Billy Joel's new song review: 'Turn the Lights Back On,' a deeply emotional ballad, is classic Joel

Brand-new music from older artists — sometimes you get pure gold, sometimes you get the dregs. In the gold column: Tina Turner’s “Private Dancer,” Santana’s “Supernatural,” David Bowie’s “The Next Day.” Among the disappointments: Guns N’ Roses’ “Chinese Democracy,” ABBA’s “Voyage” and — I say this as a fan — the new Beatles single, “Now and Then.”

Now Billy Joel, at 74, is trying his hand with “Turn the Lights Back On.” Released Thursday at 7 a.m., it’s Joel’s first new song in nearly 20 years.

You could be forgiven for greeting it with cautious optimism, but I’m here with good news: “Turn the Lights Back On” is classic Joel. It isn’t a rebellious anthem like “Movin’ Out” or a pop confection like “Uptown Girl” or — let’s be realistic, now — an ambitious mini-opera like “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.” It’s a ballad, sparsely arranged and deeply emotional, the kind of thing Joel used to put on Side Two (of what we used to call albums). Think “Temptation,” from 1986’s “The Bridge,” or “Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel),” from 1993’s “River of Dreams.”

It starts with just Joel’s piano (of course) and voice, asking someone to “Please open the door.” At first it seems we’re listening to a lover’s quarrel, but the chorus suggests something more pervasive: “Though I used to be romantic / I forgot somehow,” Joel sings, now with a sorrowful cello and rolling drums for company. And then: “As we’re laying in the darkness / Did I wait too long to turn the lights back on?”

A gossip columnist might wonder if Joel’s fourth marriage, to Alexis Joel, is in trouble. (From verse two: “Here, stuck on a hill / Outsiders inside the home that we built.”) But it’s hard to say how much of this is confessional, creative license or, for that matter, Billy Joel’s own material. “Turn the Lights Back On” is credited to Joel, producer Freddy Wexler, Wayne Hector and Arthur Bacon. There’s no telling who wrote what, but “Turn the Lights Back On” has — to quote another Joel classic — honesty. Songs about love can be made up easily enough; songs about damaged love require experience.

Joel’s voice is remarkably strong — performing nearly 100 shows at Madison Square Garden over the past 10 years has served him well — and his playing sounds as assured as ever. Could “Turn the Lights Back On” become a throwback hit in this era of K-pop, hyperpop and rage rap? Maybe, maybe not. But it’s reassuring to know that Joel can still write 'em like he used to.

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com@raferguzman