He may have made his name as one of those strangely genre-resistant singer-songwriters of the 70s, but Billy Joel's pedigree in pop dates back at least a decade prior to 1973's breakthrough Piano Man album. In 1964, Joel's prowess on Hammond organ even saw him playing on The Shangri-Las' "Leader Of The Pack". It was to these fledgling years in pop that Joel looked for inspiration when recording the most successful album of his career. To spend an afternoon in the company of An Innocent Man is to transport yourself to a New York diner in the early 60s, not a care in the world beyond waiting for your date to turn up. And when it works, it's positively life-affirming. "Uptown Girl" is surely the finest song The Four Seasons never recorded, while "The Longest Time" and "Leave A Tender Moment Alone" offer a humane return to the thrill of young love. Less successful are a couple of forays in more R&B influenced material (Joel doesn't quite have the voice for it) but never again did he quite sound like he was having this much fun. -- Peter Paphides
Track Listing
Easy Money Innocent Man Longest Time This Night Tell Her About It Uptown Girl Careless Talk Christie Lee Leave A Tender Moment Alone Keeping The Faith
