Written by Ben Garcia
I had intended to write a much longer review for this album, but I couldn’t get through the whole track list, great sign I know, so I have instead shorted by review from going track by track to simply reviewing the album all at once with a few highlights and lows points. River of Dreams is Billy Joel’s last proper full studio album, excluding later greatest hits release and his classical composition piano only album Fantasies and Delusions, and as the ending to such a lengthy career and such a long time after his peak; how is Joel’s last goodbye to his story?
Well, the short of the long of it all is that he does great but it’s everything around him that really does not capture the greatness of his early work. I think it’s important to remember that a solo artist isn’t really solo when we consider their backing band and producers; all of whom they have built long and productive careers and personal relationships. It is these unseen people who have a significant impact on the sound of an album and without them even a great artist like Billy can miss that special something.
Do I recommend this album? Sure, I guess. Its not bad by any means but it didn’t live up to what it could have been if it had had that zeal that Billy Joel gave his music from long ago; if only he had kept the faith. But I will give credit where it is due, that songwriter is top-notch just as it has allows been and Billy’s vocals are just as good; honestly that’s all the positives things I had to say about the album.
If you just must listen to this album, I would say the title track is by far the best song off the album and honestly the only song worth going out of your way to listen to it. It kind of a gospel song and has a lovely vocal performance by Billy. Besides that, I think that Shades of Grey is a good track and Lullaby (Goodnight, My Angel) remarkably charming for how simple it is. The rest of the album is really just kind of okay.
Billy Joel has never made a down right bad song but that doesn’t mean they are all hits. Just because Billy has a great voice and a knack for writing doesn’t mean that he alone can hold up an album on those two points alone. It takes a team to make a complex pieces of art and many original members have left and the results are clear. I guess we can take away that the real magic of music really was friendship all along.