The Stranger – Billy Joel (1977)
It all comes back to the whistling. That plaintive but sensual whistled melody that opens the title track of Billy Joel’s The Stranger and then returns as the coda after the album’s final song. It settles you into the world of this marvelous record and prepares you for the treasures within.
This is another album that I grew up hearing, and I guess it’s no surprise that my 70s list features so many records that made an impression on me as a child. Like a baby that responds to a voice she heard from within the womb, the music of our childhood puts us back in a place of safety and innocence. If the sense memories are that good, it probably doesn’t even matter how good the songs were.
But don’t sell Joel short — this is an album full of great songs, including his two best (‘Vienna’ and ‘Scenes From an Italian Restaurant’) as well as ‘She’s Always a Woman,’ ‘Only the Good Die Young’ and a couple of lesser-known tracks. The easy-listening ballad ‘Just the Way You Are’ is delightfully corny and a deserved hit.
And kick-off track ‘Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)’ typifies the street smart New York sensibility that Joel brought to his best material.
Savin’ his pennies for someday
Mama Leone left a note on the door,
She said,
“Sonny, move out to the country.”
Workin’ too hard can give you
A heart attackackackackackack
You oughta know by now
Who needs a house out in Hackensack?
Is that all you get for your money?
And it seems such a waste of time
If that’s what it’s all about
Mama, If that’s movin’ up then I’m movin’ out.
Mmm, I’m movin’ out
Sergeant O’Leary is walkin’ the beat
At night he becomes a bartender
He works at Mister Cacciatore’s down
On Sullivan Street
Across from the medical center
And he’s tradin’ in his Chevy for a Cadillacacacacacacacac
You oughta know by now
And if he can’t drive
With a broken back
At least he can polish the fenders
And it seems such a waste of time
If that’s what it’s all about
Mama, If that’s movin’ up then I’m movin’ out.
Mmm, I’m movin’ out.
You should never argue with a crazy mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mind
You oughta know by now
You can pay Uncle Sam with the overtime
Is that all you get for your money?
And if that’s what you have in mind
yeah if that’s what you’re all about
Good luck movin’ up ’cause I’m movin’ out.
Mmm, I’m movin’ out. I’m movin’ out…
Meet Me In Montauk 
So happy this is close to your number one! As I’ve said so many times before, this is one of my all time favorites.
I share in the nostalgia of this record, which was the soundtrack to my little brother’s life in those days. Playing songs on the living room piano, many of them Billy Joel’s surrounded by the oriental pieces in the yellow on yellow decorated living room. In the medicine cabinet… abottle of whites, a bottle of reds. Ah, good times!
Well, no surprise that I wholly concur with this selection.
For years, I have maintained that my favorite Joel album was Nylon Curtain, but, much like our president, my views are evolving and I am now ready to state publicly that Stranger stands atop all other Joel albums. The album contains my two favorite Joel songs, “Vienna” and “Only the Good Die Young,” and “Scenes” is not far behind. While “Just the Way You Are” may have become overplayed and reduced to loung lizard schmaltz, it is still a great song, and if that is supposed to be the weak point on the album, I think it demonstrates just how strong the rest of the tracks are.
So, again, I wholly endorse this pick and am curious to see the records that will top it on your list.
I, of course, will simply add my voice to the choir of those who adore this album. These are the first songs I recall ever being aware of telling stories. While I had enjoyed listening to music and singing along with a chorus here or there, it was through this album and Carly Simon’s No Secrets, that I started thinking about the characters’ lives beyond the verses. Brenda and Eddie are certainly the most obvious example, but Anthony in today’s SOTD is another. Years later, when we took the kids to see the Broadway show “Movin’ Out,” the concept came full circle, as Joel’s songs were linked, creating ties between characters that he likely never intended.
Regardless, I love them all!