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An Innocent Man | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 8, 1983 | |||
Recorded | Chelsea Sound and A&R Recording, Inc., New York, NY Spring, 1983 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 40:25 | |||
Label | Family Productions/Columbia | |||
Producer | Phil Ramone | |||
Billy Joel chronology | ||||
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Singles from An Innocent Man | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Christgau's Record Guide | B+[2] |
Rolling Stone | [3] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
An Innocent Man is the ninth studio album by Americansinger-songwriterBilly Joel, released on August 8, 1983. The concept album is a tribute to the American popular music of Joel's adolescent years with Joel paying homage to a number of different popular American musical styles from the late 1950s and early 1960s, most notably doo-wop and soul music.[5] The album cover artwork was taken on the front steps of 142 Mercer Street,[6] just north of the intersection of Mercer and Prince Street in the SoHo neighborhood in New York City.[7]
- 7Accolades
- 8Charts
Chart performance[edit]
The album featured three Billboard Top 10 hit singles: 'Tell Her About It' (No. 1), 'Uptown Girl' (No. 3) and 'An Innocent Man' (No. 10). Four other singles were released from the album: 'The Longest Time' (No. 14), 'Leave a Tender Moment Alone' (No. 27), 'Keeping the Faith' (No. 18) and 'This Night' (US B-side of 'Leave a Tender Moment Alone'). 'Tell Her About It' and 'Uptown Girl' garnered international success—'Uptown Girl' reached No. 1 in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. An Innocent Man remained on the US Pop album chart for 111 weeks, becoming Joel's longest charting studio album behind The Stranger. For over a year, the album remained on the charts in the UK, Japan and Australia.
Awards[edit]
Like his three previous efforts, Joel's An Innocent Man received a nomination for the 26th Grammy Award for Album of the Year, although the award went to Michael Jackson's Thriller. The album was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for 'Uptown Girl,' but again was beaten by Thriller.
![Billy Joel An Innocent Man Billy Joel An Innocent Man](/uploads/1/2/5/7/125743595/297304713.jpg)
Background[edit]
In an interview about the making of the album, Joel talks about the fact that at the time that he was recording An Innocent Man, he was newly divorced from his first wife, Elizabeth Weber, and was single for the first time since achieving rock star status. He had the opportunity to date supermodels like Elle Macpherson and Christie Brinkley, and because of these experiences, he said, 'I kind of felt like a teenager all over again.' [5] Joel started writing songs in the same styles as pop songs that he remembered from his teenage years, citing pop music from the late 1950s and early 1960s, including 'early R&B songs and The Four Seasons, and the Motown music, soul music.'
Joel explained, 'When you're gonna write [songs for a new album], you write what you're feeling. And I didn't fight it. The material was coming so easily and so quickly, and I was having so much fun doing it. I was kind of reliving my youth. ... I think within 6 weeks I had written most of the material on the album.' Joel also said that he was pleasantly surprised to have hit records in the 1980s with retro songs like the mostly a cappella doo wop song 'The Longest Time.'[5]
Track listing[edit]
All songs by Billy Joel, except for the chorus for 'This Night,' which is credited on the sleeve to L. v. Beethoven.
The track listing on the LP is slightly different from that on the cassette and original CD pressings, with the latter swapping the places of 'The Longest Time' and 'Uptown Girl' respectively. However, on the actual cassette shell and disc label, the songs are listed (and play) in the correct order as printed on the LP.
