Billy Joel - The Greatest Hits, Volume III - The Video Review

Although I was still in high school when cable television's Music Television (MTV) premiered on August 1, 1981, I really never got "into" the whole music video mystique like so many of my peers did when that channel wasn't yet the huge basic-cable network that is today and - of course - aired lots and lots of music videos.

One reason for this is that at the time, no cable company had yet begun to offer service to our South Florida neighborhood; the CATV industry was growing by leaps and bounds, but it would not be until 1988 that my mom would sign up with one of the many companies which would provide us with basic cable services over the next 20 years.

Another reason for my non-wanting my MTV is that as much as I love technology and the whole concept of innovation in entertainment, I'm sort of an "old-school" kind of guy when it comes to listening to music and finding my own interpretations of a song's lyrics. 

To me, the notion that a director - whether he's a well-known filmmaker like John Landis (who directed the late Michael Jackson's Thriller) or a dedicated music video creator like Alan Ferguson - can create the definitive interpretation of a piece of music or song is anathema to the concept of song writing and composing; it's more fun, I think, to listen to a song and let one's mind create the visuals than having someone else spoon-feed the viewer visuals that will, rightly or wrongly, be the interpretation that sticks to people's minds.

Even so, I've learned over the years to appreciate - if not totally embrace - the here-to-stay-with-us-forever music video format, and although I only own two non-concert DVDs with the "artistic interpretation of musical pieces or songs" in them (Star Wars: A Musical Journey and Billy Joel - Greatest Hits Volume III: The Video), I do watch them on YouTube. (I don't watch too many, but if you were a friend of mine on Facebook you would notice I post the ones that catch my eye to my profile every so often.)

Ironically, pop songwriter/singer Billy Joel doesn't like the idea of making videos, but he makes them for his label, Columbia. He says (in the liner notes to his Greatest Hits boxed set) that he is short, a bit bug-eyed and not exactly the best-looking guy in the musicbusiness, and that when he is behind his keyboard and performing he imagines himself as not looking short, bug-eyed and not handsome. (Or something along those lines, anyway...) Videos, for him, shatter that illusion, yet he's realistic enough to help create them. So in a strange dovetailing of attitudes, he's done videos, and I own some of them.

Billy Joel - Greatest Hits Volume III: The Video

The clips Columbia Music Video assembled here for Billy Joel - Greatest Hits Volume III: The Video span a period of 14 years, starting with 1983's "Keeping the Faith" (from An Innocent Man) to Joel's 1997 cover of Bob Dylan's "To Make You Feel My Love."

As a result, each video has a different style and look, as does Joel himself. We see him aging gracefully from '83 to '97, and his "look" evolves along with his music. And although most of the videos are conventional MTV-style "conceptualizations, there are a few songs that were shot "live" on a stage, particularly "Shameless," "All About Soul," "To Make You Feel My Love," and his cover of "Hey Girl."

My Viewpoint:  Of the "concept" videos, I particularly like "A Matter of Trust." In it, Joel and his band give an impromptu (and to some, annoying) performance as they practice in a New York City apartment (my favorite bit is the angry neighbor who twice yells for the loud rockers to "Shut up!"). It not only looks realistic, it's fun, especially since "A Matter of Trust" is one of Joel's few guitar-based songs. I also like the clip for "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)." It is more abstract, but the images fit the song's melody and emotional context perfectly.

I found it interesting that Columbia Music Video and executive producerJeff Schock chose to include a video of a song that's in River of Dreams (Joel's final original pop/rock album) but not in the Greatest Hits - Volume III CD, "No Man's Land."  It's a pretty good protest song which rails against unfettered development and urban sprawl, but I found it a bit jarring, especially since it was not exactly one of the singer's greatest hits ever. It's not a bad song and if you don't have the eponymous album the DVD is intended to supplement, it won't bother you at all.

There are, of course, a few disappointments here because running time precluded the inclusion of several songs which I am fond of. 

Particularly galling to me is the exclusion of "An Innocent Man," which perversely is featured in the intro to "A Matter of Trust."  Joel cites that song as an example of how he was inspired by songs such as "Under the Boardwalk" and songs by Carole King (who co-wrote "Hey Girl") when he was writing the material for his 1983 album An Innocent Man.  He even sings the first few bars of the song before it leads into "A Matter of Trust."

On the whole, however, Billy Joel - Greatest Hits Volume III: The Video is an enjoyable collection of the Piano Man's songs from the 1980s till his "retirement" in 1993.  It isn't exactly a subsitute for the album that bears the same name or a video of a  live concert, but it does have great songs that will remind you why his music endures.

The Videos:

1. "A MATTER OF TRUST"
   Written by Billy Joel
2. "BABY GRAND"
   Written by Billy Joel
   A duet with Ray Charles
3. "LENINGRAD"
   Written by Billy Joel
4. "WE DIDN'T START THE FIRE"
   Written by Billy Joel
5. "I GO TO EXTREMES"
   Written by Billy Joel
6. "AND SO IT GOES"
   Written by Billy Joel
7. "THE DOWNEASTER "
   ALEXA""
   Written by Billy Joel
8. "SHAMELESS"
   Written by Billy Joel
9. "ALL ABOUT SOUL"
   Written by Billy Joel
10. "NO MAN'S LAND"
    Written by Billy Joel
11. "LULLABYE (GOODNIGHT, MY ANGEL)"
    Written by Billy Joel
12. "THE RIVER OF DREAMS"
    Written by Billy Joel
13. "TO MAKE YOU FEEL MY LOVE"
    Written by Bob Dylan
14. "HEY GIRL"
    Written by Carole King / Gerry Goffin