Album Page - The Bridge

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From 1980 to 1983, Billy released what might be called three "concept" albums. Glass Houses was a rock album with touches of new wave, The Nylon Curtain was his "serious" album that was inspired by The Beatles, and An Innocent Man was an homage to the pop songs of the 50s and 60s. He then released Greatest Hits I and II in 1984, got married to Christie Brinkley, and had a child, Alexa. Fans were eagerly awaiting his next album, wondering what direction Billy would turn to, or whether he would return to his singer-songwriter days. The Bridge was released in 1986 and marked a new stage in Billy's career and development. He was now an established international superstar, with nothing to prove.

The album was structurally similar to his earlier "singer-songwriter" albums, and featured some guest artists such as Ray Charles and Cyndi Lauper. Still, the material on The Bridge was not as consistently strong, or popular, as his prior work. The biggest hit off the album was "A Matter of Trust," a rock ballad about trust in relationships (and a good companion piece to "Honesty"). And the album certainly had its share of melodic tunes such as "This Is The Time" and the duet with Ray Charles "Baby Grand." Billy even swings on "Big Man on Mulberry Street," while "Getting Closer" is a solid soulful rocker about Billy's life and travails in the music industry, featuring a rocking organ solo by Steve Winwood.

While The Bridge was another solid album, it lacked the edginess of Billy's most recent works, or the cohesiveness of his earlier stuff. There is less of the angst, urgency, or heartbreak that inspired Billy's earlier work. Instead the songs on The Bridge are either about contentment ("This Is The Time" and "Baby Grand") or mild dissatisfaction ("Running On Ice" "Modern Woman" "Code of Silence" or "Temptation"). After all, at this time in 1986-1987 Billy was at the pinnacle of his career with a new daughter, a hugely successful Greatest Hits album, a well-received acting (voice) performance in Disney's Oliver & Company, and his upcoming historic tour in Russia and release of the live album of that tour, Kohuept in 1987. While rumblings within the band over money and other issues were beginning to surface, at least in his personal life with Christie Brinkley and daughter Alexa it was a time he would probably look back on as "the time to remember/ 'Cause it will not last forever/ These are the days to hold on to/ 'Cause it won't although we'll want to." While there is nothing wrong with contentment, intense dissatisfaction and desire have often been an artist's greatest ally and inspiration.

Rolling Stone critic Anthony DeCurtis, however, warned against construing The Bridge as an autobiographical work. "It's tempting to read the new-found comfort Joel displays on The Bridge in personal terms — this is, after all, his first album since his marriage to Christie Brinkley and the birth of their child. His defensive cockiness has softened into a much more appealing confidence, and he's abandoned the ambitious concepts he's relied on to unify past LPs.

"The danger of a biographical reading of The Bridge, however, is that Joel has historically been the least self-revealing of songwriters — a fact that's caused him no end of problems with critics. Whereas most literate rock & roll trades on the romantic illusion of an artist sharing his deepest inner feelings with an audience of sympathetic souls, Joel has always defiantly — and sometimes arrogantly — kept his distance. His theatrical flair, fondness for classic song structure and penchant for styling his vocals to suit the characters he sings about all have roots in a tradition that stretches beyond rock & roll to the formal artifice of Tin Pan Alley and Broadway. Where the masks leave off and the man begins is probably no easier for Joel himself to determine than it is for his listeners.

"As he did on his 1977 LP The Stranger, Joel makes this dramatic tension part of The Bridge. . . . "

And if I don't have this all worked out
Still I'm getting closer, getting closer
I still have far to go no doubt
But I'm still getting closer, getting closer

– From "Getting Closer"

On the 30th anniversary of The Bridge's release, Jeff Giles of Ultimate Classic Rock wrote an in-depth article about the album. He wrote:

"Personally and professionally, Joel understood he was undergoing a metamorphosis. “I knew that this album was going to be a transitional album,” he observed. “That’s the purpose it served. It bridged that gap.”

"The end result of all this conflict — which Joel, naturally, titled The Bridge — arrived in stores on July 29, 1986, and although in some respects it retained the form and function of a classic Billy Joel record, it wasn’t hard to hear the strain behind the scenes. For the first time in awhile, Joel sounded like he was reaching, and not always in a good way. Joel records like Turnstiles and The Stranger were willfully eclectic, but they sounded like the work of a guy whose restlessness pushed him to explore; in contrast, The Bridge sounded like a bit of a hodgepodge. . . .

"Although it didn’t come close to replicating An Innocent Man‘s impact, it still broke the Top 10 and went double platinum, sending a string of singles into heavy rotation. And as much as its title reflected Joel’s season of change, it also pointed to the number of musical connections he made during its recording — he cut a duet with his idol Ray Charles (“Baby Grand”), lured Steve Winwood in for some studio jamming and a cameo (“Getting Closer”), and even got a last-minute songwriting and vocal assist from Cyndi Lauper (“Code of Silence”)."

As Billy said, The Bridge was a transitional album marking the end of Billy's "pop star" period and signaling his new marriage, fatherhood, and his upcoming entrance into middle age. Of course, during the next few years after The Bridge was released, storm clouds would appear in Billy's life that would bring about turmoil and troubles such as the lawsuits with his former manager and attorney and a falling out with some of his longtime band members. But at the time in 1986, Billy had paid his dues and earned the privilege of taking stock of his life and career, and could authentically and justifiably say that he was "getting closer" to figuring it all out.

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Promotional photo (1986).

Ray Charles and Billy recording "Baby Grand" (still from the music video).

Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley in Russia (1987). Photo: Mary Ellen Mark.

The Bridge's inner sleeve featured many photos of Billy recording such as this one.

Billy was the subject of a Rolling Stone cover story/interview (1986).

Billy in Russia (1987). Columbia Records publicity photo.

Billy and daughter Alexa (1987). Photo: Mary Ellen Mark.

Big Man On Mulberry Street

Temptation

Code of Silence

Getting Closer

Covers for "Running On Ice," "Big Man on Mulberry Street," "Code of Silence" and "Getting Closer" are fictional.

Songlist
(click song title to go to song page)

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1.   Running On Ice (3:15)
2.   This Is The Time (4:59)
3.   A Matter of Trust (4:09)
4.   Modern Woman (3:48)
5.   Baby Grand (4:02)
6.   Big Man on Mulberry Street (5:26)
7.   Temptation (4:12)
8.   Code of Silence (5:15)
9.   Getting Closer (5:00)

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Lyrics
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Full Album (and more) - The Bridge

Click on three-line icon for playlist.

Click on song title to go to song page
1.   Running On Ice (3:15)
2.   This Is The Time (4:59)
3.   A Matter of Trust (4:09)
4.   Modern Woman (3:48)
5.   Baby Grand (4:02)

6.   Big Man on Mulberry Street (5:26)
7.   Temptation (4:12)
8.   Code of Silence (5:15)
9.   Getting Closer (5:00)

Bonus:
1. You're Only Human (Second Wind)
2. The Night Is Still Young
3. Why Should I Worry

Interviews & Features - The Bridge

Building The Bridge (1986). "Building the Bridge" is a documentary on the development of Billy's ninth studio album The Bridge from 1986.

Various Interviews. This playlist feature videos and audios of Billy discussing The Bridge, as well as clips of his historic concerts in Russia in 1987 which concluded The Bridge tour. It also includes a 1988 interview in Japan.