Wayback Machine Music Review

Billy Joel: The Stranger. Originally released in 1977.

I originally bought this record on LP back in probably around 1978 from the Columbia House Record Club. I recently bought this recording on Compact Disc and I wanted to write about it. This recording holds up. It is definitely a product of it's time and therefore, I'm not sure I would classify this album as "timeless" but it is a good album and in fact for me, being a 15 - 16 year old kid at the time, listening to this record, takes me back to my first dates and high school, etc. In fact I was moved to buy the LP back in 10th grade by a girl I dated, her favorite at the time was "Only The Good Die Young". The entire record is very good with some tunes that really stand out. "Just The Way You Are" IS a timeless piece, so is "She's Always A Woman". The rest of the songs are very good, and for those of us who where there the first time around, it quickly transports you back to the late 1970's.

I'm not a huge Billy Joel fan, however he did have his moments. The Stranger is the album that made Billy Joel a household name, it was worth buying again.