Prayer of a Common Man Review

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Prayer of a Common Man ReviewThis is definitely one of Phil's best, if not THE best, album he's ever made. From start to finish, there really isn't a weak song at all. He raised the bar really high with "Shaken not Stirred", and I'll probably always love that album the best ("Amazing Grace" is maybe my favorite song of all time). This album is just as strong though, but in different ways.
Prayer is a more guitar driven, melodic album than Shaken. Sure, Phil still plays the piano on just about every song, but it's a little more toned down while the guitar is in the foreground. His vocals are as strong as ever - it always surprises me he started off as a songwriter first and not a singer. Don't get me wrong - his songwriting skills are just about second to none. But he's always had an amazing voice, and it's surprising he didn't break out sooner.
The tracks I can't stop listening to are:
"Around Here Somewhere" - a totally toe-tapping, catchy, really well written song.
"My Chevrolet" - such a fun, catchy song. Makes you want to drive down country roads with the windows open, blaring it.
"Love is a Beautiful Thing" - this song is currently in the top 10 on country radio for a reason. The epitome of an upbeat PV song.
"Prayer of a Common Man" - a song written about his father presumably. Introspective and melodic.
"Let Me Love You Tonight" - a supremely written ballad. I could listen to this over and over and not ever get sick of it. His vocals really shine on this song.
"Crazy Life" - mostly just Phil and his piano. This song blew me away the first time I heard it. This is what makes his songwriting so great - introspective, melodic, yet upbeat.
This is a very solid album, and Phil is in a class all his own. Nobody can do what he does as well as he does it. He sings, writes, plays piano all superbly. And nobody puts on a live show like he does. I've seen him maybe a dozen times, and every time he blows me away with his energy and his connection to the audience.
And if you purchase this album by May 31, he will send you an autographed album insert if you send in a self-addressed stamped envelope. Check his website for details.
This album is most highly recommended.Prayer of a Common Man OverviewLimited edition.His first Universal Records South release is co-produced by Vassar with Universal Records South President and noted producer, Mark Wright (Gretchen Wilson, Brooks & Dunn, Lee Ann Womack). Vassar's heart-swelling embrace of life's richest blessings is also apparent, especially on lead single "Love Is A Beautiful Thing." At the same time, his writing has grown more introspective and personal, as "This Is My Life" and the title track can attest. This album may show Vassar's serious side, but he hasn't forgotten how to have fun. "My Chevrolet," "Why Don't Ya" and "Baby Rocks" rank among his best toe-tappers and are already getting warm receptions at his heralded live shows.

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Billy Joel - Greatest Hits Vol. 3 Review

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Billy Joel - Greatest Hits Vol. 3 ReviewI got to admit it...I almost didn't buy this album.

When "Billy Joel Greatest Hits: Volume III" was released in 1997, I wasn't sure if I wanted to purchase it. I hadn't bought many of Joel's post-"An Innocent Man" albums (although a few good friends had given me "The Bridge," "Kohcept," and the "Greatest Hits: Vols. I & II" as presents); I'd heard the quality of the songs had veered from great to good to mediocre, and because I was building up my classical music CD collection, I wasn't about to spend my limited music-buying bucks on albums that would disappoint me. So when I read a review in my local newspaper that stated, in short, that Volume III wasn't exactly the most fitting "adieu" to pop/rock recording by "the Piano Man," I said to myself, "Nah, I better not waste my money on this CD; let's get Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of Saint Martin-in-the-Fields' Amadeus soundtrack instead."

This I did, but about a year later, I was trying to find something worth getting with a $50 gift certificate at one of my favorite brick-and-mortar stores when I spied the Limited Edition 4-disc Billy Joel Greatest Hits Collection. My Volumes I & II CDs were getting worn out from repeated playing, and they needed replacement anyway, so I figured, "What the heck, I'll get a good bargain if I replace two discs with four."

When I got home, I decided to not listen to Discs 1 and 2 first but went for Disc 3, which of course was Volume III, the so-called "runt of the litter." I knew, just by looking at the play list, that I'd like the first five tracks; I had those songs in my cassettes of "An Innocent Man" and "The Bridge," after all. It was the other 12 songs that were, at the time, musica incognita.

To my surprise, I was totally blown away by the songs that I almost missed out on because of that "professional" music critic's review. I found myself moved to the verge of tears by Joel's end-of-the-Cold War anthem "Leningrad," which tells the parallel life stories of Viktor, a Russian circus clown born in 1944 and Joel, born in suburbia five years later. With its opening piano chords reminiscent of a Russian military march and its haunting lyrics, "Leningrad" is a very personal statement about Joel's personal peace with a citizen of what was once the "evil empire." ("He made my daughter laugh/then we embraced; we never knew what friends we had/Till we came to Leningrad.")

Although there are many songs that I loved right from the git-go ("We Didn't Start the Fire," "The Downeaster Alexa," and the Gospel-tinged "The River of Dreams"), three are particular favorites of mine.

"And So It Goes" is a bittersweet song about a love affair that is star-crossed, doomed, and that Joel knows it is not going to last. It is, like some of his best melancholy songs, restrained and accompanied only by Joel's keyboards, and the lyrics ("So I would choose to be with you/that's if the choice were mine to make...") speak volumes to men and women who have gone through the heartbreak of loving someone yet knowing the other person is moving on.

Joel's "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" started out as a purely classical piece in the style of Edvard Grieg, but acquired lyrics during the period when the songwriter/singer's marriage to Christie Brinkley was coming to an end during the creation of "The River of Dreams" album. It is a song similar to "And So It Goes" both in tone and performance, but the words are a promise to his daughter Alexa that "no matter where you go, no matter where you are" Joel will never be too far away. It is breathtakingly beautiful, and I sometimes wish Joel had included the solo piano version in his "Fantasies and Delusions" album of classical piano pieces.

Finally, there's Joel's inspired cover of Bob Dylan's "To Make You Feel My Love," in which the singer takes his voice and imitates Dylan's rough-edged tone to good effect. (One thing I had not known about Billy: he's a great mimic. He can sound like a Beatle in a cover of "A Hard Day's Night" or Dylan in "The Times They Are A' Changing.") I have often listened to this song thinking about loves of the past, thinking how I, too, would do all I could to "make [them] feel my love."

I eventually ended up not only embracing Disc 3 of that boxed set, but I also later bought this original release version. Aside from the packaging and the disc's labeling, they are one and the same. For budgetary reasons, of course, the boxed set is a better buy (you get 4 discs in one nice package, plus a booklet of photos, bio and lyrics), but it's often hard to find -- even here -- so if you don't have many of Joel's albums, I recommend this edition along with Vols. I and II. It's not the most comprehensive Greatest Hits collection ever...quite a few favorites of mine were left out ("Honesty," "Rosalinda's Eyes")... but it still gives long-time fans (or new ones) a pretty good retrospective of Joel's long musical career.

Billy Joel - Greatest Hits Vol. 3 Overview

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