Billy Joel - Cold Spring Harbor (1971) (original pitch corrected mix)

Billy Joel - Cold Spring Harbor 1971 (1983) MP3 @192

Cold Spring Harbor is the first solo album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on November 1, 1971. He had already released three albums as a member of the bands The Hassles (1966 to 1969) and Attila (1970).



A few short months after abandoning the heavy organ-and-drums duo Attila -- partially because their sole record flopped, partially because he stole the drummer's wife -- Billy Joel reinvented himself as a sensitive singer/songwriter. He had shown signs of McCartney-esque songcraft on Hour of the Wolf, the last Hassles album, but his debut album, Cold Spring Harbor, is where these talents blossomed. The record was uneven but very charming, boasting two of his finest songs -- the lovely "She's Got a Way" and the bitterly cynical "Everybody Loves You Now" -- and a score of flawed but nicely crafted songs that illustrated Joel's gift for melody, as well as his pretensions (the mock-gospel in "Tomorrow Is Today," a classical stab entitled "Nocturne"). In its own way, Cold Spring Harbor was a minor gem of the sensitive singer/songwriter era; Joel may have been in his formative stages as a craftsman, but his talents are apparent, and he never made an album as intimate and vulnerable ever again. Ironically, it didn't sound right upon its original release. Through a bizarre mastering error, the tapes were sped up -- legend has it that upon hearing the completed album, he ripped it off the turntable, ran out of the house, and threw it down the street. It wasn't until 1983 that Columbia released a corrected reissue. The speed wasn't the only thing changed -- some songs were edited drastically ("You Can Make Me Free," one of the standouts, was chopped by nearly five minutes) and instruments and backing vocals were stripped away from numerous tracks. It may be a bastardization of the original release, but it's an acceptable one, since these changes only accentuate the intimacy and vulnerability of the recording.

Track Listing

A(ll songs written by Billy Joel)

Side one
"She's Got a Way" 2:49 (2:40 Original LP)
"You Can Make Me Free" 2:56 (5:40 Original LP)
"Everybody Loves You Now" 2:48 (2:40 Original LP)
"Why Judy Why" 2:56 (3:46 Original LP)
"Falling of the Rain" 2:38 (2:24 Original LP)

Side two
"Turn Around" 3:04 (3:20 Original LP)
"You Look So Good to Me" 2:27 (2:26 Original LP)
"Tomorrow Is Today 4:40 (4:47 Original LP)
"Nocturne" 2:46 (2:37 Original LP)
"Got to Begin Again" 2:49 (2:47 Original LP)

Personnel

Billy Joel - organ, harmonica, piano, harpsichord, keyboards, Hammond organ, Vocals
Richard Bennett - guitar
Rhys Clark - drums (tracks 1, 3-6, 8-10 Original LP)
Sal De Troia - guitars
Don Evans - guitar
Emory Gordy, Jr. - bass
Jimmie Haskell - conductor
Sneaky Pete Kleinow - steel guitar
Larry Knechtel - bass
Joe Osborn - bass
Artie Ripp - conductor
Denny Seiwell - drums (tracks 2 and 7, Original LP)
Mike McGee - additional drums on "Everybody Loves You Now" and "Turn Around" (1983 remix)
Al Campbell - keyboards on "Turn Around" (1983 remix)
L. D. Dixon - Fender Rhodes piano on "Turn Around" (1983 remix)