Storm Front is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter
Billy Joel, released on October 17, 1989. It was Joel's third album to reach No. 1 in the U.S. and features "
We Didn't Start the Fire", a fast-paced song that cataloged a list of historical events, trends, and cultural icons from 1949 (when Joel was born) until 1989, which was Joel's third Billboard No. 1 hit.
"
I Go to Extremes", a song describing the ups and downs of his emotional life, placed at No. 6. Other songs that placed in the top 100 were "
And So It Goes" (No. 37), "
The Downeaster 'Alexa'" (No. 57), and "
That's Not Her Style" (No. 77). The album was also nominated for five
Grammy Awards.[14] The album's cover depicts the maritime
storm warning flag indicating wind forces 10–12, the highest intensity on the
Beaufort scale. Joel has stated in recent Sirius XM segments that he was inspired by
Peter Gabriel's 1986 track "
Sledgehammer", as an inspiration for the "driving rhythm section" when he was writing the title track.
Notable cover versions
In 1991,
Garth Brooks recorded "Shameless" on his album Ropin' the Wind. Brooks' cover version was also released as a single and reached the top of the US
country charts, and also entered the UK Singles Chart.
Storm Front marked a radical change in Joel's
backing band. Since his last studio album (The Bridge), both
Russell Javors and
Doug Stegmeyer, long-time members of Joel's band, were discharged from their respective duties as rhythm guitarist and bass guitarist. Javors was replaced with Joey Hunting for the record and by Tommy Byrnes on tour while Stegmeyer was replaced by Schuyler Deale. Band regulars
Liberty DeVitto, David Brown and
Mark Rivera were retained. Joel also hired the percussionist and multi-instrumentalist
Crystal Taliefero beginning with this album.
^Williams, Simon (November 18, 1989). "LP - Long Play". New Musical Express. p. 34.
^Hiltbrand, David; Novak, Ralph; Abrahams, Andrew; Small, Michael (November 20, 1989).
"Picks and Pans Review: Storm Front". People. Archived from
the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
^Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263.
ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.
^"a-ビリー・ジョエル" [Yamachan Land (Japanese Chart Archives) – Albums Chart Daijiten – Billy Joel] (in Japanese).
Original Confidence. December 30, 2007. Archived from
the original on February 8, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2011.