Proggiest Billy Joel Song?
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Other music related lounges
Forum Name: General Music Discussions
Forum Description: Discuss and create polls about all types of music
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=130576
Printed Date: February 18 2025 at 03:48
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Topic: Proggiest Billy Joel Song?
Posted By: AJ Junior
Subject: Proggiest Billy Joel Song?
Date Posted: March 03 2023 at 09:50
| Billy Joel is one of my favorite non-prog artists of all time. In all my years of listening I had never even thought of him as even close to prog at all, but a friend of mine made me realize that "The Entertainer," on "Street Life Serenade," is indeed very progressive. This begs the question, what other proggy songs does Billy Joel have? |
Replies:
Posted By: David_D
Date Posted: March 03 2023 at 10:18
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I guess, these "Prog Lounges" get less and less interesting for proggers.  ------------- quality over quantity, and all kind of PopcoRn almost beyond |
Posted By: siLLy puPPy
Date Posted: March 03 2023 at 10:22
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He was in a band called Attila before going solo so I guess that album He also did a classic album and everyone knows classical is progressive -------------  https://rateyourmusic.com/~siLLy_puPPy |
Posted By: Progosopher
Date Posted: March 03 2023 at 10:41
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When many of us think of the 70s we go from one extreme to the other - it is either Prog or Disco and Punk. But there was plenty of middle ground. Many mainstream bands and artists used methods that we consider typically Prog - among them sophisticated time signatures, nonstandard structures, and key changes on occasion. Remember, Yes, ELP, Jethro Tull, and Pink Floyd were very popular at the time. King Crimson and Genesis not so much, but the latter's popularity was growing even before they went commercial. Popular music then was much different than the canned popular music of today. ------------- The world of sound is certainly capable of infinite variety and, were our sense developed, of infinite extensions. -- George Santayana, "The Sense of Beauty" |
Posted By: Cristi
Date Posted: March 03 2023 at 10:45
so you bash the entire forum for the mistake of a couple of users that do not know where to start a thread. Good one...
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David_D wrote:Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: March 03 2023 at 11:11
Attila - Wonder Woman - and if you wonder what that's got to do with Billy Joel, that's him looking like a long-lost member of Kiss in the centre of the album cover.  |
Posted By: David_D
Date Posted: March 03 2023 at 12:38
 ------------- quality over quantity, and all kind of PopcoRn almost beyond |
Posted By: AJ Junior
Date Posted: March 03 2023 at 12:44
|
sorry you feel this way. How can I improve my posts? Im newer to the forum. |
Posted By: Gordy
Date Posted: March 03 2023 at 13:14
You have nothing to worry about, don't sweat the snark. I think his proggiest would be "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant," but I'm no expert. ------------- "Life is beautiful. Let the future generations cleanse it of all evil, oppression and violence, and enjoy it to the full." |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 03 2023 at 13:24
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I'd say maybe something like Goodnight Saigon or Zanzibar. ------------- 
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Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: March 03 2023 at 13:36
Don't worry, the genre fundamentalists are a minority on these forums... If "proggers" ain't interested in Billy Joel, then they don't know what good music is about (in the worst case your post will be moved to another - General music discussions - forum). And since you're asking for most proggy BJ songs, from the same - wonderful - album as above suggested Goodnight Saigon, I'm thinking of Scandinavian Skies (although I'm not an expert either): ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Posted By: HolyMoly
Date Posted: March 03 2023 at 14:15
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Scandinavian Skies & Scenes from an Italian Restaurant. I’m a Billy fan too. ------------- My other avatar is a Porsche It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased. -Kehlog Albran |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: March 03 2023 at 15:42
