52nd Street

by Billy Joel

Type: Album
Released: 13 October 1978
Label: Columbia
Country: United States
Length: 40:42
Community rating: 3.81/5 from 9 ratings

Album Notes & Community Reviews

Following the massive commercial success of 'The Stranger', Billy Joel embraced a notably jazz-rock-inflected sound on the wonderfully polished '52nd Street'. The album is a deeply melodic, profoundly urban piano-rock triumph, balancing brilliantly sarcastic, streetwise character studies with beautifully lush, passionate nocturnal ballads.

Genres

Descriptors: ballad, melodic, piano, sophisticated, radio, male-vocals, accessible, rhythmic

Tracklist

Big Shot (4:03)
Honesty (3:54)
My Life (4:45)
Zanzibar (5:16)
Stiletto (4:42)
Rosalinda's Eyes (4:42)
Half a Mile Away (4:09)
Until the Night (6:36)
52nd Street (2:31)

Credits

Billy Joel - primary artist, piano, vocals, written-by, lead vocals vocal
Doug Stegmeyer - bass, backing vocals, bass guitar, background vocals vocal
David Nadien - concertmaster
John Berg - design [cover]
Liberty DeVitto - drums, drums (drum set)
Jim Boyer - engineer, remix
David Martone - engineer [assistant]
Steve Khan - guitar, acoustic guitar, acoustic guitar electric guitar
Ted Jensen - lacquer cut by, mastered by
Jim Houghton - photography by
Phil Ramone - producer, remix
Carol Peters - producer [associate]
Kathy Kurs - producer [associate]
Richie Cannata - saxophone, organ, clarinet, clarinet organ saxophone
David Spinozza - acoustic guitar
Bob Freedman - arranged by [horns & strings]
Donnie Dacus - backing vocals
Peter Cetera - backing vocals
Mike Mainieri - marimba, vibraphone
Freddie Hubbard - trumpet
Hugh McCracken - acoustic guitar [nylon string]
Ralph MacDonald - percussion
George Marge - recorder [sopranino recorder]
Dave Grusin - arranged by [horns]
Babi Floyd - backing vocals
Frank Floyd - backing vocals
Milt Grayson - backing vocals
Ray Simpson - backing vocals
Zachary Sanders - backing vocals
Eric Gale - guitar
David Friedman - percussion