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ISBS Review: “All My Life” by Billy Joel
By Brian | February 7, 2007 | Share on Facebook
Billy Joel’s new single was released today on People.com of all places. The site allows you to send it someone as a Valentine’s Day card.
So much to say here. First, let’s start with a review:
This is a classic ballad. And by classic, I mean straight out of the 1940’s. The artist that came to mind immediately was Tony Bennett. If you like “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” you’ll love “All My Life.” Joel’s voice sounds incredible – a truly amazing tone, given his age and his recent health problems. The lyrics are a little sappy in places, but I don’t think that will matter. In the end, it’s going to be a hit on the soft rock charts, and probably on the pop charts too, but only because it’s Billy Joel and he hasn’t released anything in more than 13 years. One thing’s for certain – it’s going to be one of the most popular “first dance at our wedding” songs in a lot of years. It has exactly the right feel for that sort of thing.
In the end, my fervent hope is that it brings him tremendous success, and that the success gives him the “bug” to get back into the studio and record more popular music. It’s been too long since we’ve heard anything new from Billy Joel, and this song made me realize I’ve missed that. So come on, Billy, how about an entire album? Whaddaya say?!?
One other thought: this one on the geekier, more technical side:
The People.com link is the entire song, not just a clip. And it provides functionality to send it to someone else. That means I’m about 6 clicks away from making a perfect digital copy of the song & dropping it on my iPod for free.
That said, two weeks from now, the song will be available for sale on iTunes Music Store, assumedly for 99 cents. Unless I find myself inspired and with some free time on my hands in the next two weeks, I’ll probably just kick in the 99 cents and buy it on the 20th.
My, how far we’ve come. If this song sells well on iTunes, or at Amazon, or wherever else they’re planning on offering it, I think it will be conclusive proof that the horror stories the RIAA has been telling us about music pirating are officially bullshit. This is a new recording from one of the most successful artists of all time, available for free to anyone who wants it, and yet people are poised to pay money for it for the convenience of not having to deal with audio-ripping software. How far we’ve come, indeed…
UPDATE: For those looking for the lyrics to the song, they’re here.
Topics: ISBS Reviews, Tech Talk, Words about Music | 1 Comment »
RE: music pirating and such, I’m a late adopter and probably the last person on the planet who doesn’t own an ipod, and I’ve never downloaded a song from anywhere, but it’s always seemed to me that the RIAA was missing the obvious. The way to beat piracy isn’t through bullying or lawsuits, because (if you believe the RIAA’s own propaganda) there’s just too many of them. You shut one down, there’s a thousand more busily ripping. The way to beat the pirates is by making the product more convenient to obtain and at a higher quality than the ripped-off version. People will always pay a reasonable price for convenience, which is, of course, your point…
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