"This almost killed me" Joel once said of 'The Nylon Curtain'. Joel had been recovering from injuries sustained from a motorcycle accident when he began recording this album which was his most complex album to date. The songs were about hard core issues such as the Vietnam War, drugs and relationships. The meaning of some of the songs here are hard to understand but some of Joel's most assured work is on this album. Hit songs in 'Allentown', 'Goodnight Saigon' and 'Pressure' are here plus the best two songs on the album 'Scandanavian Skies' (don't know what it's about lyrically but uses similar string sounds as that on the Beatles 'Strawberry Fields Forever') and the beautiful 'Where's the Orhestra'. Yes , lyrically, it's hard to know the theme, but musically it's an inventive and mature sound. It wasn't as successful as previous albums but actually got fairly good reviews which was somewhat of a breakthrough for Joel who didn't fare well with the critics.