Billy Joel

July 24, 2017
Musicologist Duchan (Powerful Voices: The Musical and Social World of Collegiate A Capella) presents an informative and entertaining look at the work of pop superstar Billy Joel, positioning his songs in the canon of 20th-century pop music. Despite Joel’s multiplatinum album sales, countless hit songs, and a performing career as long—and a fan base as loyal—as that of Bruce Springsteen, he has never been a favorite with critics. Duchan makes a powerful argument for the complexity in Joel’s work by keeping the spotlight on the music, tracing how “Joel’s music kept alive an emphasis on well-crafted melody and harmony” rooted in Tin Pan Alley traditions while incorporating rock, jazz, and doo-wop with lyrics that addressed his listeners through contemporary themes. For example, Duchan carefully shows how an “unabashedly sentimental” song such as “New York State of Mind” shares many of the features of the Tin Pan Alley genre (the song similarly “includes four verses that roughly fit the ABAC pattern and finish with title lyrics”). Duchan argues that “Joel sings as, for, and about hard-working people whose circumstances are worsening and who have little control over the forces that affect their lives.” He successfully argues for Joel’s music relevance.

June 1, 2017

Duchan (music history & ethnomusicology, Wayne State Univ.; Powerful Voices) takes a middle-ground approach to analyzing the work of one of America's most recognizable musicians of the past five decades. This book is much more than a biography but does not include detailed analysis of as many of Billy Joel's compositions as some other books (e.g., Ken Bielen's The Words and Music of Billy Joel). Duchan organizes his analysis of Joel's work around several themes (e.g., place, living in American culture, stylistic authenticity, etc.). This approach works very well, especially at tracing the musician's development over the course of his career and in providing context for some of his best-known and finest songs and instrumental compositions. The writing style is fluid and the research solid, providing much insight into Joel. VERDICT A must-read analysis of the work of one our most popular performers.--James E. Perone, Univ. of Mount Union, Alliance, OH

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