Side one | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | 'Easy Money' (Homage to James Brown and Wilson Pickett[5]) | 4:04 |
2. | 'An Innocent Man' (Homage to Ben E. King and The Drifters) | 5:17 |
3. | 'The Longest Time' (Homage to doo-wop groups like Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers) | 3:42 |
4. | 'This Night' (Homage to Little Anthony and the Imperials; also to Ludwig van Beethoven's Pathetique sonata) | 4:17 |
5. | 'Tell Her About It' (Homage to Motown groups like The Supremes and The Temptations) | 3:52 |
Side two | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
6. | 'Uptown Girl' (Homage to Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons[8]) | 3:17 |
7. | 'Careless Talk' (Homage to Sam Cooke) | 3:48 |
8. | 'Christie Lee' (Homage to Little Richard or Jerry Lee Lewis) | 3:31 |
9. | 'Leave a Tender Moment Alone' (Homage to Smokey Robinson) | 3:56 |
10. | 'Keeping the Faith' (Lyrical homage to Pre-British Invasion Rock n Roll) | 4:41 |
Personnel[edit]
- Billy Joel – Baldwin SF-10 acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hammond B3 organ, lead and background vocals
- Liberty DeVitto – drums
- Doug Stegmeyer – bass guitar
- David Brown – lead electric and acoustic guitars
- Russell Javors – rhythm electric and acoustic guitars
- Mark Rivera – alto saxophone on 'Keeping the Faith', 'This Night' and 'Christie Lee'; tenor saxophone, percussion, backing vocals
Additional personnel
![Billy Billy](/uploads/1/2/5/7/125743595/328016315.png)
- Ralph MacDonald – percussion on 'Leave a Tender Moment Alone' and 'Careless Talk'
- Leon Pendarvis – Hammond B3 organ on 'Easy Money'
- Richard Tee – acoustic piano on 'Tell Her About It'
- Eric Gale – electric guitar on 'Easy Money'
- Toots Thielemans – harmonica on 'Leave a Tender Moment Alone'
- 'String Fever' – strings
- Ronnie Cuber – baritone saxophone on 'Easy Money', 'Careless Talk', 'Tell Her About It' and 'Keeping the Faith'
- Jon Faddis – trumpet on 'Easy Money'
- David Sanborn – alto saxophone on 'Easy Money'
- Joe Shepley – trumpet on 'Easy Money', 'Careless Talk', 'Tell Her About It' and 'Keeping the Faith'
- Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone on 'Careless Talk', 'Tell Her About It' and 'Keeping the Faith'
- John Gatchell – trumpet on 'Careless Talk', 'Tell Her About It' and 'Keeping the Faith'
- Tom Bahler – background vocals
- Rory Dodd – background vocals
- Frank Floyd – background vocals
- Lani Groves – background vocals
- Ullanda McCullough – background vocals
- Ron Taylor – background vocals
- Terry Textor – background vocals
- Eric Troyer – background vocals
- Mike Alexander – background vocals
Production[edit]
- Producer: Phil Ramone
- Engineers: Jim Boyer, Bradshaw Leigh
- Assistant engineers: Mike Allaire, Scott James
- Production coordinator: Laura Loncteaux
- Mastering: Ted Jensen
- Horn and string arrangements: David Matthews
- Background vocal arrangements: Tom Bahler
- Musical advisor: Billy Zampino
- Photography: Gilles Larrain
- Cover design: Christopher Austopchuk, Mark Larson
- Recorded at Chelsea Sound and A & R Recording, Inc., New York, NY
- Mixed at A & R Recording, Inc., New York, NY
- Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York, NY
Accolades[edit]
Grammy Awards[edit]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1984 | An Innocent Man | Album of the Year[9] | Nominated |
'Uptown Girl' | Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male[9] | Nominated |
American Music Awards[edit]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Billy Joel (performer) | Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist[10] | Nominated |
'Tell Her About It' | Favorite Pop/Rock Video [10] | Nominated |
Charts[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
Decade-end charts[edit]
Chart (1980–89) | Position |
---|---|
Australian Albums Chart[11] | 12 |
UK Albums Chart[35] | 33 |
Certifications and sales[edit]
Region | Certification | Certified units/Sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[36] | 5× Platinum | 350,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada)[37] | 3× Platinum | 300,000^ |
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[38] | Gold | 10,000* |
Japan (Oricon Charts) | -- | 510,000[16][39] |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[40] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[41] | 3× Platinum | 900,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[42] | 7× Platinum | 7,000,000^ |
^shipments figures based on certification alone |
References[edit]
- ^Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. 'An Innocent Man – Billy Joel'. AllMusic. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ^Christgau, Robert (1990). 'Billy Joel: An Innocent Man'. Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN0-679-73015-X. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ^Puterbaugh, Parke (August 18, 1983). 'Billy Joel: An Innocent Man'. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 20, 2008. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ^Evans, Paul (2004). 'Billy Joel'. In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 434–35. ISBN0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ abcd'Billy Joel Website Interview'. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
- ^'Billy Joel – 'An Innocent Man' Album Cover Location'. ROCK AND ROLL GPS. September 3, 2014. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
- ^'Billy Joel – An Innocent Man – Album Cover Location', PopSpots
- ^'Billy Joel website interview'. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
- ^ ab'Rock On The Net: 26th Annual Grammy Awards – 1984'. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- ^ ab'11th American Music Awards'. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ abcdKent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN0-646-11917-6.
- ^Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 1, 2011
- ^'dutchcharts.nl Billy Joel – An Innocent Man'. dutchcharts.nl. MegaCharts. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- ^'InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste : Billy JOEL'. infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on September 10, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- ^'Tonlist Top 40'. DV. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
- ^ ab'Yamachan Land (Japanese Chart Archives) – Albums Chart Daijiten – Billy Joel' (in Japanese). Original Confidence. December 30, 2007. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- ^'charts.org.nz – Billy Joel – An Innocent Man'. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- ^'norwegiancharts.com Billy Joel – An Innocent Man'. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- ^'swedishcharts.com Billy Joel – An Innocent Man'. Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- ^'Chart Stats – Billy Joel – An Innocent Man'. UK Albums Chart. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- ^Allmusic – An Innocent Man > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums
- ^'Album Search: Billy Joel' (in German). Media Control. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
- ^'RPM Top 100 Albums of 1983'. RPM. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
- ^'Jaaroverzichten – Album 1983'. Dutch Charts. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- ^'Les Albums (CD) de 1983 par InfoDisc' (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original(PHP) on February 9, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ^'Japanese Year-End Albums Chart 1983' (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- ^'UK best albums 1983'. Archived from the original on December 29, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- ^'RPM Top 100 Albums of 1984'. RPM. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^'日本で売れた洋楽アルバムトップ10' [Top-ten international albums on the Japanese Oricon Year-End Charts 1984]. Archived from the original on October 21, 2007. Retrieved October 21, 2007.
- ^'The Top 50 Albums of 1984'. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
- ^'Top Albums of 1984'. everyhit.com. 1980s Albums Chart Archive. The Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- ^'1984 Billboard Year-End'. Billboard. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- ^'Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – 1985'. Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
- ^'Billboard.BIZ – Year-end Charts – Billboard 200 – 1985'. Billboard. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ^http://www.officialcharts.com
- ^'ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1984 Albums'. Australian Recording Industry Association.
- ^'Canadian album certifications – Billy Joel – An Innocent Man'. Music Canada.
- ^'IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1985'. IFPI Hong Kong.
- ^Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN4-87131-077-9.
- ^'New Zealand album certifications – Billy Joel – An Innocent Man'. Recorded Music NZ.
- ^'British album certifications – Billy Joel – An Innocent Man'. British Phonographic Industry.Select albums in the Format field.Select Platinum in the Certification field.Type An Innocent Man in the 'Search BPI Awards' field and then press Enter.
- ^'American album certifications – Billy Joel – An Innocent Man'. Recording Industry Association of America.If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.
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10 Songs, 40 Minutes
EDITORS’ NOTES
Having established a burgeoning, Grammy-bedecked career as one of America's most successful singer-songwriters via The Stranger and 52nd Street, then taken a darker, formulaic glimpse at the personal traumas that lie behind The Nylon Curtain, Billy Joel retreated to the charms of pre-Beatles' American pop here. Though solid Brill Building and R&B charms had always coursed through his best work, here Joel proudly wears them on his sleeve. Whether evoking the energetic verve of the Four Seasons on 'Uptown Girl,' channeling some Memphis soul into 'Easy Money' or paying loving tribute to the street-corner doo-wop of 'The Longest Time,' Joel virtually abandons the angry angst that become one of his songwriting trademarks. In its place is love for musical influences that spans the Beethoven-rooted chorus of 'This Night' and effusive, Dion-esque pop of 'Tell Her About It.'
EDITORS’ NOTES
Having established a burgeoning, Grammy-bedecked career as one of America's most successful singer-songwriters via The Stranger and 52nd Street, then taken a darker, formulaic glimpse at the personal traumas that lie behind The Nylon Curtain, Billy Joel retreated to the charms of pre-Beatles' American pop here. Though solid Brill Building and R&B charms had always coursed through his best work, here Joel proudly wears them on his sleeve. Whether evoking the energetic verve of the Four Seasons on 'Uptown Girl,' channeling some Memphis soul into 'Easy Money' or paying loving tribute to the street-corner doo-wop of 'The Longest Time,' Joel virtually abandons the angry angst that become one of his songwriting trademarks. In its place is love for musical influences that spans the Beethoven-rooted chorus of 'This Night' and effusive, Dion-esque pop of 'Tell Her About It.'
TITLE | TIME |
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- 10 Songs, 40 Minutes
- Released: Aug 8, 1983
- ℗ 1983 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
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