In 1976, I had become dismayed, depressed and almost despondent about the state of pop music. For my entire life (at least since the age of two), music was my obsession, and I embraced and then devoured as much music as I could, but by 1976, something felt wrong.

It was as though the wheels started to fall off the cart. New music seemed to have trouble continuing the remarkable innovation of the past two decades, and I became genuinely concerned that the impetus for my obsession – namely, rock and roll music – was finally showing its age. I found this especially troubling because 1976 was the year that I graduated from high school. This was my ‘golden era’, a time that should have had an appropriate soundtrack to accompany one of the most significant signposts of my life, as exemplified by numerous period-piece movies (most notably “American Graffiti”, a film that accompanied my own coming of age in high school). That wasn’t happening. Instead of Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis, or The Beatles and Rolling Stones, my generation had spinoff dreck such as Elton John and Kiki Dee, lapsed talents like latter-day Chicago, disco-fied Rod Stewart and Paul McCartney’s Wings, or nightmarish stereotypes like Kiss, Peter Frampton and Boston. Even my beloved Bee Gees had changed drastically, seemingly overnight. If you looked at the pop charts with even a superficial glance, you might have felt an inkling of a desire to retch at the contemporary state of musical affairs. I know that I did.

Friends were getting into the new Thin Lizzy and Queen albums, but I wasn’t buying it. In my mind, Queen already took their rococo, overproduced psychodrama as far as they possibly could on their previous album (1975’s “Night at the Opera”), and “Day at the Races” struck me as a disappointing companion. Thin Lizzy had a great hit (“Boys Are Back in Town”) but the rest of the songs didn’t impress me. “Tonight there’s gonna be a jailbreak somewhere in this town”? Perhaps I can solve that mystery - might I suggest you start your search at the town jail? Yes, I was becoming cynical.

The artist I distrusted most was the new populist darling, Billy Joel. “Piano Man” had become as ubiquitous as “Stairway to Heaven,” and his smarmy lyrics were too smug for my taste, especially because he presented them as working class anthems. As a result, I could barely listen to the radio in 1976, but at some point, I couldn’t help but notice a few Joel songs that sounded genuinely pleasant instead of patently offensive. Crap like “Captain Jack” still haunted me with its regular rotation, but it was now interspersed with a Ronettes tribute called “Say Goodbye to Hollywood.” For the first time, I heard a song by Billy Joel that I genuinely liked, a song that paid homage and yet sounded distinctly original. As a native New Yorker, I couldn’t suppress the sense of pride brought on by “New York State of Mind”, and “Summer Highland Falls” seemed genuine, with a sentiment that struck me as thoughtful and reflective, perhaps even insightful. “Angry Young Man” was a bit overwrought, but it toned down the judgmental snottiness of similarly themed songs from his past, and the arrangement worked pretty damned well, too. Of course, the album has its flaws. The faux-reggae of “All You Wanna Do Is Dance” is embarrassing and “James” strains to sound like a John/Taupin composition, but “Miami 2017” hit me like an apocalyptic Phil Spector masterpiece, and that was enough to salvage my hope for a ‘new, improved’ Billy Joel. This was not the rock and roll of my dreams, nor what I would have conjured for my graduation soundtrack, but it would have to do. Joel returned to New York like the prodigal son, and despite his past, I found it in my heart to accept him, although most fans felt otherwise.

Sales for “Turnstiles” was miserable, not even cracking Billboard’s Top 100, making me realize that the way I viewed Billy Joel was significantly different than how the rest of the world viewed him. My lovefest was short-lived, ending when he took ill-advised stabs at New Wave, but for the time being, “Turnstiles” represented some of my favorite pop music of 1976. Hey, if you’re in the game, then you gotta play the cards you’re dealt, right?

Featured Tracks:

Say Goodbye to Hollywood

Summer, Highland Falls

All You Wanna Do Is Dance

New York State of Mind

James

Prelude/Angry Young Man

I've Loved These Days

Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)

BONUS TRACKS

Travelin’ Prayer

The Ballad of Billy the Kid

The Entertainer