In the early 1970s, sensitive singer-songwriters were all the rage in the music industry. Billy was just trying to get his songs heard and become a songwriter. He was told that in order to become a songwriter, he needed to record an album to make his songs more available. So when Billy signed with Artie Ripp's Family Productions, his management and producers sought to turn him into a singer-songwriter balladeer to capitalize on the industry trend. This was very different than the blue-eyed soul and rock of Billy's former group, The Hassles, and the psychedelic heavy metal of his short-lived duo, Attila. Billy was now the sensitive singer-songwriter, though that was always part of his repertoire. The songs on Cold Spring Harbor (named after a small hamlet on Long Island near where Billy grew up) reflect this as they are mostly mellow and introspective. "She's Got A Way" and "Everybody Loves You Now" are the standouts, and were later re-recorded live for 1981's Songs In The Attic. The rest of Cold Spring Harbor features introspective and mellow singer-songwriter songs like "Tomorrow Is Today," Why Judy Why" and the appropriate finale, "Got To Begin Again." Unfortunately, a major error occurred during the recording process. The master was speeded up, so Billy's voice sounded unusually high. This enraged Billy, of course, and he left Family Productions and Artie Ripp after a grueling promotional tour for the album. Years later, after Billy became a major star in the late 1970s, Cold Spring Harbor became a collector's item and Ripp re-released the album (in conjunction with Columbia Records) in slightly different form in 1983, altering several songs including trimming one song, "You Can Make Me Free" by two minutes. Nonetheless, the 1983 re-release of this "forgotten" album made these songs widely available to Billy Joel fans for the first time. The 1983 version of the album is still available, but the original 1971 vinyl record is rare. The 1983 album was re-mastered in 1998 along with the rest of the Billy Joel catalog. While Cold Spring Harbor was a commercial flop, due in large part to the botched recording, Billy's musicianship and the earnestness of his lyrics are undeniable. Just 22 years old at the time of the album's release, Billy showed the potential that would be fulfilled over the course of the next five decades.
