The Nylon Curtain by Billy Joel
The Nylon Curtain is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on September 23, 1982 and produced by Phil Ramone. The Nylon Curtain peaked at number seven in the Billboard album charts, with two million sales in the United States alone. It was one of the first albums to be digitally recorded, mixed, and mastered
Billy Joel turned his attention to what was happening with baby boomers and their world in the ’80s on this powerful song cycle. He addressed the death of manufacturing and its effect on the working class on “Allentown”, using the sounds of factory machinery as a rhythm to push his stomping piano and anthemic melody. The songwriting and production are ambitious throughout, especially on “Goodnight Saigon”, a dramatic seven-minute tour de force about Vietnam vets, bookended by the sound of helicopters.
