Multi-platinum songwriter and artist Tamar Kaprelian told us about her love for a Billy Joel classic...
Tamar Kaprelian: My favorite album of all time is The Stranger by Billy Joel. There isn’t a single weak moment on it—it’s one of those rare records where every song feels both complete on its own and essential to the whole.
Billy has always felt oddly present in my life in ways I didn’t fully register until later. My son, Sev, was born on the same day as him—May 9—completely by coincidence. When I went into labor, I had unknowingly packed one of Billy’s merch sweatshirts in my hospital bag. And Sev was born to one of his songs playing in the room. It all felt strangely fated.
What I’ve always admired about The Stranger is its ability to feel cinematic without losing intimacy. “Movin’ Out” plays like a film—you can see every moment of it as it unfolds. And “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” is almost architectural in how it’s built, moving through multiple sections that feel like entirely different songs, yet somehow resolve into one cohesive story.
And then there’s “She’s Always a Woman,” which, to me, is one of the most beautiful love songs ever written—so poignant, so piercing in its understanding of complexity and contradiction.
It’s a record that balances craft and feeling in a way that still feels instructive to me—both as a writer and as someone who cares deeply about how stories are told.
Tamar Kaprelian's "The Only" is out now.
Photo credit: Kelsee Pietz
