When “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” is your least favorite
song on an album, it has to be a monster disc. Billy Joel’s The Stranger is one of the greatest
records to ever be released in my lifetime. I’ve never compiled a personal top
ten list of albums in my life, but if I did, I am sure that The Stranger would be on it. The record
was released when Joel was hitting his stride as a musician and challenging
himself to create the greatest music he could. It was also the breakthrough
album that made him a household name.
My earliest memories of listening to The Stranger come from a time when I would have dance competitions
with my sister as we listened to the album on my mother’s 8-Track stereo
system. Yes, this was in the same house where I fell in love with Bob Seger’s Night Moves. My sister and I would pick an album to listen to after
dinner and we had a “dance off.” The only problem was we were the only judges,
so we always gave ourselves perfect scores and graded the other as far less
than perfect. One of the albums we played a lot for these competitions was The Stranger. 52nd Street, Night Moves, and the soundtrack to Grease were other albums we loved to use
for these dance contests.
I can remember being petrified of the album cover to The Stranger. I mean, at a young age,
who wouldn’t be? Looking at it now, much older and mature in life, that album
cover still freaks me out. Billy Joel, dressed in a suit, is sitting on a bed,
staring at a creepy theater mask that is lying on a pillow. Full compliments to
whomever thought up the cover design. It is certainly a memorable one. More
important than the alarming album cover and dance competitions however was the
music contained on the record. Even at a tender age, the music spoke to me.
“She’s Always a Woman” was a song that reminded me of a
girl I had a huge crush on in my neighborhood. Anytime I heard that song, I
thought of her immediately and went into some strange daze. A stupid grin would
appear on my face and all movement would stop as I thought of my crush. Even back
then young Ryo was a budding romantic. I don’t remember the girl’s name
anymore, but if I close my eyes and listen to “She’s Always a Woman” I can
still see her face in my mind. That’s the power of those young early
crushes---they never go away. And that’s also the power of music, it can
transport you back to any time in your life.
As my adolescence evolved, The Stranger was put away and forgotten for a long period of time.
I wouldn’t truly revisit the album until I was in high school. Occasionally, I
would hear “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” on the radio and turn up the volume,
but I didn’t even purchase my own copy of The
Stranger until I was a freshman.
During my sophomore year of high school, “Vienna” played
a significantly powerful part in my life. It was during this time of my teenaged
youth that my mother and step-father were going through an ugly divorce, my
sister and I were barely speaking to one another, and I was still trying to
figure out my place in the world and where exactly I fit in. I had a few
friends, but I was far from the Mr. Popularity that I desperately wanted to be.
To add to those complications, I had discovered girls in a big, big way.
Unfortunately, girls had yet to discover me, which was evident whenever I tried
to engage them.
I grew full of uncertainty and self-doubt. A teenager
with low self-esteem and lots of doubt is a volatile combination to say the
least. Fortunately, I was able to see a youth therapist during this dark period.
He was a fantastic counselor and able to connect with me on a deep level. It
was nice to have someone to visit on a regular basis, discuss the problems I
was having that I couldn’t (or wouldn’t) discuss with my parents and get
positive encouragement to work through the issues I was having. Shortly after
being turned down by the latest lust of my life, Jen, I grew into a deep
depression. What was wrong with me that all the girls I liked didn’t
reciprocate the same feelings? I was just ready to give up on life. Talking
through this depression with my counselor one evening, he brought up the song
“Vienna” and asked if I knew it. I did know the song, and by that time I owned
my own copy on cassette, but I never really paid much attention to that
particular tune. He told me to go home and play “Vienna” a few times and really
listen to the lyrics.
I took his advice and listened to “Vienna” on a regular
basis over the next couple of weeks. The words in the music spoke to me as they
had never before. Most likely because I was actually listening to them for the
first time. The opening lines of “Slow down, you crazy child, you’re so
ambitious for a juvenile, but then if you’re so smart, tell me why are you
still so afraid?” slapped me right in the face. The later lyrics of “Slow down,
you’re doing fine, you can’t be everything you want to be before your time”
really drove the point home. I was trying too hard to make life happen instead
of letting it develop around me. “Vienna” would be a theme song for me for the
next few months and really helped to ground me and see life from a new
perspective, one that I had never noticed before.
Winter breaks and summer months were fabulous as a
teenager because they provided an opportunity to visit my father. He lived in
Florida with my three half-brothers and I loved to visit them all. I especially
enjoyed having time with my Dad. Our relationship was an odd one, mostly because
my father was an alcoholic, but he did his best to love me in the way that he
could. There were many a night when we would put “Only The Good Die Young” on
the stereo at full blast and let it rip. We would play the song multiple times
over and just jam out, singing as loud as we could as my brothers laughed at us
for being so goofy. Those are some of my most cherished memories of my father
and me.
“The Stranger” and “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant”
are two songs that I really got into while in high school. My high school years
were the start of my journey into music discovery, as I tried to absorb
different styles and types of music to find what would shape me and stay with
me. In addition to the hair metal, hard rock, and modern pop hits of the day, I
was discovering classic rock music. Billy Joel quickly became one of my
favorite classic rock artists, and The
Stranger became one of my favorite classic rock albums.
During this journey of discovery, I found “The Stranger”
to be a different piece of music that struck me as brilliant. The opening piano
riff followed by the lonely whistling made the song stand out. When the first
verse kicks in with guitar and drums, the listener is hooked. As with most
songs on the album, “The Stranger” has lyrics designed to make the listener
think and analyze. As a young man with plenty of free time on my hands I liked
to think and analyze. This album provided me with plenty of opportunity.
“Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” is one of the
greatest “story” songs ever recorded. The tale of Brenda and Eddie from darling
high school sweethearts to their eventual collapse is one that most failed
young lovers can relate to. It is a fantastic song that stands the test of
time. Even today, young listeners could relate to “Scenes from an Italian
Restaurant” and clearly see the picture Billy Joel painted in the song. Over 40
years later, this song still holds up.
Whenever I am feeling down, or just uncertain, I find
myself revisiting this record. The
Stranger seems to take me back to a safer place in my life. Even though I
was young and full of drama and chaos, there are grand memories there. The Stranger helps to remind me what
I’ve been through and overcome and serves as a confidence builder about what is
yet to come. Having been through so much in life already, I am weathered and
can handle anything that comes my way. And if I need to center myself, just for
a moment, I can put this album on and ease myself back to calm. It’s always
been an important record to me. From dance competitions, to young crushes, to
centering and grounding myself, The
Stranger has been a constant in my life. I imagine that it will continue to
be so even well into my golden years.
