elton john or billy joel?
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...only one winner for me.....billy joel by a mile.....always thought elton was way overrated...always desparate to stay on the charts by releasing some shit linked to a tv programme or whatever.....apart from some good albums in the mid seventies.....billy joel kicks his arse as as songwriter and a singer.
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...ps interesting to note that billy joel has sold MORE albums than elton" im always on the charts every year" john. you would never guess would you?

Elton John wins this battle

I like Billy Joel,but there are only a few songs by him that I really,really like ("Only The Good Die Young","Just The Way You Are","Big Shot").And I'm not that crazy about any of his 80s songs.

Elton,on the other hand,has consistently released music that I enjoy.In the 70s,he could do no wrong and there aren't too many of his 70s singles that I didn't like.And unlike Joel,he continued to put out great music in the 80s too ("I'm Still Standing"...."Little Jeannie"...."Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)",etc.

I dunno I like more songs by Elton, but the songs I like by Billy I like more intensely... I think...

I'll go w/ Elton

Tiny Dancer
Your Song
Someone Saved My Life Tonight
I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
Sad Songs
Candle in the Wind

even that wretched Can You Feel the Love Tonight

Elton wins it just for these songs...

"Daniel"
"Your Song"
"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
"Island Girl"
"Philadelphia Freedom"
"Someone Saved My Life Tonight"
"Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word"
"Tiny Dancer"
"Don't Go Breaking My Heart"
"Mama Can't Buy You Love"
"I'm Still Standing"
"Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)"
"Little Jeannie"

damn,this guy has so many great songs,it's absurd.And I even left off many other songs!

Elton by a longshot. I just like his music better and his songs are so original.

Which Elton song can stand up to NY State of Mind though? That's a hard one for me

CalhounSq said:

"Philadelphia Freedom",easily

DavidEye said:

Not in my book

blackboab said:

....in a bloody fight to the death..... please.....

billy joel bores the crap out of me, except for maybe a handful of songs he did back in the day when he was fat and coked up. i like "big shot".

i think elton john was way more versatile, not to mention a far better performer (check him out in the film version of "tommy"). his recent stuff bores me to death too, but back when he wore donald duck suits and could still hit his falsetto, he was the shit.

Anxiety said:

I love that movie and Elton sings "Pinball Wizard" in those huge ass boots. My god that was classic.

No competition for me - my vote goes for Elton John. I've never been a huge fan of Billy Joel's. There's a difference between music sounding of its period and sounding dated - all his music sounds dated. It hasn't aged very well. Elton surely has songs that don't stand the test of time as well, but he's had some great albums and I've always thought Billy Joel more of a singles release person. Maybe it's because I'm not a fan, but I can't think of one classic Joel album, whereas I can think of at least 4 classic Elton albums.

Elton John for me.
My fav Elton song is 'someone saved my life tonight', fav album'tumbleweed connection'.
He still rips live too!
Hate Eltons recent AOR stuff though!
I think Billy Joel has a bit more variety, cause after the 70's Elton got a bit 'formulaic'.
ps Billy Joels song *still Rock and Roll to me ' rules!

Obviously Elton sucks more, he's already been outted!

NO CLASSIC BILLY JOEL ALBUMS!!!! WTF.....have you never heard of "the stranger"!!!!
scenes from an italian restaurant blows everything elton has ever recorded.

Anxiety said:

What he said (except the Donald Duck shtick wasn't something I looked forward to).

And Joel just never had the soul that Elton had during his '70s heyday.

Elton John wins this by a longshot in my book. His catalog is more impressive. There are only a handful of Billy Joel songs that I really like; in contrast, I like virtually all of Elton's releases. Elton's chart consistency throughout the 80's and 90's (and even into the 2000 decade) also gives him an edge.

I like both artists but I would have to say I like more of Elton John's stuff though. I love Elton's music from the 1970s, I can tolerate a little of his stuff from the 1980s, but I can't stand any of his 1990s music. I lose respect for someone when they do a song for Disney.

Even with the Disney stuff , I still like Elton better. I wish the "bitch" would come back.
[This message was edited Mon Aug 23 19:12:46 2004 by vainandy]

Some of you sound like you know very little about Billy Joel's music....

I'm just sayin....

I love both of them, but all of Elton's albums after 1978 had a lot of filler. Billy Joel's albums were virtually flawless, because he would usually spend at least a couple of years on them. Elton's catalog is a lot larger, but I would hesitate in saying that the quality was moreso.

I have to go with Elton.

blackboab said:

i have three of Billy Joel's albums from the late 70s,and I usually find myself skipping through most of the songs.I like the singles on these albums ("Just The Way You Are"..."My Life"...."Big Shot"....and my favorite "Only the Good Die Young") but for the most part,his albums don't really hold my attention.With Elton,I listen to the entire albums,not just the singles.His 1973 album 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' is a masterpiece.

blackboab said:

Glass Houses is a classic too..i have always liked Billy Joel better than Elton John

blackboab said:

I've heard quite a few of his albums. My dad was a big fan of both of them, and I heard a lof of both of them growing up. Like I said, I just think his music sounds dated.

Elton

He has way more style than Billy. Also, unlike Billy, he never takes himself too seriously.

Billy Joel for me but I like Elton though

Elton. What has Billy Joel given this world? "Allentown"? "Piano Man"? Don't make me laugh.

Best thing about Elton is that even his new shit rocks. "Songs from the West Coast" was one of the best albums I'd heard in years.