I love you just the way you are

The song's sincere appeal to simplicity has won the hearts of listeners who have boosted the song well up into the Top 40 charts. With the gentle Fender Rhodes playing background to a pair of soft acoustic guitars, Joel has put together a tune that succeeds because it is so straightforward.

Yet for all the popularity of side one, the album's second side has remained obscure. For six years, Billy Joel has been turning out superb music that has gone relatively unnoticed, and the success of the four cuts on side one of The Stranger is a first for him. It seems that the listening public has now accepted the Billy Joel who has been around for years, but they are not yet ready to accept his new experiments--or as he calls it, "a face that we hide away."

Side two is the exposure of Joel's hidden talents, his tremendous creative ability. Though much of the side is not of as high caliber as the material on side one, it is remarkably diverse. Probably the weakest cut of the side is "Vienna," a bluesy lament filled with the sounds of Dominic Cortese's accordion, which still does not compare to "New York State of Mind," the blues entry and consistent show stopper from Turnstiles.

Joel turns to a bit of R&B in the tradition of Stevie Wonder with "Get it Right the First Time," using a flute to accentuate a strong piano line. His catchy refrain is almost a direct outtake from the first two lines of Wonder's "Another Star."

The side's strongest entry is "Everybody Has a Dream," a gospel tune complete with a slow moving vocal and a heavy organ instrumental part. The song even has a gospel chorus that includes singer Phoebe Snow.

The side's other two cuts, "Only the Good Die Young" and "She's Always a Woman" don't quite come together, although the first one features a strong set of lyrics. The song starts off with:

Come out, Virginia. Don't let me wait

You Catholic girls start much too late

But sooner or later it comes down to fate

I might as well be the one.

"She's Always a Woman" has a bright arpeggio guitar part in the background, but the song lacks the vitality that comprises so much of Billy Joel's work, and never goes anywhere.

Why The Stranger has suddenly earned Billy Joel the airplay he has lacked in the past is a mystery, especially to his long-time fans. The Stranger is a solid album with a particularly good first side, but it is certainly no stronger than Turnstiles, and not nearly the phenomenal collection of songs that made up Piano Man. Still, with a second consecutive solid album (after a weak follow up to Piano Man called Streetlife Serenade), Joel has reassured his fans and impressed upon new listeners that his tremendous talent will leave a lasting impression on the pop musical world.

ALTHOUGH The Stranger has ended his absence form the airwaves, it has not succeeded in getting the listening audience to accept Joel's diverse talent. To most, Billy Joel is still a stranger: they know him only as the piano man. But Billy Joel is much more than that, and The Stranger demonstrates his range of abilities. The experimentation of side two is still a bit rough, but Joel should not abandon his experiments. Along with the attempts at diverse types of music, Joel might do well to return with some instrumentals like "Root Beer Rag" and "The Mexican Connection," the two best cuts from Streetlife Serenade.

The musician who appears on stage in a gray business suit with a conservative tie and white Pumas has a wealth of talent. An innovative album like The Stranger is a welcomed addition to Billy Joel's music.