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Honesty (live): Billy Joel (1987)
Oh my god. I know I’m out of control, but I can’t be stopped. It’s music blog suicide! I’m writing about Billy Joel!
Everything I have to say about Billy Joel can be better said by talking about mashed potatoes. You see, I love mashed potatoes. In fact, I love mashed potatoes so much that I even like instant mashed potatoes. No, they’re not quite the same thing as real mashed potatoes, but they still possess the same essence of mashed potatoes, the same je ne sais quoi that brought me to the white, smooth, starchy food in the first place. Now, hold on. I wouldn’t want to permanently replace real mashed potatoes with instant mashed potatoes. But as a tasty and quick alternative, I’ll take a piping hot bowl of reconstituted dehydrated potato flakes any day.
While I love Billy Joel, I recognize that he’s largely an imitation of other, more respected, canonical artists. So what? Everyone is imitating someone. Some of us are just a little more transparent (or better at it) than others.
This particular version of “Honesty” bowls me over. The control he has over his voice is absolutely incredible. There are five or six different versions of Billy Joel singing this song – subtle shadings of his voice dispatched to deliver specific lines to their utmost. Listen to the seamless transition into the last chorus (around 3:08). Fantastic! Even the piano playing, though quite simple, is extremely dynamic, inextricably linked to his voice, to the lyrics. How you gonna diss this man? I know, I know. Billy Joel is not cool. But he’s not cool because it’s not cool to be honest or sincere without some ironic, snarky, tough-guy distance. Are you even listening to the lyrics, man? Forget the posturing. Get in touch with the Billy Joel in you. The maudlin, misunderstood, delicately desperate, syrupy sweet, low down lonely you.
