Billy Joel: Piano Man (1973 Music Video) User Reviews

Somewhat iconic song and theme, but I am not feeling the vibe

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 18 March 2019]

This is the music video for the song "Piano Man" by Billy Joel. This was released in 1973, so not that long anymore until the 50th anniversary. It runs for under 6 minutes, rather long for a music video and was directed by Emmy nominee Jon Small, who worked with Joel on several occasions. Joel was in his early/mid-20s still when this one we have here was made and the thing that caught my eye immediately is the cast list that is rather small as virtually everybody you see in here did not have a career in acting with the one exception of young Tommy Lee Jones. But this is where confusion comes in. Apparently, there are several versions (2 in fact) of this music video and I believe TLJ is only in the newer on released in 1985, over a decade after the original music video. This would also fit in terms of time as I watched 2 videos and in the one with TLJ Joel does look alder and more manly and in the other one he looked like a boy really. Of course, both are nothing to compare to how he looks today with all the hair gone, very virile. And it also fits that TLJ would have been in his mid 20s like Joel if he had appeared in the 1973 video and he clearly looks older than that. Mid-30s actually fits I believe, so his inclusion here on this title's page may be an error. Apart from that, both music videos look really similar, it is Joel being in a bar with drinking guests and he is the title character, the man on the piano and in the second version, the guests actually celebrate way more than in the first. Overall, I must say the video is nothing special, even if it fits the title nicely and I don't like the song as much as many others do, so I will give it a thumbs-down, even if it was kinda fun to see Tommy Lee Jones grooving along with the tune. But yeah, like I said he is not in the original 1970s music video, soo I cannot take that into account. Still, if you like the actor, feel free to check out the more recent one.