That album—The Nylon Curtain—is his best. Liberty DeVito is a beast drumming on Surprises. :)
I saw Joel in December 1999. Although he is Jewish by birth and an atheist, he did a trio of religious Christmas songs with no snark or disrespect at all.
I like his Christmas song “She’s Right On Time” too. Very pretty.
Some of his songs are written in a ‘hymn structure’. I loved his music growing up. Unfortunately, I went to see him during the ‘Back In The USSR’ tour and left just before the end. He played none of the old hits I had loved.
I have seen him in concert a number of times, and you nailed it DeVito is one of the best drummers of all time as far as I am concerned.
Liberty is a monster drummer.