"Prelude/Angry Young Man" is a song written by Billy Joel which appeared as the sixth song on the album Turnstiles in 1976. Live versions have been released as the second track of KOHЦEPT, the 11th track of the first disc of 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert, and the opening track on the first disc of 12 Gardens Live and Live at Shea Stadium: The Concert. It is also included in the Broadway show Movin' Out.
The instrumental "Prelude" lasts roughly a minute and 45 seconds, starting with a rapid-fire hammered piano riff on the middle-C piano key, joined by various instruments, swinging through styles such an Aaron Copland-styled ballad to funk to a Southwestern beat. To this day, Joel plays the fast-paced prelude himself, but early on he moved the song to the very beginning of the setlist, largely because the prelude section was easiest to manage during the adrenaline moments of starting a show, as opposed to being attempted after he'd already expended much of his energy for other songs.
It is then followed by "Angry Young Man", which paints a slightly sardonic picture of youthful, militant rebellion that is unflagging, trying to fight life's ills despite constant failure ("He refuses to bend, he refuses to crawl / And he's always at home with his back to the wall / And he's proud of his scars and the battles he's lost / And he struggles and bleeds as he hangs on his cross / And he likes to be known as the angry young man") The song contrasts the angry youth with the protagonist's mature, world-weary outlook, which could possibly be seen as either be the same angry young man when he is older or somebody who was once felt as the angry young man currently does ("I believe I've passed the age of consciousness and righteous rage / I found that just surviving was a noble fight / I once believed in causes too / I had my pointless point of view / And life went on no matter who was wrong or right".)
Despite never having been released as a single, "Prelude/Angry Young Man" has become a popular song among fans as well as a staple of live shows. "Prelude" was used as an opening theme for the German TV talk show Live (1988-1996); and also used as theme song for Grampian Television's summertime news magazine programme "Summer at Six" in the early 80's.
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Famous quotes containing the words young man, prelude, angry, young and/or man:
“The enquiring fields, courtesies
And tribulations of the air
Be still and give them peace:
The girl in the gold hair
With her young man in clover
In shadow of the day’s glare ...”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)
“The less sophisticated of my forbears avoided foreigners at all costs, for the very good reason that, in their circles, speaking in tongues was commonly a prelude to snake handling. The more tolerant among us regarded foreign languages as a kind of speech impediment that could be overcome by willpower.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)
“Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’”
—Bible: New Testament, Luke 14:21.
“The inability to control our children’s behavior feels the same as not being able to control it in ourselves. And the fact is that primitive behavior in children does unleash primitive behavior in mothers. That’s what frightens mothers most. For young children, even when out of control, do not have the power to destroy their mothers, but mothers who are out of control feel that they may destroy their children.”
—Elaine Heffner (20th century)
“Though man is the only beast that can write, he has small reason to be proud of it. When he utters something that is wise it is nothing that the river horse does not know, and most of his creations are the result of accident.”
—Edward Dahlberg (1900–1977)