Behind the Album: ‘Turnstiles,’ Billy Joel’s Artistic Leap in His Return Home [Video]

Billy Joel needed to return home to truly hit his stride as an artist. He did so with the 1976 album Turnstiles, recorded in and inspired by New York, eight songs’ worth of well-observed character sketches, personal reflections, and, yes, even a little science fiction.

The only problem is the rest of the world didn’t quite catch up to the fact he had hit this pinnacle. He’d have to wait until his next record for that to happen. But Joel himself has shown sustained fondness for Turnstiles and the songs that comprise it, as have legions of his fans willing to look beyond the hits. Here’s how it all happened.

Coast to Coast

Billy Joel’s early career as a solo artist struggled to advance too far, mainly because there always seemed to be something setting it back: poorly recorded albums, record executives who misunderstood his strengths, and, to be fair, Joel’s own tendencies …