mnetop said:
Billy is/was many things but he was not disloyal.
I mean, he did run off with his bandmate's wife...
"And So It Goes" Billy Joel documentary from HBO
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Last: 15 days ago by G Martin 87
I mean, he did run off with his bandmate's wife...
mnetop said:
Very good first part I.
During the beginning portion, I was asking myself how he got to be such a great piano player and they finally got to that in the second half.
Billy is/was many things but he was not disloyal. He stuck with his guys from LI to be his band and what a brilliant move it was.
Looking forward to part II on Friday.
One of the first things I ever watched on Netflix was "Hired Gun." Billy Joel did not come out smelling like a rose after that. As Liberty DeVitto and the other original members told it, they were unceremoniously dumped, and it was pretty heavily implied that it contributed to the bassist's later suicide.
That's the difference between authorized and unauthorized documentaries. Know which one you're watching.LeonardSkinner said:mnetop said:
Very good first part I.
During the beginning portion, I was asking myself how he got to be such a great piano player and they finally got to that in the second half.
Billy is/was many things but he was not disloyal. He stuck with his guys from LI to be his band and what a brilliant move it was.
Looking forward to part II on Friday.
One of the first things I ever watched on Netflix was "Hired Gun." Billy Joel did not come out smelling like a rose after that. As Liberty DeVitto and the other original members told it, they were unceremoniously dumped, and it was pretty heavily implied that it contributed to the bassist's later suicide.
Loved Glass Houses, one of the first albums I bought as a kid. Along with Breakfast in America and In Through the Out Door.
Doug was an alcoholic and allegedly never left his hotel during the Soviet Union tour in '87. They basically phased him out and he "left" the band in '89. He didn't commit suicide until '95. He may have carried resentment and depression from his time with Billy, but it hardly lead to his death.
DeVitto was angry with billy at the time. He had sued him for money he fealt he was owed, so I imagine some of that was just anger.
I'm not saying Billy is/was a saint, because he could have handled things differently, but it says something that Billy & DeVitto have made amends and are friends again.
DeVitto was angry with billy at the time. He had sued him for money he fealt he was owed, so I imagine some of that was just anger.
I'm not saying Billy is/was a saint, because he could have handled things differently, but it says something that Billy & DeVitto have made amends and are friends again.
FWAppraiser said:
I'm not saying Billy is/was a saint
That's because he'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.
safety guy said:
Watched last night. I'm a big Billy Joel fan but never knew his first wife was married to his best friend at the time. A George Harrison/Eric Clapton type deal. I never really have heard Billy talk about the first wife's son and I dont know if he even mentioned him in the show so that was interesting. The first wife had a much larger role in his career than I had thought and the discussion of their breakup in the show was sad. But that's life. I'm assuming that the financial issues will be covered in part 2 but Billy was such a public figure by that time, much will be rehashing for me.
But as a note. I became a fan after The Stranger. My freshman year English professor at A&M in 78 was a big fan and our final was to write a paper about the meaning of either Scenes From an Italian Restaurant or the song The Stranger. I chose Scenes and aced the final.
Sydow?
I went with The Stranger. Aced it too.
rynning said:That's the difference between authorized and unauthorized documentaries. Know which one you're watching.LeonardSkinner said:mnetop said:
Very good first part I.
During the beginning portion, I was asking myself how he got to be such a great piano player and they finally got to that in the second half.
Billy is/was many things but he was not disloyal. He stuck with his guys from LI to be his band and what a brilliant move it was.
Looking forward to part II on Friday.
One of the first things I ever watched on Netflix was "Hired Gun." Billy Joel did not come out smelling like a rose after that. As Liberty DeVitto and the other original members told it, they were unceremoniously dumped, and it was pretty heavily implied that it contributed to the bassist's later suicide.
I'm not sure what you're saying here. If anything, "Hired Gun" is an authorized documentary of the people who are the subjects of the film. It's not a Billy Joel hit job.
All I was saying is that I saw the other documentary first, and that it gave me an impression of Billy Joel that would have to be overcome.
I am glad they made up. It'd be cool if they reunited for a show.
I am glad they made up. It'd be cool if they reunited for a show.
Completely understood. I was more pushing back at the documentary. Truth is probably somewhere in between what was in that one or what Billy says/said...it always is.
I'm just saying if the subject of the doc participates or at least approves, you may not get the whole story.LeonardSkinner said:rynning said:That's the difference between authorized and unauthorized documentaries. Know which one you're watching.LeonardSkinner said:mnetop said:
Very good first part I.
During the beginning portion, I was asking myself how he got to be such a great piano player and they finally got to that in the second half.
