The Nylon Curtain

The Nylon Curtain
Studio album by Billy Joel
Released	September 23, 1982
Recorded	Spring, 1982, A & R Recording and Media Sound Studios, New York, NY
Genre	Rock
Length	41:57
Label	Family Productions/Columbia
Producer	Phil Ramone
Billy Joel chronology
Songs in the Attic (1981) The Nylon Curtain (1982) An Innocent Man (1983)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	[2]

The Nylon Curtain is the eighth studio album by Billy Joel. It was released by Columbia Records 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.

The album is perhaps best known for bringing global attention to the plight of Allentown, Pennsylvania. In the song "Allentown", the lead track, Joel sings of the city's resoluteness amidst the demise of industry in this eastern Pennsylvania city. In early 1983, "Allentown" spent an unprecedented six weeks at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was one of the most played radio songs of the early 1980s, along with another Top 20 hit "Pressure".

The album is among the most ambitious of Joel's albums. It is unusual for Joel's work in its direct homage to and influence of the music of The Beatles and John Lennon (in particular "Laura," "Surprises," "Scandinavian Skies," and "Where's the Orchestra?"). "Where's the Orchestra?" ends with a simple instrumental rendition of "Allentown", creating an album bookend.

Pop-culture journalist Chuck Klosterman praised the album, particularly "Laura" and "Where's the Orchestra?," quite heavily in his book Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Billy Joel.

Side one

1. "Allentown" – 3:52
2. "Laura" – 5:05
3. "Pressure" – 4:40
4. "Goodnight Saigon" – 6:30

Side two

5. "She's Right on Time" – 4:14
6. "A Room of Our Own" – 4:04
7. "Surprises" – 3:26
8. "Scandinavian Skies" – 6:00
9. "Where's the Orchestra?" – 3:15

Personnel

• Billy Joel – Vocals, piano, synthesizer, hammond organ, melodica
• David Brown – electric guitar (lead), acoustic guitar (lead)
• Dominic Cortese – accordion on "Where's the Orchestra?"
• Liberty DeVitto – drums, percussion
• Eddie Daniels – saxophone and clarinet on "Where's the Orchestra?"
• Russell Javors – electric guitar (rhythm), acoustic guitar (rhythm)
• Dave Grusin – string and horn arrangement
• Charles McCracken – cello on "Where's the Orchestra?"
• Rob Mounsey – synthesizer on "Scandinavian Skies"
• David Nadien – concertmaster on all except "Laura" and "Scandinavian Skies"
• Doug Stegmeyer – bass
• "String Fever" – strings on "Laura" and "Scandinavian Skies"
• Bill Zampino – field snare on "Goodnight Saigon"

Accolades

Grammy Awards

Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
1983	The Nylon Curtain	Album of the Year[3]	Nominated

Charts

Peak positions Chart(s) Position Dutch MegaAlbums Chart[4] 1 Japanese Oricon LP Chart[5] 2 Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart[6] 4 United States Billboard 200[7] 7 Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[8] 9 New Zealand Albums Chart [9] 10 Austrian Albums Chart[10] 20 UK Albums Chart [11] 27 Swedish Albums Chart[12] 31 German Media Control Albums Chart [13] 34

Year-end charts Chart (1982) Position Japanese Albums Chart[14] 48 Australian Albums Chart[6] 49 Chart (1983) Position U.S. Billboard Year-end[15] 33 Japanese Albums Chart[16] 58

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[17]	Platinum	100,000^
Japan (Oricon Charts)		356,000[18][5]
Netherlands (NVPI)[19]	Gold	50,000^
United States (RIAA)[20]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^
^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r10434
2. ^ Holden, Stephen (1982-10-14), "Music Reviews : The Nylon Curtain by Billy Joel", Rolling Stone, archived from the original on 2011-08-17, http://web.archive.org/web/20090220202243/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/billyjoel/albums/album/223020/review/5942738/the_nylon_curtain 
3. ^ "Rock On The Net: 25th Annual Grammy Awards - 1987". http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1983/grammys.htm. Retrieved 2011-08-08. 
4. ^ "dutchcharts.nl Billy Joel - The Nylon Curtain". dutchcharts.nl. MegaCharts. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Billy+Joel&titel=The+Nylon+Curtain&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-08-19. 
5. ^ ^{a b} a-ビリー・ジョエル "Yamachan Land (Japanese Chart Archives) - Albums Chart Daijiten - Simon and Garfunkel" (in Japanese). Original Confidence. 2007-12-30. http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~yamag/album/al_billyjoel.html a-ビリー・ジョエル. Retrieved 2011-08-17. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0646119176. 
7. ^ Allmusic - The Nylon Curtain > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums
8. ^ "norwegiancharts.com Billy Joel - The Nylon Curtain". http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Billy+Joel&titel=The+Nylon+Curtain&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-08-19. 
9. ^ "charts.org.nz - Billy Joel - The Nylon Curtain". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Billy+Joel&titel=The+Nylon+Curtain&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-08-08. 
10. ^ "Billy Joel - The Nylon Curtain - austriancharts.at". http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Billy+Joel&titel=The+Nylon+Curtain&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-08-19. 
11. ^ "Chart Stats - Billy Joel - The Nylon Curtain". UK Albums Chart. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=37550. Retrieved 2011-08-19. 
12. ^ "swedishcharts.com Billy Joel - The Nylon Curtain". Sverigetopplistan. http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Billy+Joel&titel=The+Nylon+Curtain&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-08-19. 
13. ^ "Album Search: Billy Joel" (in German). Media Control. http://www.charts.de/search.asp?search=billy+joel&x=0&y=0&cat=a&country=de. Retrieved 2011-08-08. 
14. ^ 1982年アルバム年間ヒットチャート "Japanese Year-End Albums Chart 1982" (in Japanese). Oricon. http://entamedata.web.fc2.com/music/music_a1982.html 1982年アルバム年間ヒットチャート. Retrieved 2011-08-19. 
15. ^ "The Billboard 200 - Year-end: 1983". http://www.n-f-l.jp/1983%20album.html. Retrieved 2011-08-06. 
16. ^ "日本で売れた洋楽アルバムトップ10 (Top-ten international albums on the Japanese Oricon Year-End Charts 1987". Archived from the original on June 5, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20070917070638/http://www2.wbs.ne.jp/~ms-db/oricon/oricon%2083.htm. Retrieved June 4, 2008. 
17. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Billy Joel – The Nylon Curtain". Music Canada. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=The+Nylon+Curtain&sa=Billy+Joel&smt=0. 
18. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4871310779. 
19. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Billy Joel – The Nylon Curtain" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. http://www.ifpi.nl/nvpi/pagina.asp?pagkey=60463. 
20. ^ "American album certifications – Billy Joel – The Nylon Curtain". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22The+Nylon+Curtain%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

Preceded by De openbaring by Freek de Jonge

Dutch Mega Chart number-one album January 29 - February 12, 1982

Succeeded by The Kids from "Fame" by The Kids from "Fame"