I don't know... I used to look forward to seeing Liberty DeVito play the drums when I went to see a Billy Joel concert. When I showed up to the '06 tour and he wasn't there, I was immediately bummed out. I had no idea prior to the show. And the concerts haven't been the same since. Those guys in the band contributed a lot to the songs and they helped to make them exceptional. It's good to see Kortchmar sticking to his guns at least, and saying the same things now as he did at the time. I think the songs suffered for his philosophy, but everyone's got an opinion and mine is just another one. And Billy always had the final say when it all comes down to it anyway.
I think it comes down to the fact that people don't like change . Put yourself in Billy's shoes . He's been playing the same songs live for over thirty years . Eventually he wants a fresher sound. It gives his songs he new lease of life. There aren't too many (neil diamond is the only one i can think of) that keeps the same band for the same career . He was loyal to liberty more than anyone else in his band. There was always going to be a time when even he was going to be replaced . The old band had become comfortable and so the sound would undoubtedly become stale . Only billy is going to know that. Ive been to see billy three times since 2006 and to me the current band outstanding and they are also very flexible. What's more they are not trying to sound like the original band. Since 2006, Billy has become more engaging with the older songs and is not afraid to try something different, a deep cut every now and then. Certainly from 2006-2013 he was always surprising the audience with a lot of deep cuts . Ive heard them on you tube and they nailed them everytime but the audience applauded because it was my life, its still rock and roll to me , the river of dreams or any other hit. Good on Billy, and good on Danny for being courageous i say . River of dreams is my third favourite billy joel album and its a different sound which i love and that's due to the musicians on the album . Im embracing that change
Having listened to Billy's orginal River of Dreams recordings he did on Shelter Island compared to the final recordings on the album with Dan Kortchmar, it was a great decision to listen to Dan. Huge credit to both Billy for agreeing to it (which must have been tough) and dan for driving it.
I always loved liberty and the original band but there is probably some truth in what Danny was saying about the band being complacent. It’s human nature. At the end of the day it was Billy’s choice.
I think This decision was ill conceived. Danny pushed Billy in a direction that he was comfortable with. Billy Joel has said publicly that working with Danny was difficult. In my opinion that last album was weird. It wasn't his best work. It had a generic feel and sound. Danny rocked the boat and Billy Joel's music was never the same again. Something broke during that time.
If you have time, search youtube for "Shelter Island Sessions." It's the version of the album Billy recorded with his usual band and produced himself. He wasn't pleased with the overall sound, and that's when he brought in Danny K.
