After the megasuccess of The Stranger, 52nd Street, and Glass Houses, Billy Joel decided to draw attention to his often underheard early catalog by re-recording a number of titles on the road. The result was Songs in the Attic, which entertainingly offered a wide variety of tunes, from the melodrama of Captain Jack and Miami 2017 to the tender She's Got a Way. The latter became something of a standard, seeming to confirm the impulse behind this album.