Billy Joel’s fourth studio album ‘Turnstiles’ reaches its 50th anniversary this week, marking the record that reconnected the singer-songwriter with New York and laid the groundwork for the commercial breakthrough that followed with ‘The Stranger’.
by Paul Cashmere
Released on May 19, 1976 through Family Productions and Columbia Records, ‘Turnstiles’ arrived at a critical moment in Billy Joel’s career. After a difficult period living and recording in Los Angeles, Joel returned to New York and rebuilt his sound around the musicians who had become his touring band. The album initially underperformed commercially in the United States, peaking at No. 122 on the Billboard 200, but over time it became recognised as one of the defining records of Joel’s catalogue and the first clear statement of his New York identity.
The significance of ‘Turnstiles’ extends well beyond its original chart performance. The record introduced songs that would become permanent fixtures in Joel’s live shows, including ‘New York State Of Mind’, ‘Prelude/Angry Young Man’ and ‘Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway)’. It also marked the beginning of Joel’s long-running collaboration with the musicians who would shape his classic late 1970s recordings and tours.
The album reflected Joel’s frustration with Los Angeles and his desire to reconnect with his roots. Several songs directly reference New York, including ‘Summer, Highland Falls’, ‘New York State Of Mind’ and the dystopian ‘Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway)’. Opening track ‘Say Goodbye To Hollywood’ was inspired by The Ronettes’ ‘Be My Baby’, while ‘I’ve Loved These Days’ offered a sardonic farewell to excess and celebrity culture.
The production process behind the album was unusually turbulent. Joel initially recorded the project at Caribou Ranch in Colorado with members of Elton John’s band, drummer Nigel Olsson and bassist Dee Murray, under producer James William Guercio. Unhappy with the sessions, Joel scrapped the recordings and returned to New York, where he produced the album himself and started again with his own touring group. That band included Liberty DeVitto on drums, Doug Stegmeyer on bass, Richie Cannata on saxophone and Russell Javors and Howie Emerson on guitars.
It was the first Billy Joel studio album to feature his regular touring musicians, a move that gave the record a more cohesive and live-oriented sound. Joel later said the opening piano figure in ‘Prelude/Angry Young Man’ was designed to mimic the frantic drum pattern from The Surfaris’ surf rock hit ‘Wipe Out’.
The artwork for ‘Turnstiles’ reinforced the New York theme. Shot at the Astor Place subway station in Manhattan, the cover featured a series of characters representing songs from the album, including a wealthy couple tied to ‘I’ve Loved These Days’ and a young woman wearing headphones linked to ‘All You Wanna Do Is Dance’.
At the time of release, reviews for ‘Turnstiles’ were mixed. Robert Christgau of The Village Voice criticised what he saw as contradictions between the album’s cynicism and sentimentality. Retrospective opinion has been considerably kinder. AllMusic later described the album’s strength as its stylistic range, moving from the McCartney-inspired pop of ‘All You Wanna Do Is Dance’ to the reflective jazz balladry of ‘New York State Of Mind’.
Commercially, the album found a stronger audience in Australia than in the United States, reaching No. 12 on the Kent Music Report chart. Songs from the record also gained new life through cover versions and later performances. Barbra Streisand recorded ‘New York State Of Mind’ for her 1977 album ‘Superman’, helping introduce Joel’s songwriting to a wider mainstream audience. Joel later joked that his New York relatives were impressed that “the Queen of Brooklyn” had recorded one of his songs.
‘Turnstiles’ also set the stage for one of the most important partnerships of Joel’s career. During the subsequent tour, Joel’s wife Elizabeth Weber approached producer Phil Ramone after he attended a concert at Carnegie Hall in 1977. Ramone would go on to produce ‘The Stranger’, the album that transformed Joel into a global superstar with hits including ‘Just The Way You Are’, ‘Movin’ Out’ and ‘She’s Always A Woman’.
In hindsight, ‘Turnstiles’ stands as the bridge between Billy Joel’s early commercial struggles and the extraordinary run of albums that followed through the late 1970s and early 1980s. While ‘Piano Man’ introduced him and ‘The Stranger’ made him a household name, ‘Turnstiles’ was the album where Joel fully established the themes, musicians and New York perspective that would define the next phase of his career.
Tracklisting:
Side One
1. Say Goodbye To Hollywood
2. Summer, Highland Falls
3. All You Wanna Do Is Dance
4. New York State Of Mind
Side Two
5. James
6. Prelude/Angry Young Man
7. I’ve Loved These Days
8. Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway)
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