Billy Joel, Turn the Lights Back On | Song Review 🎵

Grammy-winning musical icon Billy Joel makes an epic return with his first new song in 17 years, “Turn the Lights Back On.”

It took 17 years… for iconic, Grammy-winning musician Billy Joel to release a new song! That is a long, long time – an eternity in the music business.  The good news is, “Turn the Lights Back On” proves to be well worth the wait!  Joel penned “Turn the Lights Back On” alongside Freddy Wexler, Arthur LaFrentz Bacon, and Wayne Hector.  Also producing this awesome comeback is Wexler.  Joel is a voice we haven’t heard on an original in years, but honestly, it doesn’t sound like Joel has missed a beat.

Vocally, from the onset, Billy Joel sounds fantastic.  He’s 74 years old, but he doesn’t sound anywhere near that age.  His tone is clear, he sounds commanding, expressive, and incredibly nuanced.  He brings plenty of authenticity and personality to the lyrics, which are impressive in their own right. In the second verse, he sings, “Here, stuck on a hill / Outsiders inside the home that we built,” continuing, “The cold settles in / It’s been a long winter of indifference.” A long winter of indifference? Now that’s a lyric right there.  Beyond the fine pen of the verses, what about the centerpiece, the chorus:

“I’m late, but I’m right here now

Though I used to be romantic

I forgot somehow

Time can make you blind

But I see you now

As we’re layin’ in the darkness

Did I wait too long

To turn the lights back on?”

The melodies are tuneful throughout, while the instrumental, led initially by piano, gives Joel ample fuel for his vocal fire.  The backdrop isn’t merely piano.  As “Turn The Lights Back On” progresses, so does the music, incorporating full rhythm section and strings.  All in all, Billy Joel makes a marvelous return  on the reflective “Turn the Lights Back On”. It’s excellence speaks for itself.

Billy Joel • “Turn the Lights Back On” • Columbia • 2.1.24

[📷: Brent Faulkner/The Musical Hype; Columbia; Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Królestwo Nauki, OpenClipart-Vectors, Pete Linforth, Tumisu from Pixabay]