent man" it's probably provides an explanation of what Joel's intention on this album was - "To have a party with the album, create music with more of a Jazz feel and once again to demonstrate his musical abilities and to proove to the critics that he is not a wandering piano balladeer.

This is the best Billy Joel album by far and if any Billy Joel fan hasn't got this in their collection (I would doubt they wouldn't" then they should NOW!!!!

5 out of 5 stars Billy Joel in his best moment, no doubt about it!.......2006-07-13

Billy Joel is a gifted composer and musician. "52nd Street" shows Joel at the peak of the mountain in both ways. Even when I have the 4-CDs BJ boxed compilation, it lacks for "Rosalinda's Eyes", "Honesty" and "Until The Night". If you don't have it, get this album ASAP, you'll never regret about it!

5 out of 5 stars The quintessential Billy Joel album.......2006-01-31

Don't listen to the idiot professional critic Peter Blackstock who downgrades this 52nd Street cd. This is even better than it's predecessor The Stranger, and a lot better than Glass Houses also. This is the first Billy Joel album that I listened to all the way through (my sister had a copy of this on vinyl). I might regard this so highly because it was the first Joel album I ever heard, but really this is just a brilliant album, and I know several other people who regard this just as highly also. I would also like to let you know that the remasters of 52nd Street don't improve the sound at all, and I would really say that the sound is noticeably worse than the first issue from back in 1983. This is in the top 10 or 15 of the most played albums that I've ever owned, so I really know the sound quality of the first issue, and when you know the album like the back of your hand, you can tell that the remasters are worse in quality, so you Amazon customers, look under the different entries of 52nd Street and look for a seller that says that they have the original issue because I promise you that it's better.

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