RIVER OF DREAMS finds Billy Joel once again in the familiar territory that he staked out early on in his long and very successful career: well crafted songs, strong vocals sung with conviction, and thoughtful production, built solidly from the ground up. Joel has always been a stylistic chameleon. He can conjure up '50s doowop or a beautiful Beatlesque melody and then suddenly turn on a dime and come at you with a hard-edged, urgently rocking tale about life, love lost and lessons to be learned.

On "River of Dreams" Billy rocks hard, but with a maturity and insight befitting the grey that flecks his beard. Of course just when you think you know where Billy Joel is going he will always surprise you. "Good Night My Angel' is a beautiful lullaby with a strong classical undercurrent that would make Brahms smile. Other key tracks are "All About Soul," the title cut and the reflective ode "2000 Years".