One Final Serenade: Songs of Billy Joel
Billy performs "Sometimes A Fantasy" live in Russia in 1987. This video was not released in the 1991 concert video on VHS ("A Matter of Trust") , but was released in 2014's "A Matter of Trust: The Bridge To Russia."
 Download "Sometimes A Fantasy"
It's just a fantasy
It's not the real thing But sometimes a fantasy Is all you need The second track on Glass Houses, "Sometimes A Fantasy," continues the harder sound of the album. The song and accompanying music video was "inspired" by the 1-800 phone sex number fad that became popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The video is one of the first of Billy's "acting" music videos in which he acts out a concept rather than just performs the song. Apparently Billy himself came up with the concept of talking or singing into the telephone. Many fans did not recognize that the bearded "bad guy" in the video was also Billy himself. The video appeared in heavy rotation on MTV. Billy's live version of the song is alot of fun, but he does not perform it that often.
The single version was actually longer than the album version, featuring a longer guitar solo (rather than fading away). It can can be heard here ("I've got blisters on my blisters!") In 1987, during one of Billy's groundbreaking concerts in Russia, he had an onstage tirade while performing "Sometimes A Fantasy," and famously flipped over a keyboard. Billy was upset that the film crew or lighting personnel were lighting up he audience and inhibiting their participation in and enjoyment of the concert. But that didn't prevent his record company from making a great live music video from his performance many years later when A Matter of Trust: The Bridge To Russia was released (though the foot on the piano is very Eighties even if Little Richard did it back in the Fifties). See the video here. |
I didn't want to do it but I got too lonely
I had to call you up in the middle of the night I know it's awful hard to try to make love long distance But I really needed stimulation Though it was only my imagination It's just a fantasy It's not the real thing It's just a fantasy It's not the real thing But sometimes a fantasy Is all you need When am I gonna take control get a hold of my emotions Why does it only seem to hit me in the middle of the night You told me there's a number I can always dial for assistance I don't want to deal with outside action Only you can give me satisfaction It's just a fantasy It's not the real thing It's just a fantasy It's not the real thing But sometimes a fantasy Is all you need Sure it would be better if I had you here to hold me Be better baby but believe me it's the next best thing I'm sure there's many times you've wanted me to hear your secrets Don't be afraid to say the words that'll move me Anytime you want to tell them to me It's just a fantasy It's not the real thing It's just a fantasy It's not the real thing But sometimes a fantasy Is all you need It's just a fantasy It's not the real thing It's just a fantasy It's not the real thing Original music video for "Sometimes A Fantasy" (1980).
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