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Hi, AJ. I have moved this from the Prog Music Lounge to General Music Discussions because this part of the forum is intended for music already included in our Prog categories at PA. It's a bit of a learning process where things best fit and even long-term members with many posts incorrectly place things. See Site Rules and Guidelines -> https://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=13082" rel="nofollow - Creating new threads in the forum page CLICK Here I don't mind moving it at all, and only ever bothers me when people keep doing the same after being alerted to the guidelines. David has had a particular concern with Prog Archives turning into an All Music Site be because sometimes music acts not deemed as Prog gets mentioned in the Prog forums. While officially acts are not considered Prog until they are included in PA, of course many other acts flirted with and were dominantly Prog (how much can depend on the listener and ones personal definitions and parameters for Prog). Lots of big name and lesser-knowns artists made Proggy music, especially in the 70s, like Elton John with "Funeral for a Friend/ Love Lies Bleeding" (which to me complements "Fool's Overture" by Supertramp nicely). And of course lots of what is included in PA also made music that is not Prog -- some describe artists/bands as Prog, whereas, I tend to think on the album and song level and describe music made by acts as Prog rather than the acts themselves. Some concentrated more on Prog than others, and some who concentrated more on Prog were more progressive than others. The Prog/Non-Prog dichotomy presented by some purists never made much sense to me. I think some bring in their preconceptions and aren't willing or able to fairly judge specific music and albums. I think of Prog as an amorphous quite nebulous thing. I think it generally better to focus on the topics of others that one likes (finds interesting/ entertaining and has something constructive and commonly positive to add) than to post in order to complain and/or push one's own agenda. Back to Billy Joel, I don't have much to add as I have not been a fan of Billy Joel (haven't explored much) but I am really enjoying his "Scandinavian Skies" right now -- it's more than a place for Norwegian Blues (not for dead parrots pining for the fjords). I will be looking more into his music, so thanks for making this topic. |
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: March 03 2023 at 16:12
ProggiestOne or two "g".......? I'm so cornfused -------------   
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Posted By: David_D
Date Posted: March 04 2023 at 05:02
If you referred to Eric Carr, I didn't know that. ------------- quality over quantity, and all kind of PopcoRn almost beyond |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: March 04 2023 at 05:06
Billy Joel and the Hassles - I Hear Voices.... At first, I thought this song was about schizophrenia, but I'm in two minds about it now.  |
Posted By: David_D
Date Posted: March 04 2023 at 05:53
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no problem ------------- quality over quantity, and all kind of PopcoRn almost beyond |
Posted By: Heart of the Matter
Date Posted: March 04 2023 at 06:00
| I'd say Downeaster Alexa. After that, you can easily go for some Styx, or maybe even Yes |
Posted By: progaardvark
Date Posted: March 04 2023 at 07:24
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Wasn't Attila proposed as a band suggestion to PA at one time? Did it get rejected? ------------- ---------- i'm shopping for a new oil-cured sinus bag that's a happy bag of lettuce this car smells like cartilage nothing beats a good video about fractions |
Posted By: David_D
Date Posted: March 04 2023 at 10:13
There's still so much Prog to explore from the less known countries. ------------- quality over quantity, and all kind of PopcoRn almost beyond |
Posted By: mellotronwave
Date Posted: March 04 2023 at 15:00
| Not prog imo but her writes lot of very well carved song ... du beau travail ;-) |
Posted By: bardberic
Date Posted: March 04 2023 at 16:43
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I'm going to say either Captain Jack, the Ballad of Billy the Kid, Prelude/Angry Young Man, Miami 2017, or Scenes from an Italian Restaurant. Tough between Prelude/Angry Young Man and Scenes from an Italian Restaurant... I'm going with the latter, SfaIR :) I think Piano Man has some prog undertones throughout. Edit: Actually I think Turnstiles has a lot of prog, too. It's a borderline prog pop album. |
Posted By: bardberic
Date Posted: March 04 2023 at 16:45
I mean Billy Joel from Piano Man until 52nd Street was exactly that perfect middle ground between prog and punk/disco imo. Glass Houses, onwards.... not as much. Def more punky/disco-y. As I mentioned above, Piano Man has some prog undertones throughout the whole album. Edit: I think Turnstiles is actually his proggiest album. |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: March 04 2023 at 17:13
| Imo, I would say Scenes From An Italian Restaurant, The Entertainer and The Ballad Of Billy The Kid. There might be a few others since I am not familiar with his entire catalog. |