I really appreciate all of Billy Joel's records. However his early releases: Cold Spring Harbor, Turnstiles, and this one are special probably because they are not so overplayed on the radio. The title track is so haunting its beautiful. Los Angelinos boogies along quite nicely as Billy's band adds nice support. And two instrumentals- the subdued Mexican Connection with its accentuated rhythms and the jolly bingo hall styled Root Beer Rag. The Entertainer may be the hit single with its catchy lyrics but overall this record is very consistent and quite varied.

I love Billy Joel's music, and am starting to collect his older CDs. I just got "Streetlife Serenade" and it's great! I especially like the piano/keyboard solos i.e. "The Mexican Connection". I can't pick a favorite because they're all great! And I love the painting on the cover, too! Hats off to Billy Joel, one of the greatest musicians EVER.

Somehow, this album escaped my notice initially when I was exploring the music of Billy Joel - it wasn't in my dad's record collection and none of my friends who were into his music had ever mentioned it. After having, I supposed, overlooked it at first in the record store, I finally discovered the record and brought it home with me sometime in the spring of 1985. My initial impression of this album was not necessarily a great one...There were only a couple of songs on here that I liked at first. Over the years it remained relatively ignored by me...but now, when I listen to Billy Joel, this is one of the albums I listen to most - probably because I didn't over-play this one when in High School.

Actually, most of the songs here are really very good and show a little bit of a broadening of style for Billy Joel. Favorites include "Los Angelenos" which is actually rocks a little bit and makes good use of the electric piano (which, for those who have read other reviews of mine, is one of my favorite instruments...). "The Great Suburban Showdown" makes interesting use of what I suppose is one of those early Moog Synthesizers. It's used to great effect, as sort of embellishment to a tale of middle-class weekend boredom. "The Entertainer" is a very catchy, cynical view of the music business. I also very much like the pretty instrumental "The Mexican Connection" which has a nice hook and which also makes good ornamental use of the Moog synthesizer...I suppose the one song I don't like that much is the other instrumental, the cornball "Root Beer Rag" - great piano playing and all, but just too corny for my tastes...The other two or three songs on the album to me are somewhat nondescript, if not pleasant typical early Billy Joel songs...

In sum, there are no real masterpieces on this album, but most of the songs on this album are really nice - pretty piano playing, good lyrics - biting at times - and well composed. A couple of others are neither here nor there - neither good nor bad...and one ("Root Beer Rag") which I just don't like. This is a better than average album and I give it 3.75 stars, rounding up to 4 stars. RECOMMENDED...

Streetlife Serenade contains some of the best lyrics on any Billy Joel album. Many of the songs are sung in the first person and it gives them a certain intimacy. "Streetlife Serenader" starts the album on a soft note and "Los Angeleanos" wryly mocks the denizens of L.A. "The Great Suburban Showdown" is a humorous tale of man heading back to his hometown to spend time with his parents and "Root Beer Rag" is an instrumental where Mr. Joel shows off his piano chops. "Roberta" is a good song about a lady of the night while album's hit single "The Entertainer" is a sarcastic look at show business. "The Last Of The Big Time Spenders" and "Weekend Song" are good songs while "Souvenir" is a poignant look at how life can pass you by and all you have left are the memories. "The Mexican Connection" is another instrumental that closes out the album. Streetlife Serenade is another classic Billy Joel record.

You would think without any real radio hits except for maybe "The Entertainer", this wouldn't be a very good album, and before I purchased this I had my doubts, but this is just brilliant stuff, and that's no joke. This album doesn't get respect kind of like CHICAGO III didn't have any big hits either, but it's my favorite Chicago album. Billy kicks on the piano for the instrumental "Root Beer Rag". "The Great Suburban Showdown" is just brilliant. Some of my other favorites are "Last of the Big Time Spenders", "Streetlife Serenader", and "The Mexican Connection". I have no idea how hardly anything from this album got any radio play, but it's the radio's loss because this has some of the most endearing songs that he ever wrote, so get out to your music stores and buy this gem. Believe me, you'll thank me!