Billy is/was many things but he was not disloyal. He stuck with his guys from LI to be his band and what a brilliant move it was.
Looking forward to part II on Friday.
One of the first things I ever watched on Netflix was "Hired Gun." Billy Joel did not come out smelling like a rose after that. As Liberty DeVitto and the other original members told it, they were unceremoniously dumped, and it was pretty heavily implied that it contributed to the bassist's later suicide.
I'm not sure what you're saying here. If anything, "Hired Gun" is an authorized documentary of the people who are the subjects of the film. It's not a Billy Joel hit job.
Great ice breaker is always, "What was your first concert?"
Mine was Billy Joel/Elton John at Texas Stadium 1994 or 95...Pretty sure I was a senior but can't remember if it was fall '94 or Spring '95. Either way, two dueling pianos and I was working the concert as a fund raiser for DeSoto High School baseball. We had official Texas Stadium Staff T-shirts and we took turns walking on teh floor all the way to the front. At times I was 30 feet away from Billy and Elton.
Billy wore a white t-shirt and jeans the entire time. Elton changed clothes often...I remember his pink suit the most.
Mine was Billy Joel/Elton John at Texas Stadium 1994 or 95...Pretty sure I was a senior but can't remember if it was fall '94 or Spring '95. Either way, two dueling pianos and I was working the concert as a fund raiser for DeSoto High School baseball. We had official Texas Stadium Staff T-shirts and we took turns walking on teh floor all the way to the front. At times I was 30 feet away from Billy and Elton.
Billy wore a white t-shirt and jeans the entire time. Elton changed clothes often...I remember his pink suit the most.
Best of the Billies
This same show was at Rice Stadium. If I remember correctly Billy sang Rocket Man and Elton sang Piano Man.
It was also the same year Leland McElroy had run 2 kickoffs for TDs on that same Rice Stadium field just a couple months before so every time we went to go get a beer from our field seats we ran to the beer stand like we were running one back. Good times!
It was also the same year Leland McElroy had run 2 kickoffs for TDs on that same Rice Stadium field just a couple months before so every time we went to go get a beer from our field seats we ran to the beer stand like we were running one back. Good times!
Yes, they did trade songs. Forgot about that.
Just watched the second half of the documentary. It goes into all of his marriages and recovery from financial losses from his manager. Really enjoyed the deeper dive into his effort to reconnect with his father and half brother.
NM.
Saw that one also. My wife got us tickets for my birthday. Fun show. Id seen Joel for his Nylon Curtain tour years before. Loved the dueling piano playing.
Was not aware of his classical music album, "Fantasies & Delusions"
Very cool when we was demonstrating how some of the piano melodies could sound as classical interpretations. Good part II. Really enjoyed the whole thing and time really flew by.
Get well soon, Billy...
Great documentary.
I'm typically not a fan of the docu style where a bunch of people give "insights" that appear to be completely scripted (how will we ever truly know Billy Joel without commentary from Pink and Nas?). Thankfully, the filmmakers kept that to a minimum.
Two things came through loud and clear, even for people who have been around since Billy Joel's early days. The man had a LOT of hits. And he clearly really loved Christie Brinkley.
I'm typically not a fan of the docu style where a bunch of people give "insights" that appear to be completely scripted (how will we ever truly know Billy Joel without commentary from Pink and Nas?). Thankfully, the filmmakers kept that to a minimum.
Two things came through loud and clear, even for people who have been around since Billy Joel's early days. The man had a LOT of hits. And he clearly really loved Christie Brinkley.
I really enjoyed both parts. The only real missing piece was Elton John. The fact that 3 ex-wives and Liberty were willing to talk about the good AND the bad was great. But Elton could have told a story in such a fashion that could have added to the show even if it were a 2 minute bit.
Fantasies & Delusions is very good. I remembered that many classical music critics were a little too harsh in their reviews when it was released. Yes, the compositions have passages that are sometimes lifted directly from Billy's popular music (Air Dublinesque) or clearly influenced by other composer's works that Billy admired (Invention in C minor borrowed heavily from Rachmaninov's preludes), but the same criticisms can be thrown at every romantic era composer of classical piano music. They all traded stylistic ideas rather liberally, building many beloved standards of the piano repertoire in the process. Not unlike Billy's fellow rock musician contemporaries, in fact. Let the critics clutch their pearls. F&D is an impressive work.mnetop said:
Was not aware of his classical music album, "Fantasies & Delusions"
Very cool when we was demonstrating how some of the piano melodies could sound as classical interpretations. Good part II. Really enjoyed the whole thing and time really flew by.
Get well soon, Billy...