Innocent Man
Fittingly for an album celebrating early- to mid-'60s pop and blue-eyed soul,An Innocent Man(1983) spun off six hit singles. Between the social concerns ofThe Nylon Curtainand this record's bopping tempos and blaring horns, Joel was at a peak of craftsmanship--the ultimate proof perhaps being theChipmunks' rendition of "The Longest Time," which did absolutely nothing to diminish the song's winning charm. Much of America's enduring affection for Joel stems from this disc, and rightly so.--Rickey Wright