Billy Joel's career revival

By Damian Fowler BBC News, New York

Billy Joel's concerts are attracting large audiences

"A bottle of red, a bottle of white/Perhaps a bottle of ginger ale tonight."

That's how Joel sang the opening line from his hit song Scenes From An Italian Restaurant the other night at Madison Square Garden.

Suddenly the 56-year-old piano man is on a roll, his career magically rejuvenated.

The concert marked the beginning of an historic run of 12 concerts at New York City's famous arena, breaking the record of 10 set by Bruce Springsteen in 2000.

And so he had the confidence to tweak the lyrics to one of his most famous songs to poke fun at his new-found sobriety, following several years of alcohol addiction that kept him in and out of the gossip pages and out of the musical limelight.

He's one of the few musicians to write about the people whose lives aren't considered very interesting: white middle class people Debbie Geller, biographer of Billy Joel

It is a welcome return to form for the talented singer and pianist. But this renewed success has surprised many people.

"The industry always seems surprised at Billy's success, and I'm surprised when they're surprised," says Joel's longtime agent, Dennis Arfa.

"Billy's one of these great icons, up there with Springsteen, Buffett, U2, The Rolling Stones and Elton John. There's a group and he's one of them."

Contribution

The truth is, many music critics have never really liked Joel, and they don't include him in the pantheon of great artists.

Serious rock writers have tended to consider him a "balladeer" with little of importance to say.

Billy Joel was a hit with the public but not with music critics

Joel never received much critical praise for his most famous songs, Piano Man, Just The Way You Are and Uptown Girl, to name but a few of his many hits.

He has long resented the critical black hole he's been placed in, famously ripping up negative reviews on stage to show his anger.

But the question remains: what is his contribution to music?

"If anything, he's the voice of the suburbs. He's one of the few musicians to write about the people whose lives aren't considered very interesting: white middle class people," says Debbie Geller, the author of Billy Joel: An Illustrated Biography.

There are characters like Brenda and Eddie, for example, from his narrative song, Scenes From An Italian Restaurant, who get married and buy "a couple of paintings from Sears," not to mention the big water bed that they "bought with the bread/They had saved for a couple of years".

Beloved

Joel has sold upwards of 78 million albums worldwide, although his last album of new material, River Of Dreams, was released in 1993.

In 2002 he teamed up with choreographer Twyla Tharp to create a Broadway musical called Movin' Out.

The show was a box-office hit, won two Tony awards and garnered widespread critical acclaim.

But that hasn't impressed the critics. One recent piece of bad press argued that Joel was born at the wrong time.

"Joel came of age in the post-Beatles era, when songwriters grew self-conscious about rock's aesthetic and social significance, and felt compelled to make statements.

"Alas, Joel is a leaden lyricist with nothing to say," wrote Jody Rosen, the music critic for the online magazine, Slate.

Obviously none of this matters to the crowds who are flocking to see the multi-platinum pop star.

Joel has always been a beloved figure in the New York area since he was born and raised in Hicksville - a prototype American suburb on Long Island.

And even during the worst moments of his drinking crisis, Joel redeemed his offstage antics with a performance that cemented his status as a New York hero.

The poignant moment came during a telethon concert just after 9/11 when Joel sang New York State of Mind with a fallen fireman's helmet on his grand piano.

He has recently released a retrospective boxed set called My Lives - a career spanning collection of music.

The musician says he stopped writing pop music back in 1993. But that, he insists, doesn't mean he's retired from performing.

And his record-breaking series at Madison Square Garden might begin the second, or third chapter in Joel's unpredictable career.

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