Each week, SPIN digs into the catalog of great artists and highlights songs you might not know for our Deep Cut Friday series.
The second half of the two-part documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes is out on HBO Max today, July 25. And while Joel was one of the biggest singles artists of the 1970s and ’80s, many of his album tracks have bubbled up into popular consciousness over the years. “Captain Jack,” “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant,” and “New York State of Mind” are perennial radio favorites, “Zanzibar” and “Miami 2017” have been staples of Joel’s record-breaking Madison Square Garden residencies, and “Vienna” has slowly climbed to become his top streaming track.
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One album that isn’t revisited often by Joel or his fans is his solo debut, 1971’s Cold Spring Harbor, and it’s not hard to understand why. Artie Ripp signed the 22-year-old piano man to his Family Productions label for a 10-album deal and produced Cold Spring Harbor, but failed to catch a mastering error that led to the album being released at the wrong speed, the songs playing slightly too fast with Joel’s voice pitched higher. Despite the technical issues, the album amply displays the young Joel’s early songwriting chops, particularly on the McCartney-esque “You Can Make Me Free,” which stretches out to nearly six minutes with a hard rocking coda. Joel and Ripp’s relationship never recovered from the mastering disaster, and when Joel jumped ship to Columbia Records, Ripp cut a deal to continue to profit from Joel’s next nine albums, which bore the Family Productions logo.
Ripp’s 1983 remix of Cold Spring Harbor fixed the speed issue, but it took other liberties with the recording, including fading out “You Can Make Me Free” early and deleting the three minutes of wild jamming that originally closed the song. Unfortunately, that’s the only version of the song on streaming services today, although you can still hear the original 1971 version on YouTube. Cold Spring Harbor remains the only Joel album that hasn’t gone platinum. “She’s Got a Way” and “Everybody Loves You Now” reached a wider audience on Joel’s 1981 live album Songs in the Attic, but “You Can Make Me Free” remains one of a couple Cold Spring Harbor songs that Joel hasn’t performed in over 50 years.
Three more essential Billy Joel deep cuts:
“Stiletto”
The taut groove and staccato piano tiff on “Stiletto” from 1978’s 52nd Street have caught the ear of many hip-hop producers, and the song’s been sampled on great tracks by Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, De La Soul, and Nas.
“Sleeping with the Television On”
Joel sneered at trendy music industry marketing terms like “new wave” on the biggest hit from 1980’s Glass Houses, “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me.” But “Sleeping With the Television On” from the same album is about as new wave as he ever got, and it’s fantastic. Phish’s Trey Anastasio joined Joel onstage at Madison Square Garden last year for three songs, including “Sleeping.”
“She’s Right on Time”
In 2017, Joel appeared on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” and the host asked the singer to name his top five songs from his own catalog. Joel’s list included some popular tracks like “You May Be Right” and “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant,” along with “She’s Right on Time,” an overlooked gem from 1982’s The Nylon Curtain.
To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.
