Reaction to Scenes from an Italian restaurant by Billy Joel.Has to go down as one of the greatest songs ever,and this could be termed as Billy's Bohemian Rhapsody. #billyjoel #musicreactions #rockreaction
He is not human. He's got a whole bunch of songs that are pieces of art. I don't know who Brenda and Eddie are, but he got me invested in their lives when I was like 12. 😆
Billy went through music industry hell, the fact he made it at all is a miracle. The fact that he stayed true to himself is testimony to him as a person, a genuinely good and decent man.
This song is from "The Stranger" album from 1977. I remember buying this record. Every song on it is great. Billy is such a good singer songwriter & story teller as you can see with these descriptive lyrics. It is like a 3 part story fused into one (piano ballad intro - jazz middle - rock ending).
A big thank you to Jami for putting this treasure in Harri's ear. Personally, I consider this song to be Billy Joel's truest masterpiece... which is saying a lot because he has so many other absolute gems. Piano Man may be his signature song, But Scenes is his crowning achievement.
Yes he pieced parts of songs together , the middle being the Ballad of Brenda and Eddie. Billy has said he learned this from the Beatles Abbey Road side two. He consistently names this song as one of his very best and it has held up quite well. Some of his best work weren’t top 40 singles. Try “Until the Night” from 52nd Street album. Very Righteous Brothers vibe
Exactly ym! He had snippets of songs and was inspired by the Abbey Road medley and decided he could do that too!! I also second your recommendation of "Until The Night" and would add "An Innocent Man", a tribute to The Drifters as well!!
What's crazy about Billy & what separates him from everyone else is that he was able to make the different parts make sense with each other lyrically. The Abbey road medley is one of my favorite songs ever written but none of the parts make sense lyrically or follow a theme aside from "His sister Pam works in the shop" to tie into "Polythene Pam" a little bit. The way Billy transitions to the different parts musically is seamless & masterful! Again I love the Abbey Road medley & it's one of my favorite songs ever written but the songs are connected with minimal musical transitions. Almost cut & paste. Billy really the best modern songwriter to ever step foot on this Earth. I've said this in so many videos but I can't help it cause he really is. Love seeing people recognize the unearthly talent this man has.....
YES! "Until the Night" is one of his very best songs - for me, the whole 52nd Street album was the first record I could just put on and let the whole thing play without a single song I'd rather skip
That's a good one. I'm actually also quite partial to "The Night is Still Young" and "I've Loved These Days." And "Summer Highland Falls" was always a favorite of mine too.
Every song on this album "The Stranger" is amazing. One could argue it's one of if not his best album. Give other songs from here a listen too. You wont be disappointed.
One of the smartest comments I've heard from a reactor...a song and a half...four songs in one. Exactly. I can't call this a "song." It's a composition, a "piece," or an opus of some sort. All tied together, like a classical piece of music, with the end of the song recapitulation the exposition at the beginning. so not only does Joel create this mashup of multiple sections, but the whole thing tells the life story of a couple.
Scenes shows that Joel's roots in classical music are not fabricated or exaggerated. It feels like a classical compositions with three movements: bottle of red, then Brenda and Eddie, then bookend it with reprise of bottle of red.
Arguably one of Billy's best songs and what you need to realize the song says Scenes and delivers its promise. I can imagine this restaurant with a story taking place at each table.
It's All Rock And Roll To Me, A Matter Of Trust, Allentown, Downeaster Alexa, Honesty, An Innocent Man, he has so many great songs. His greatest hits collection is 3 CDs.
'Goodnight Saigon' 'The Stranger' 'Ballad of Billy the Kid' 'New York State of Mind' 'Honesty' Love your reactions brother. I can sense what a joy music brings to you and I am the same way.
Can I make you jealous? I was 16 in 1973 when his first album, Piano Man, was released. So for 50 years since then, I’ve waited in anticipation of every new album…listening to them hundreds of times…and SEEING dozens of his concerts. After Piano Man, and then Streetlife Serenade, he was popular…but not THAT popular. I went to several of his concerts in very small venues. To me, the greatest all-in-one artist of my generation.
Yes, it’s hard to top this song. For me, it’s personal. I married young, lived in a small apartment in New Jersey. Happily, we were Brenda and Eddie that stayed together and made a great life for ourselves, kids and now grandkids. And we still love going to an Italian restaurant.
I love that it tells the story of two old friends getting together and remembering older times. That they have a possible romantic history is given away with the line "I'll meet you any time you want at OUR Italian restaurant." The next section is about what they're up to now with lines like, "got a new life, got a new wife," and you lost weight, I did not know..." As we progress deeper into 'Brenda & Eddie' we begin to realize that they might be talking about their own relationship and not just some Highschool friends. And we're finally back at the cafe just enjoying each other's company over a nostalgic meal.
Billy’s genius shines through in this song. He’s absolutely one of the great songwriter/storyteller wizards of our time. And then there are those magic fingers dancing across the keyboards. He is truly a great American treasure. I knew you would would love this before I even watched your reaction. His catalogue is vast. Enjoy the journey through the Billy Joel rabbit hole. 🌺✌️
That piano solo right at the end before he sings “a bottle of red” @ 8:47 is one of the most beautiful piano riffs I have heard. The notes flow so smoothly and wonderfully, separating him from other pianists. I recommend reacting on his masterpiece “Summer Highland Falls”.
