Customer Reviews
Billy Joel at his best - By: Mr. G. Lewis, 27 Oct 2008 
It took me quite a while to get round to buying this album & I wonder why I waited so long. I absolutely love it, so much energy. I have had the CD for some weeks now & can't stop playing it. "And So It Goes" is one of my all time favourite Billy Joel songs & a calm end to a sometimes frantic album.
Going to extremes of greatness - By: K. Slusar, 19 May 2003 I studied 'We didnt start the fire'in English class & have loved it since, written more like a poem, Joel pulls it off as a great song. I adore Lenningrad for its slow strong message. Downeaster Alexa is another excellent song, as are State of Grace, I go to extremes & Whenin Rome. Althogether this an increadible album although i dont particularly like Thats not her style, or storm front - but they're two of my mums favourites so the album can retain its five star classin my eyes :-D
The change of direction works - By: , 01 Apr 2001 Storm Front marks a change of direction for Billy into a harder guitar sound - & boy does it work! The roughness of his voice perfectly suits the guitar & the adding of the sax & brass section really lifts up the tracks. The songs themselves are absolutely brilliant encorporating many feels. That's Not Her Style has a big outdoor stadium concert feel, We Didn't Start the Fire is an absolute gem & shows off Billy's intellect as well as his songwiring talentin this 5-minute 40 year history lesson. The stirring music of The Downeaster "Alexa" really creates a powerful track & the personal emotionin I Go To Extremes, And so It Goes & State Of Grace is wonderful. Shameless is one of the best & most beautiful Billy tracks ever & the 'coolness' of When In Rome & particularly the brilliant Storm Front adds the last rounded aspect to a fully brilliant album. Not quite An Innocent Man - but nearly!
The Last Great Billy Joel Album - By: , 24 Feb 2001 This is Billy Joel's last great album. It was his first studio album for three years & every song is a gem. It contains the smash-hit 'history of the world since 1949in 5 minutes' "We didn't start the fire", but this isn't even the best song on the album. "Downeaster Alexa" is a stunning song - musically & lyrically. It deals with the fate of fishermen from Long Island where Joel grew up, who have to go further & further out to sea to catch fish because of restrictions due to over-fishing. Musically it is a modern sea shanty, accordions & a fiddle weave a beautiful Celtic melody around a slow funereal rhythm. Two other songs stand out, both slow songs: "Shameless" is a timeless love song made even more poignant by the subsequent break-up of his marriage, while "Leningrad" is an account of Joel's tour of Russiain 1987 which ends with a spine-tingling choral coda. "I go to extremes" is a great up-tempo pop song, while "That's not her style" & "Storm Front" are both heavier rock numbers. The album closes with the quiet & reflective "And so it goes", a piano based songin the same mood as "Honesty" from 52nd Street.
