Every Billy Joel Album Ranked Worst To Best

3. An Innocent Man

Written as a tribute to the music he had grown up with as a child, An Innocent Man married Joel's sublime knack for powerful lyrics with the sounds of James Brown, Sam Cooke and all of his 50s idols. Bursting with heart, the record is perhaps Joel's most truly happy and relaxed, as he later said about it: "I felt like a teenager all over again."

The album allowed Joel to tap into how free he felt after his divorce, and how successful he felt having recently won a slew of Grammys and sold millions of copies of his other work. The result is a light, focused and often moving record, showing Joel in his best state emotionally and his most comfortable musically.

An Innocent Man features the timeless "Uptown Girl," the ingenious "The Longest Time" (which features no instruments, only Joel's harmonies and some finger-snapping), and the striking title track. It also features all that makes Joel such a great musician - an eye for storytelling, risking new styles, and of course letting loose on the piano as only he can.

Best Songs: Uptown Girl, The Longest Time, An Innocent Man, This Night

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