Turnstiles

Turnstiles
Studio album by Billy Joel
Released	May 19, 1976
Recorded	Ultrasonic Recording Studios, Hempstead, NY; January 1976
Genre	Pop rock, soft rock
Length	34:18
Label	Family Productions/Columbia
Producer	Billy Joel
Billy Joel chronology
Streetlife Serenade (1974) Turnstiles (1976) The Stranger (1977)
Singles from Turnstiles
"Say Goodbye to Hollywood" Released: 1976 "James" Released: 1976

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	C+ [2]

Turnstiles is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on May 19, 1976. In part, Joel recorded the album as a celebration of his return to New York City after a sojourn in California. Three of the album's tracks reference New York: "Summer, Highland Falls", "New York State of Mind" and "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)". It begins with "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" (inspired by The Ronettes song "Be My Baby") and also includes "I've Loved These Days", a tongue-in-cheek expression of regret at leaving behind Hollywood decadence.

The songs were initially recorded at Caribou Ranch with members of Elton John's band and produced by Chicago producer James William Guercio. Dissatisfied with the results, Joel dismissed Guercio. He then took over as producer and returned to New York, where he re-recorded the album in its entirety. Producing his own record allowed Joel to use his own touring band, which consisted of Long Island musicians Richie Cannata and all four members of the band Topper: Liberty DeVitto, Russell Javors, Howie Emerson, and Doug Stegmeyer. Turnstiles marked the first time that Joel's band played on one of his studio albums.

Joel has stated in an online interview that the album cover photo was shot in "an abandoned subway station." It was actually shot in the Astor Place station on the Lexington Avenue Line. In the same interview, Joel notes that each of the characters on the album cover was meant to represent a particular song (e.g., the girl in headphones for "All You Wanna Do is Dance," the wealthy couple for "I've Loved These Days").^[3]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Billy Joel.

1. "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" – 4:36
2. "Summer, Highland Falls" – 3:15
3. "All You Wanna Do Is Dance" – 3:40
4. "New York State of Mind" – 5:58
5. "James" – 3:53
6. "Prelude/Angry Young Man" – 5:17
7. "I've Loved These Days" – 4:31
8. "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" – 5:12

In the 1998 CD reissue of Turnstiles, the original version of "New York State of Mind" with Richie Cannata on saxophone was replaced with the version featuring Phil Woods on that instrument, which appeared for the first time in the Greatest Hits Volume 1 & 2 compilation album in 1985.

Personnel

• Billy Joel – keyboards, vocals
• Ken Ascher – orchestral arrangements
• Richie Cannata – saxophone
• Liberty DeVitto – drums
• Howie Emerson – electric and acoustic guitars
• Russell Javors – electric and acoustic guitars
• Mingo Lewis – percussion
• Brian Ruggles – basic track consultant
• James Smith – acoustic guitar
• Doug Stegmeyer – bass guitar
• Phil Woods - saxophone in "New York State of Mind" (only in 1998 CD reissue)

Charts

References