Billy Joel — Streetlife Serenade (LP)

Before Billy Joel became an arena rock institution, he was a sharp-eared piano man steeped in the jazz and pop traditions that shaped classic American songwriting. Streetlife Serenade catches him in that hungry middle distance — ambitious, restless, and undeniably gifted. The honky-tonk swagger of "Root Beer Rag" tips a knowing hat to ragtime and stride piano, while "The Entertainer" strips back the showbiz myth with a weariness that only a true student of jazz-inflected pop could pull off. It's singer-songwriter craft with a bar-room soul, and it holds up beautifully.

Tracklist

1. Streetlife Serenade
2. Los Angelenos
3. The Great Suburban Showdown
4. Root Beer Rag
5. Roberta
6. The Entertainer
7. Last Of The Big Time Spenders
8. Weekend Song
9. Souvenir
10. The Mexican Connection