Top 10 - Little-known Billy Joel songs

By Frank Visco
Collegian Editor
November 15, 2006

Billy Joel is one of those artists who transcend music. His voice and piano riffs are instantly recognizable to people all around the world. His music has garnered a universal love from all types of music fans. However, while everyone knows “Piano Man,” “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and dozens of other songs featured on his first three greatest hits collections, there are still many gems that go unnoticed. You know, the songs Joel plays in concert that nobody really knows. As a result, I thought I’d take the time to create a top 10 in honor of his lesser-known masterpieces.

10) “Running on Ice” — This song’s on here purely for the intense ’80s sound that is very antithetical to most Joel works. He pulls the tempo off nicely, and there’s some real strong instrumentation here.\

9) “All For Leyna” — A twisted and sad song about a guy who had a one night stand with a girl who no longer wants anything to do with him, “All For Leyna” has become a personal favorite of mine. The short and forceful lines make this a distinct and appealing track.

8) “Sometimes a Fantasy” — It’s the funkiest and catchiest song on this list. Almost everyone knows it, but like most of the songs here, it gets very little credit for being a magnificent pop song.

7) “Laura” — Very Beatles-esque, this song is a classic in its own right, with some great drumming by Liberty Devito and a mocking tone. Even without the lyrics, the vibe indicates the manipulation that the titular woman puts the singer through.

6) “The Great Suburban Showdown” — An utterly brilliant look at going back home, as well as middle-class ennui, it utilizes a really cool synthesizer of sorts, which makes for some nice listening.

5) “I’ve Loved These Days” — A flat-out beautiful song, it’s very similar in concept to “This is the Time.” It’s also on the list to represent all the works on Turnstiles, an underrated album that features great little-known songs like “James,” “Summer, Highland Falls,” and “Miami 2017.”

4) “Stiletto” — A song about a man who continuously allows his woman to abuse him, the funky “Stiletto” takes the theme of “She’s Always a Woman to Me” and mixes it with the vibe and aggression of “Pressure.”

3) “The Ballad of Billy the Kid” — This is a popular concert song, but it hasn’t gotten it’s due as a great piece of music. Although all the facts are wrong, this song gives further proof that Joel wasn’t just a great piano player, but also one of the best poetry writers of his generation.

2) “Vienna” — Its got some nice accordion in it, and it’s just a beautiful, easy listen with a catchy tune. Joel contributes strong piano stylings on this song, which has also become a concert favorite.

1) “Angry Young Man” — Admittedly, it’s sort of a cheat to put this song on here, because it’s well known and beloved. However, its also been ignored on countless greatest hits albums. Its got the top spot because its got one of the coolest piano intros ever, a great tempo and some really phenomenal lyrics.

viscof1@lasalle.edu