Absolutely love this tune by Billy, takes you on an oddesy of days gone by, he truly is the master when it comes to taking you along for the journey. Thanks Harry
Great song! Billy's lyrics are so easy to relate to. The thing about Billy and Paul McCartney is that they wrote what they knew about. Paul's very British and Billy is very American and they are writing about very relatable subjects to all of us. Both are great story tellers too. Harri thanks for this post. Haven't heard this song in a long time. It was nice to reminisce.
Not only is Billy Joel very American, he is very New York. His songs are straight up about New York life. I can't imagine the setting of this song being in California or Florida or Illinois, it's just straight up New York.
one thing that is spectacular about billy is that he is one of the few artists that you can understand all of the lyrics clearly. amazing singer as well as a storyteller. a lost art
You should follow this up with the title track from the same album called “the stranger”. Another great. The entire album is great. Billy joel is great.👍🏼
One of my all time favorite songs, lyrically and musically. Billy would think you relating to McCartney is a huge compliment since he loved the Beatles!
This is fast becoming my favorite reaction channel. Reactions are so terrifically genuine, with a true love of and appreciation for music. I was 18 in 1985 so much of what you play is in the fabric of my life somewhere. Great job man.
I’m 45. I grew up on the Innocent Man album. When I was around 12/13 I took a deeper dive into my parents Billy Joel albums. My mind was also blown that he had so many amazing songs that were so much different than his 80s pop vibe. I love watching these reactions videos because it’s bringing back my own memories of discovering how amazing Billy Joel has been right from the beginning.
He has so many great hits, he is so talented. I believe this would be my favorite Billy Joel song. It's really hard to say because he's got so many greats , but yeah , I'd say this is my favorite along with piano man.
This is on the same album as Just The Way You Are as well as She’s Always a Woman.One of the all, time greatest album that all music lovers should own.
His best song, & he’s had a ton of great ones! The whole “The Stranger” album is flawless, & I like “52nd Street” even more. Check out “Until the Night” from that album, where he channels the Righteous Brothers. Goodnight Saigon is very powerful also.
Harri i just want to say, I love you! Your reactions are so spot on. You catch all the subtle nuances in every song. You catch things in songs that i have listened for many years that i have missed. You are AMASING, keep up the good work!!!!!
The title track to this album, "The Stranger," is one of my favorites. This entire album is great. Since I grew up on Long Island, where Billy also grew up, although a few years after he did, this song always brings me right back to high school there. I can just envision Brenda (if you listen closely you can hear him pronounce it more like "Brender," before a vowel, which is very Long Island) and Eddie, and all the kids who got married soon after high school. "Bohemian Rhapsody" was released two years before this song, so it -- and Lennon-McCartney's "Day in the Life," back in '67 -- were probably both influential. Billy has been called the American McCartney, and that works for me.
Love Billy Joel. He's amazing in concert. You might really enjoy "She's Always a Woman to Me" also from the album The Stranger. Great song, great lyrics, etc.
He is, although Mark did not join Billy's band until the early 80s around five years after this song was recorded, when Richie Cannata played sax on it.
Love your comments. They are spot on. I first heard Billy Joel doing an interview for a local PBS station in Philly in the 70's. I went out and bought the album: The Stranger. Yes, "Scenes..." is one of Billy's greatest. But that album also had "Anthony's Song", "Only the Good DIe Young", "Vienna", and "The Stanger" All of them are extremely worthy of your review.
I was a Billy Joel freak in high school (early 80's). My girlfriend and I listened to this album endlessly. You're right, it is certainly a masterpiece. Check out Vienna from the same album.
Joel once said he was stumped on an opening for this song. So, he decided to take a break and go to his favorite Italian restaurant. The waiter came over and asked " a bottle of white, a bottle of red etc " and the rest was history
I love this song / story. I get the McCartney vibe! Maybe it's the similar vocals & multiple changes. Awesome stuff all around! Always reminds me of past girlfriends that I still am in touch with.
Billy Joel is definitely one of greats. You need to see a live performance when he's pounding the piano and playing the harmonica and singing, like he does for the song The Piano Man. Also, I don't think he sounds like Paul McCartney at all, but that might be because I've been listening to him since the 70's!
Love that you are expanding your musical horizons...growing up an Italian in New York in the the late 60s and 70s helps your totally relate to the 'scenery' in this song....this song was Long Island.....
What amazes me about this song is how different I relate to it now. When he sings about Brenda and Eddie, I relate to school, optimism and future, nowadays I relate more as how reality hits, and how you don't see the friends you were so used to meet when you're younger
SO GLAD you did this one!!!! So many people forget Joel’s massive vault of songs before the 80s; this song is absolutely fantastic. I memorized this one when I was a kid.❤️
This was such a huge production song for the times with lots of instruments contributing. Aside from the obvious piano, guitar, bass and drums, listen for an accordion (or concertina) a tuba, sax and dueling clarinets! As a guitar player, Billy Joel was one of my favorite musicians to listen to for lyric writing and song arrangement, an absolute genius.
