Billy Joel perfoming his new single “Turn The Lights Back On.” (Courtesy of Twitter)

First the Beatles released a song in November, Billy Joel the February after… who’s next, Stevie Wonder on the first of spring, back at Rose Hill with a new song to sing? Turn out the lights, don’t try to save me. Yes, after a long winter of indifference, Billy Joel is back with… a new single?! Or my middle name isn’t Joel. Can’t believe that? Find me serenading my friends with “Uptown Girl” on the Keating Hall steps, and I’ll show you my driver’s license.

We’ve seen the lights go out on Broadway, and they were bright before they did. Joel’s last (original) song before this month’s stunner was the 2007 ode-to-veterans “Christmas in Fallujah.” Months before that, we’d thought “All My Life” were his famous last words. But although he felt in 1993 that he’d written all he could, his performing (and clearly songwriting) career — with spectacular irony — had a lot more life to live. Joel did promise us there’d be other words some other day, and after the longest time, they’re here. When he announced his record-setting Madison Square Garden residency’s Jul. 25 end, I thought, “Now he’ll have more time to tour, even resume writing again and explore a fresh chapter of his life.” Learning the official Jan. 23 news that Joel would release a new song — and having not witnessed its Dec. 19 concert preview — I naturally pondered its melody, variably singing the words “Turn The Lights Back On” to myself, and ruminating what sounded best. I’m humbled my big shot in the hypothetical dark wasn’t far off from Joel’s production.

I rarely oversleep, but I ever so slightly snoozed past the song’s Feb. 1, 7 a.m. world release. I shot out of my river of dreams, jammed my earbuds in and, as soon as the music began, every mental pressure vanished — waking up late, Master’s degree classes, impatiently anticipating the music. I, for a short moment, expected a softly characteristic piano intro, like in all the Joel songs I can think of. Immediately greeting you is the crispness of Joel’s voice, because there’s no instrumental intro before the first verse. Cold-open vocals? Sounds genius and aurally great to me; after all, who wants to wait any longer to hear him again? Of course, Joel melds his iconically powerful tenor with contemplative piano chords. The pre-chorus verse maintains the melody and launches us into the first chorus. The piano now flows with a harp’s tempo, Joel’s brilliant lyrics cleverly adopting a dynamically irregular rhyme metamorphosis that continually schemes with each verse. As the first chorus closed, I realized Joel was speaking to us through this song. The music is a doubly intimate message: to a lover, and to his loving fans. Is it too late in his career for him to come back? Was he even gone at all, and is it ever too late for anything?

Our third verse designs a new dimension with percussion adding depth, as violins and a cello expand the spectacle. By the second chorus, I was already singing aloud, simultaneously thinking the song’s gentle yet grand (Joel definitely didn’t use an upright) scale would make it a stellar Bond theme. The strings peel out, cymbals crash and we’re brought to the sky-high bridge carrying that sweeping piano solo we’ve been waiting for. With a steel drum’s vibrancy, this cheerfully colorful interlude unleashes the strings, reverberating drums and intricate acoustic guitar. Back to a solo piano accompaniment, where Joel’s voice thoughtfully shines as the strings reemerge midway. Every instrument proudly returns in the final chorus, and Joel ties it all together, the conductor grabbing the harmonically dancing orchestration, and releasing the piano with a flourish as the song rapidly fades to a close. Joel’s gift wraps sans an outro, ending as fast as it started. Who needs a concluding finale when this adventure has just begun?

Joel soars intensely on his signature A/F sharps, plays with the B/D/E keys and lands contently on the C/G flats. The entire arrangement is pricelessly delectable, the piano buttery smooth, strings tender, his voice cool, classy, clear. Joel plays, pours and sings his genuine heart out; of course the watercolor-lyric YouTube video crested one million views hours after his 2024 Grammy Awards performance. “Turn The Lights Back On” is no “Just The Way You Are” (possibly my favorite), “Piano Man” (almost everyone’s favorite) or “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” (Joel’s favorite) — it’s something uniquely outstanding. Joel’s here to stay. Warmed up from monthly concerts for the past decade (except 2020-21) and extensive international tours since 1994, we all — Joel included — have lots more to look forward to. Better late than never, Billy: welcome back, you never left. We’re glad you’ve made it — your new music, songwriting return and overall excellence.