Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1977…
#2 – The Stranger – Billy Joel
I recently played today’s SOTD for my wife and she said she’d never heard it before. How could that be, I asked, when she’s a big Billy Joel fan and this is the eighth of nine tracks on The Stranger, arguably the greatest Billy Joel album?
It turns out she didn’t know the ninth song, ‘Everybody Has a Dream,’ either.
We realized that she never really listened to The Stranger as an album, despite being completely familiar with its first seven tracks.
These are the first seven tracks on The Stranger: ‘Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song),’ ‘The Stranger,’ ‘Just the Way You Are,’ ‘Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,’ ‘Vienna,’ ‘Only the Good Die Young,’ and ‘She’s Always a Woman.’
My wife knows every one of those songs by heart not because she owned this album but because every one of those songs is a classic. The last four are some of the greatest songs by anybody, ever. These songs are part of the fabric of American life. They brought people by the tens of thousands to sold out Madison Square Garden concerts night after night.
And you know what? ‘Get it Right the First Time’ and ‘Everybody Has a Dream’ are fantastic songs, too.
So yes, Billy Joel’s The Stranger is easily one of the greatest albums of 1977. It should probably be at #1, to be honest, but I couldn’t see a way to not crown the album I’ll feature tomorrow. I’m sure some of you have figured that one out by now, but if not I hope you enjoy the suspense of wondering what album could possibly top this masterpiece.
I don’t believe in first impressions
For just this once I hope
That looks don’t deceive
I ain’t got time for true confessions
[Pre-Chorus]
Got to make the move right now
Got to meet that girl somehow
[Chorus]
Get it right the first time
That’s the main thing
I can’t afford to let it pass
You get it right the next time
That’s not the same thing
Gonna make the first time last
[Verse 2]
I’m not much good at conversation
I never was much good
At coming on real strong
But if all it takes is inspiration
[Pre-Chorus]
Then I might have just what it takes
If I don’t make no bad mistakes
And I
[Chorus]
Get it right the first time
‘Cause that’s the main thing
I can’t afford to let it pass
You get it right the next time
That’s not the same thing
Gonna have to make the first time last
[Bridge]
I might find the courage
Yeah, I might get up the nerve
But if my timing ain’t just right
What purpose would that serve?
I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know
How to say those first few words
If I want to put myself in touch
The first few moments mean so much
[Verse 3]
So I suppose it’s now or never
Before that woman
Walks right out of my life
Just let me pull myself together
[Pre-Chorus]
I’ve got to give it one good try
Gotta take my chance tonight
[Outro]
Get it right the first time
That’s the main thing
I can’t afford to let it pass
You get it right the next time
That’s not the same thing
Gonna make the first time last
Meet Me In Montauk 
Other than hearing “Just the Way You Are” and possibly “Only the Good Die Young” and “She’s Always a Woman” on the radio (and oddly enough “Get it Right the First Time” covered by Donny Osmond on some TV show before I had heard the original), my exposure to the Stranger as a whole came around 1981 when my cousin Rita gave me the record as a gift. I devoured the album whole, quickly bought everything else Joel had released to that point through Songs in the Attic, and from then on became a lifelong Billy Joel fan.
The Stranger would be number one on my personal list of greatest albums of 1977 and probably top 10 greatest albums of all time. That said, I fully appreciate why you have gone “your own way” with your number one pick.
This would definitely be my number one! I discovered this album and Billy Joel after hearing She’s only a woman on the radio. Love all the songs and have been a huge fan ever since
correction. It was Just the Way you are
This album basically serves as a greatest hits album! It’s pretty remarkable what a run Joel has on this tracklist with even ‘Scenes’ and “Vienna” cutting through as sleeper hits even if they didn’t break through immediately. This was an album that I had heavily in rotation once I discovered it. It’s easily, in my opinion, one of the best albums of all time so it’d make sense it’d be top 3 for you for 1977!
I too didn’t know “Get it Right the First Time” or “Everybody Has a Dream” until listening to the full record, but “Everybody Has a Dream” serves as an even more triumphant closer when almost every other song has stood the test of time and it’s almost as if Joel knew this album would be the one that allows him to live his dream to his fullest extent.
Excited to see what your #1 is and I’ve greatly enjoyed this 1977 exploration! 🙂