Songs in the Attic

Songs in the Attic
Live album by Billy Joel
Released September 14, 1981
Recorded June - July 1980 during Glass Houses-Tour
Genre
Length 47:58
Label Family Productions/Columbia
Producer Phil Ramone
Billy Joel chronology
Glass Houses
(1980)		 Songs in the Attic
(1981)		 The Nylon Curtain
(1982)
Singles from Songs in the Attic
  1. "Say Goodbye to Hollywood (Live)"
    Released: March 1981
  2. "You're My Home (Live)"
    Released: July 1981
  3. "She's Got a Way (Live)"
    Released: January 1982
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone Album Guide, 3rd Edition

Songs in the Attic is the first live album by Billy Joel, released in 1981 (see 1981 in music).

At the time of its release, it was the first widely available appearance of music from his first album, Cold Spring Harbor, originally released in 1971.

Songs in the Attic introduced Billy Joel's early work to fans who had only come to know his work after The Stranger, according to liner notes written by Joel. In his earlier work, most of the instruments were played by session musicians while Joel himself sang and played piano, keyboards and harmonica, but by the late 1970s, Joel had a fairly consistent touring/recording band and so he wanted to showcase the songs with his band. In addition, Joel and his band started adding their own style to many of his songs inspiring Joel to put out a record of these songs being played live the way the band had begun to play them.

The single-releases included: "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" and "She's Got a Way," which made the top 25, and "You're My Home". In Japan, "Los Angelenos" was also available in 1981.[2]

A series of promotional music videos were filmed. Though the concert filming may have been staged for the occasion, the audio versions are nonetheless different from the live recordings featuring on the live album. A total of five promo videos were filmed: four of them recorded at Sparks and one in a recording studio. At least two of them were not released as worldwide official singles.[3] "Everybody Loves You Now" (not a single) directed by Steve Cohen (live at Sparks); "You're My Home" directed by Steve Cohen (live at Sparks); "Los Angelenos" (not a single, though a Japanese 7" vinyl was in existence) directed by Steve Cohen (live at Sparks); "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" directed by Steve Cohen (live at Sparks); "She's Got a Way" live in a studio, also a different version from the live album.[2]

Track listing

All songs written by Billy Joel.

Side one
  1. "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" – 5:05
  2. "Summer, Highland Falls" – 3:03
  3. "Streetlife Serenader" – 5:17
  4. "Los Angelenos" – 3:48
  5. "She's Got a Way" – 3:00
  6. "Everybody Loves You Now" - 3:08
Side two
  1. "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" – 4:25
  2. "Captain Jack" – 7:16
  3. "You're My Home" – 3:07
  4. "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" – 5:28
  5. "I've Loved These Days" – 4:35

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1981–82) Position
Australian Kent Music Report Chart[4] 9
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[5] 21
Japanese Oricon LPs Chart[6] 3
New Zealand Albums Chart [7] 30
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart [8] 12
Swedish Albums Chart[9] 38
UK Albums Chart [10] 57
U.S. Billboard 200 [11] 8
West German Media Control Albums Chart [12] 51

Year-end charts

Chart (1981) Position
Australian Albums Chart[4] 53
Canadian Albums Chart[13] 69
Chart (1982) Position
U.S. Billboard 200[14] 98

Certifications/Sales

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[15] Platinum 70,000^
Japan (Oricon Charts) 286,000[6]
United States (RIAA)[16] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Songs in the Attic at AllMusic
  2. 1 2 http://billyjoel52ndstreetserenade.blogspot.co.uk/p/single.html
  3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2zjVszdiXA&index=1&list=PL7yz
  4. 1 2 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 35, No. 16". RPM. 1981-11-14. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
  6. 1 2 Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  7. ↑ "Charts.org.nz - Billy Joel - Songs in the Attic". Hung Medien, charts.org.nz. Recording Industry Association of New Zea Land. Retrieved 2013-11-08.
  8. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com Billy Joel - Songs in the Attic". Hung Medien, norwegiancharts.com. VG-lista. Retrieved 2013-11-08.
  9. ↑ "swedishcharts.com Billy Joel - Songs in the Attic". Hung Medien, swedishcharts.com (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 2013-11-08.
  10. ↑ "Billy Joel > Artist > Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2013-11-08.
  11. ↑ "allmusic ((( Songs in the Attic > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
  12. ↑ "Album Search: Billy Joel - Songs in the Attic" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 2013-11-08.
  13. ↑ "Top 100 Albums of 1981". RPM. 1981-12-26. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  14. ↑ "Billboard.BIZ: Top Pop Albums of 1982". billboard.biz. Archived from the original on 2013-01-15. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
  15. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1986 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  16. ↑ "American album certifications – Billy Joel – Songs in the Attic". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 25 July 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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