Billy Joel: "Turn the Lights Back On" (2024)

We are living in the age of musical miracles. I had long ago resigned myself to the fact that we'd never again hear new music from The Beatles or Billy Joel. Then, in the space of four months both broke their silences. The Beatles, of course, gave us the gorgeous "Now and Then" in early November 2023, their first "new" music since the mid 1990s. Billy Joel, in early February 2024, released his first song since "Christmas in Fallujah" and "All My Life" In 2007.

One could make a strong argument that we should really label "Turn the Lights Back On" Billy's first new song since 1993. "Christmas in Fallujah" was given to a young singer/songwriter named Cass Dillon. "All My Life" was a Rat Pack-style jazz ballad written for Billy's third wife upon their marriage. Neither was marketed as an end to Billy's retirement from recording.

"Turn the Lights Back On" is very different in that regard. Its lyrics are a direct reference to Billy's exile from releasing new songs, and its official video features him literally turning the pages of a notebook, from the handwritten lyrics of the last song on his last album, "Famous Last Words," to a blank page.

It's also the only song of the three to sound and feel like what we expect Billy Joel songs to feel and sound like, with its cascading piano, heartfelt vocal, and epic build.

And that's pretty interesting, because according to most reports, Billy didn't start this particular fire. It arose, instead, from a producer and songwriter named Freddy Wexler. Wexler has written hits for the likes of Ariana Grande, Justin Beiber, Blackpink, Halsey, and Selena Gomez, a resume that wouldn't logically lead to working with Billy Joel.

But it turns out Wexler is a big fan, and had the connections and moxie to not only arrange a meeting with Billy, but to coax him into some cowriting sessions. In the midst of that, Wexler brought the unfinished "Turn the Lights Back On" to Billy, who did some rewriting and arranging. When he took a shot at performing it, he liked the results enough to put an end to his self-imposed exile.

Reports are conflicting on whether or not this song will lead to others, or a full album. I hope it does, but if it doesn't, "Turn the Lights Back On" is a fitting (new) last word.

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