The Nylon Curtain＜完全生産限定盤＞

ビリー・ジョエルが"僕のサージェント"と評する、メッセージ性の強い1982年作品『The Nylon Curtain』(ナイロン・カーテン)を最新リマスター音源でアナログ盤発売

1982年作品。"僕にとっての『サージェント・ペパーズ』。とても誇りに思うアルバムさ"とビリー自身が語った話題作。全米で最高位7位を記録する。今作からは、難問に直面した時の姿勢を歌った「プレッシャー」(全米20位)不景気にあえぐ街に暮らしながらも希望を捨てない決意を込めた「アレンタウン」(全米17位)ベトナム戦争の帰還兵と、その後遺症を取り上げた「グッドナイト・サイゴン」等がシングル・カット。主にアメリカの問題点を問いかけたメッセージ性の強いアルバムに仕上がりました。凶弾に倒れたジョン・レノンへの思いがそうさせたのか、ビートルズ的な「ローラ」や、声にジョンが乗り移ったかのような「スカンジナヴィアン・スカイ」など印象的な歌も収録。2023年最新リマスター音源でアナログ盤発売。

Billy Joel hit back as hard as he could with Glass Houses, his bid to prove that he could rock as hard as any of those new wave punks. He might not have proven himself a punk -- for all of his claims of being a hard rocker, his work inevitably is pop because of his fondness for melody -- but he proved to himself that he could still rock, even if the critics didn't give him any credit for it. It was now time to mature, to move pop/rock into the middle age and, in the process, earn critical respect. In short, The Nylon Curtain is where Billy Joel went serious, consciously crafting a song cycle about Baby Boomers in the Reagan era. Since this was an album about Baby Boomers, he chose to base his music almost entirely on the Beatles, the pivotal rock band for his generation. Joel is naturally inclined to write big melodies like McCartney, but he idolizes Lennon, which makes The Nylon Curtain a fascinating cross between ear candy and social commentary. His desire to record a grand concept album is admirable, but his ever-present lyrical shortcomings mean that the songs paint a picture without arriving at any insights. He occasionally gets lost in his own ambition, as on the waterlogged second side, but the first half of the song suite -- "Allentown," "Laura," "Pressure," "Goodnight Saigon," "She's Right on Time" -- is layered, successful, mature pop that brings Joel tantalizingly close to his ultimate goal of sophisticated pop/rock for mature audiences. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine