Put-a-sock-in-it Man
Joel says Rocket Man friend Sir Elton harms legacy with weaker new songs
BILLY Joel reckons old pal Sir Elton John should stop “dragging down” his legacy by releasing new material that lacks the same quality.
The American singer also targeted former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, who at 76 is still putting out new songs.
Joel, 69, said: “There are artists who continue to record because they feel like that’s what keeps them relevant. But if the quality of their work deteriorates it drags down the entire catalogue.
“Elton [John] would say to me, ‘Why don’t you put out more albums?’. I would say, ‘Why don’t you put out less albums?’. I didn’t want to come out and say, ‘You’re dragging down your legacy’. People feel compelled. Paul McCartney, to this day, ‘Gotta be relevant, gotta be new, gotta have a hit’. I stopped feeling like that a long time ago.”
Joel, whose hits include Uptown Girl and Piano Man, quit songwriting 25 years ago but has had a record-breaking residency at New York’s Madison Square Garden since 2014. Rocket Man singer Elton, 71, recently announced three years of farewell gigs starting in September and in 2016 released his latest LP, Wonderful Crazy Night.
And Sir Paul releases new album Egypt Station on September 7. Joel, speaking to US mag Vulture, said he knew he was finished writing new songs after his 12th and final pop album River of Dreams in 1993. He said: “I was always trying to feel a real progression in my work and eventually realised I was only going to be X good. So I stopped.” But on playing live, he added: “I’ve the greatest job in the world. You make noise, girls scream and you get s***loads of money.”
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