52nd Street [Columbia, 1978]
Billy Joel is a lot like Elton John and Leo Sayer in that he's got the same knack for omnivorous hummability. But when Elton is (was) good, he balanced out the smarm with camp. Billy on the other hand sounds like he wants you to actually believe the words he's singing. Yuck. B-

>critic doesn't like Billy Joel
Stop the presses

>>127263488 (OP)
But /mu/ told me he gave good ratings to any musician from New York

Can't imagine being an irony poisoned cowardly old homo threatened by any display of sincerity (unless it's made by blacks)

>>127263520
Christgau doesn't consider Long Island to be cool New York.

>>127263520
The New York rock critic establishment didn't like Joel because they correctly understood he was a Mafia plant to promote loungeshit instead of punk and New Wave like they were into. That's why Cuckgau constantly refers to him as reactionary, throwback, pre-rock pop etc.

>>127263488 (OP)
ok boomer

>>127264031
BOC is from Long Island and he gave them a pass

>>127265303
They were a bunch of Jewish beatniks so they were considered ok.

>>127263488 (OP)
If you look at the music objectively and remove fag-agenda astrotufing, Billy mogs Elton by a country mile, though I still think Taupin-era Elton John is very good.

I'm a bit biased I guess, I hated Billy Joel as "pop shit" until my lady dragged me to see him live. Holy shit he was something else. And he can be campy too, he just played it straight (lol) so people couldn't tell that shit like Uptown Girl and We Didn't Start The Fire were supposed to be a bit goofy.

Joel has a lot of haters but mostly if you live in the Northeast due to the gross overplay of his hits over the last half century (I live here, I know what I'm talking about).

>>127266516
elton john owned the 70's, retard.
billy joel is good, but he was never the beatles of the 70's like elton.

>>127269051
>elton john owned the 70's, retard
Well really just 72-75. He had an impressively hot run but it was all within those four years.

Joel had a good near 20 years of relevance and he had no bad albums in all that time, only The Bridge being slightly weak because it lacked a hit single. He also quit at the right time. Elton had bazillions of albums but only his run in the first half of the 70s actually matters and he never made a good album after ROTW, just the occasional single.