Sometimes a Fantasy
{{Infobox song
| name = Sometimes a Fantasy
| cover = SometimesAFantasy.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Billy Joel
| album = Glass Houses
| B-side = All for Leyna
| released = October 11, 1980
| recorded = 1979
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = {{hlist|Hard rock{{cite web|first= Matt|last= Mitchell|title= The 25 Greatest Billy Joel Songs of All Time |website= Paste|date= January 20, 2024|url= https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/billy-joel/the-25-greatest-billy-joel-songs-of-all-time|accessdate= January 20, 2024}}|punk rock{{cite news |last1=Evanoff |first1=Savannah |title=OFF THE RECORD: 'Glass Houses' |url=https://www.nwfdailynews.com/story/entertainment/columns/2019/11/18/off-record-glass-houses/2244945007/ |access-date=14 May 2023 |work=Northwest Florida Daily News |date=November 18, 2019}}|new wave{{cite news|last1=Final Serenade|first1=One|title=Sometimes a Fantasy - Billy Joel
|url=https://www.onefinalserenade.com/sometimes-a-fantasy.html|access-date=October 14, 2023|work=One Final Serenade: The Songs of Billy Joel|date=May 27, 2021}}|synth-pop}}
| length = 4:19 (single version)
3:40 (album version)
| label = Columbia
| writer = Billy Joel
| producer = Phil Ramone
| prev_title = Don't Ask Me Why
| prev_year = 1980
| next_title = Say Goodbye to Hollywood
| next_year = 1981
}}
"Sometimes a Fantasy" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, taken from his seventh studio album, Glass Houses (1980). Released by Columbia Records in October 1980, the single peaked at No. 36 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song is a "melodic, fast paced rocker"{{cite news|title=Top Single Picks|newspaper=Billboard|access-date=2020-07-08|date=October 11, 1980|page=75|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/80s/1980/BB-1980-10-11.pdf}} and starts with Joel dialing a number on a telephone (which he is depicted doing on the single cover).
The lyrics are about a sexually frustrated man who tries to convince his significant other to have phone sex. He explains that he is lonely since they are far away from each other (which is implied by the fact that his phone call is "long distance").
Music video
The video starts with Joel in bed, dialing a woman's number. She then picks up the phone and the music starts playing. While on the phone, Joel sings the song's lyrics to her throughout the video. Then, in the end, it turns out the entire call was just a fantasy, and no one picked up.
Other versions
The single version of "Sometimes a Fantasy" released in the United States and Canada has a running time of 4:19, making it longer than the album version, which runs at 3:40. The 45 RPM single also uses a different mix with guitars panned in different locations. The album's version ends with a fade out, while the single version does not, and instead includes Joel letting loose a Beatles' honoring yowl of "I got blisters on my blisters!",{{cite web|title=Billy Joel - Sometimes A Fantasy (LONG SINGLE VERSION) (1980)| date=3 April 2013 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQDLPEkmS5A|via=YouTube|access-date=2014-06-05}} a reference to Ringo Starr's outburst, "I got blisters on my fingers" at the end of "Helter Skelter".
The extended version of the song was available as a US 7" vinyl, a Canadian 7" vinyl, a US promo 7" vinyl, a US DJ-promo 12" vinyl and (at 4:22) as the Japanese B-side of "All for Leyna" (available as a 7" and a 7" promo).{{cite web|url=http://billyjoel52ndstreetserenade.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/still-youre-aching-for-things-you_6.html |title=52nd Street Serenade ♪♪: Still You're Aching For The Things You Haven't Got (1980-1982 from Glass Houses) |website=Billyjoel52ndstreetserenade.blogspot.co.uk |date=2016-01-01 |access-date=2016-10-17}} The single was released in other countries as a 3:39 version, namely in Australia, the Netherlands and the UK (7" promo). The longer single version was not available on any of Joel's compilation albums or reissues until the 2022 digital-only release 50 Years of the Piano Man.{{AllMusic | id= mw0004160808 | title= 50 Years of the Piano Man | access-date= 20 January 2025}}
The official music video for this single uses an alternate vocal track, different from the album and single releases.{{cite web|url=http://billyjoel52ndstreetserenade.blogspot.co.uk/p/single.html |title=52nd Street Serenade ♪♪: Singles & Videos |website=Billyjoel52ndstreetserenade.blogspot.co.uk |date=2016-01-01 |access-date=2016-10-17}} A version of the song is included on Joel's 1987 live album, Kontsert.
Reception
Billboard said that it "starts with a telephone ring and a rockabilly vocal before its transition into a melodic, fast-paced rocker."{{cite magazine|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/80s/1980/BB-1980-10-11.pdf|title=Review: Billy Joel – Sometimes a Fantasy|magazine=Billboard|date=11 October 1980|access-date=30 May 2020|volume=85|number=41|page=75|via=American Radio History|issn=0006-2510}}{{cite magazine|title=Top Single Picks|accessdate=2023-01-21|date=October 11, 1980|magazine=Billboard|page=75|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EiUEAAAAMBAJ}} Record World called it a "pulsating rocker for AOR-pop."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=October 11, 1980|page=1|accessdate=2023-02-22|title=Hits of the Week|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/80s/80/Record-World-1980-10-11.pdf}}
Personnel
- Billy Joel – vocals, Yamaha electric grand piano, synthesizers
- Richie Cannata – organ
- Dave Brown – electric guitar
- Russell Javors – electric guitar
- Doug Stegmeyer – bass
- Liberty DeVitto – drums, percussion
Chart history
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Billy Joel}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Columbia Records singles
Category:Songs about telephone calls
Category:Song recordings produced by Phil Ramone
Category:Songs written by Billy Joel
Category:American new wave songs
Category:American synth-pop songs