'Billy Joel: And So It Goes' review: HBO documentary a must-watch for fans

WHAT IT'S ABOUT Over a career spanning seven decades, 13 studio albums, 33 charting singles, roughly two dozen tours and a record-breaking, 10-year residency at Madison Square Garden, Billy Joel has never taken part in an authoritative documentary on himself. Given some of his painful personal experiences — three divorces, at least as many car crashes and two stints in rehab — the singer-songwriter has been content to let his music speak for itself.

If ever there was a time for Joel, 76, to open up, it’s now. "Billy Joel: And So It Goes," a two-part, five-hour HBO documentary, offers fans a "look under the hood," as Steve Cohen, his longtime creative director (and an executive producer on the film) put it recently. Directed by Susan Lacy (creator of PBS’ "American Masters") and Jessica Levin, the documentary aims to be what Lacy has called "both a surprise and a revelation."

MY SAY Lacy isn’t overselling her project. "And So It Goes," named for one of Joel's more ruminative songs, may not contain any true bombshells but it delves into Joel’s life in unprecedented detail. Anchored by Lacy’s lengthy interviews with Joel — she cannily makes sure he’s always at a piano, like a patient on Freud’s couch — the documentary highlights lesser-known episodes, spotlights overlooked figures and uncovers at least one key insight into what drove a working-class kid from Hicksville to become one of the most successful artists in rock history.

Virtually everyone from Joel’s life — even those carrying painful baggage — shows up to speak. Former bandmate Jon Small describes learning that Joel was having an affair with his wife, Elizabeth Weber. Weber describes her thankless tasks as Joel’s first wife, manager and tour-bus mother. (The film does Weber a great service by arguing, with ample evidence, that she was the main driver behind Joel’s rise to stardom in the 1970s.) Joel’s second wife, Christie Brinkley, forever linked to his hit single "Uptown Girl," chokes back tears recalling how their fairy-tale marriage dissolved into nights of calling local bars to find her husband. (Joel’s current wife, Alexis Roderick Joel, and their two young daughters, are only briefly touched upon; Joel’s current struggle with a rare brain disorder, announced after the film’s completion, is not mentioned.)

Sprinkled throughout are the obligatory plaudits from famous names, but these can be illuminating. Bruce Springsteen acknowledges that Joel’s melodies "are better than mine" and Paul McCartney admits to some professional jealousy over Joel’s signature ballad, "Just the Way You Are." Analyzing his own work, Joel says he turned to classical music (on his final album, 2001’s "Fantasies & Delusions") because he got sick of writing pop lyrics: "Why do I have to say that? The music is saying it."

The documentary’s "aha" moment springs from Joel’s father, Howard Joel. Described by the singer as a dour and occasionally abusive man, Howard abandoned his family and raised another in Vienna. The two reconnected, and even once played piano together on stage, but "never really had that magic moment," Joel says. It’s Joel’s friend, the ever-astute Howard Stern, who observes: "I think Billy’s story is way deeper psychologically than Billy wants to know. I think his drive comes from wanting to know his father."

Finally, for what must be the first time, Joel acknowledges that "Vienna" — a longtime fan-favorite — was inspired partly by the man he never really knew. "I suppose it’s what I was searching for," Joel says. "My father was there."

BOTTOM LINE Probing interviews and detailed stories make this a must-watch for Billy Joel fans.

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com