Billy Joel - An Innocent Man 320cbr (Big Papi) 1998 Uptown Girl - Zipped Extras Included

"An Innocent Man" was released in 1983 to the hunger of many fans. Joel received a lot of controversy from his last album, "Nylon Curtain", an album that featured many socially conscious messages. Joel threw the messages in the back, and went to work on an album where he could let it all hang out and just have some fun. The result ended up being his best selling album from the 80's, and also one of the best albums of the decade and of all time.

Joel was a musical version of a chameleon. He could go from piano ballads one moment to light hearted pop and rock the next to socially challenging music. "An Innocent Man" gives proof that one of Joels stronger music sides is light hearted pop-rock. This could be a reason to the wide success of the album. Another could be that the album has something for everyone, and even the pickest music critic could find something to love.

The album salutes the rock and doo-wop of the 50's and 60's, the music the Joel grew up listening to, and what would influence him to become a singer-songwritter himself. The album starts off with "Easy Money", the upbeat song from the movie soundtrack of the same name. Nothing too great about the song, just an upbeat song with not too much redeeming value. The next track, the title track, is the most deep and introspective number on the album (maybe a foreshadowing of the direction Joel was heading with his music in the future). It sets up the mood for the rest of the album. Joel is a man with a serious case of 'tiude, but he has found a new love, and though he has been burned once before, he tells himself he is ready to try again. The pulsing base in the background reminds people of the song "Under the Boardwalk" by the Drifters. Again, this album is a tribute by Joel to the music he loved as a child. The song would be one of the six charting singles that the album would launch!

Other songs on the album include the Frankie Valli inspired "Uptown Girl", the story of a rich girl falling for the down and out boy. The song, a Joel pinned classic for his then girlfriend (future wife, now ex-wife) Christie Brinkley, was a hit with it's happy tempo, it's colorful beat, and it's amazing music video, where Joel plays a garage grease monkey to the beautiful Christie. A classic tried and true. "The Longest Time" is a doo-woop classic, another tribute to new found love. "Keeping the Faith" is about Joel remaining positive about the future, regardless of how much he enjoyed his good ol' days and the past. "Leave a Tender Moment Alone" is a breezy song in the Otis Redding vein about the fears guys have when courting a girl that they are attracted to. The song in a way is pretty humerous and is truthfully honest about the fears guys have! "Tell Her About It" is in the vein of the Beatles (lyrically and musically, also the Fab Four were a HUGE influence to Joel), where Joel tells guys not to let go, to try for the girl and tell her how they feel. The song hit number one, and launched a very humerous video with Joel being the main act to an Ed Sullivan-like parody show (Again, referring to the Beatles). Some of the album tracks are strong as well, such as "Christie Lee", a song about manipulative girls, "Careless Talk", a song about the harmful effects of gossip, and "This Night", a ballad that goes to another Joel influence: classical music (an influence that would take over his rock/pop music career in the not too distant future...)

The album is great, but two things deter it. One, this would be the last lightweight pop-rock album from Joel. He would shift to more introspective albums, which meant for more complex numbers, but less consistancy in future works. Secondly, Joel and Brinkley eventually would call it quits, which I think hit at Joel and left a bad taste in his mouth, and today he rarely plays numbers from this album. Numbers from this album are rarely played on radio as well, hurting the overall value the album has. This also further testifies that one of the reasons Joel cut this album was as a testiment to his love to Brinkley. Now that their love is no more, the album probably doesn't hold much value in the eyes of Joel.

If you are looking for a Joel album, and one that could make you smile, "An Innocent Man" is a good album to pick up. Granted that Joel would change his musical direction after this album, and that compared to his other works it's pretty light pop, but it's still a lot of fun to listen to, and will definitely put a smile on your face.