Billy Joel - Billy Joel Greatest Hits: Vol. 1-2 (2CD)
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CD Details
Artist: Billy JoelBrand: JOEL,BILLY
Edition: Music CD
Format: Enhanced, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 1998-10-20
Music Label: Sony
Product features:
- VERY GOOD COND CLEAN W/LINER NOTES
Music CD 1
- Piano Man
- Captain Jack
- Entertainer
- Say Goodbye to Hollywood
- New York State of Mind
- Stranger
- Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
- Just the Way You Are
- Movin' out (Anthony's Song)
- Only the Good Die Young
- My Life - Billy Joel
- Big Shot - Billy Joel
- You May Be Right - Billy Joel
- It's Still Rock And Roll To Me - Billy Joel
- Don't Ask Me Why - Billy Joel
- She's Got A Way - Billy Joel
- Pressure - Billy Joel
- Allentown - Billy Joel
- Goodnight Saigon - Billy Joel
- Tell Her About It - Billy Joel
- Uptown Girl - Billy Joel
- The Longest Time - Billy Joel
- You're Only Human (Second Wind) - Billy Joel
- The Night Is Still Young - Billy Joel
Music reviews of Billy Joel Greatest Hits: Vol. 1-2 (2CD)
Music Review: Focuses on Billy's Hits - but also take note...
Rating: 3 Stars
With a 14 year career and 10 studio albums under his belt, Billy Joel was long overdue for a greatest hits album. At the same time, Billy Joel had established himself as premier act in the music industry. With his 1985 release "Billy Joel Greatest Hits Volume I and Volume II", Billy Joel delivers a 2 CD set that takes his "top hits" from his previous albums. In addition, Billy adds two "new songs" ("You're Only Human" and "The Night is Still Young") - both are of the high caliber quality of music that his fans have become accustomed to. Overall, there may be some minor quirks, but this is a solid set of Billy's work
I look at Billy Joel's career as having three phases. The first phase is what I call "Old Billy Joel". This basically includes all of his material from "Cold Spring Harbor" through "Turnstiles". These are perhaps the strongest days as the piano sound, but they also contain most of Joel's least heard material. The next phase is what I call "Middle Billy Joel". This was his most successful period and covers from "The Stranger" to "Billy Joel Greatest Hits Volume I and Volume II". Joel would go through a transition during this phase - expanding his musical horizons and exploring different avenues. The final phase is the "Later Billy Joel" phase - this covers "The Bridge" to "River of Dreams". "Greatest Hits Volume I and Volume II covers the two phases - "Old Billy Joel and "Middle Billy Joel".
As mentioned above, this collection focuses on Billy's "top hits". With a few exceptions, this focuses on the songs that were the most commercially successful singles from his studio albums. As a result, some songs that are considered "Billy Joel Classics" are not on here. The most notable songs that are missing are: "Angry Young Man", "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)", "Vienna", "Honesty", "Stiletto", "Sometimes a Fantasy", "All For Leyna", "Laura", "Leave a Tender Moment Alone", and "An Innocent Man" (this song was included on a a later release "Volume 3"). In fairness, there are still 25 songs included over 2 CDs - so there is a lot of music and I can understand not being able to fit these songs. In fairness, I wouldn't have dropped any of the 25 songs that were included.
It is important to understand that there are two versions of "Greatest Hits Volume I and Volume II". The original release included edited (i.e. shortened) versions of several tracks from their original studio albums. These tracks include: "The Stranger", "Just the Way You Are", "My Life", "Big Shot", and "Pressure". This original release also includes two live versions of older songs taken from "Songs From the Attic" ("She's Got a Way" and "Say Goodbye to Hollywood"). There was a remastered edition that was released in 1998. The nice thing is that these include the full versions of the edited songs as they were on their original studio albums. As for the live songs, they have been replaced with the studio versions ("She's Got a Way" from "Cold Spring Harbor" and "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" from "Turnstiles"). Although I like having the live versions, I much prefer having full versions of songs to edited versions (I have no use for any song that is shortened from its original form), therefore I would advise getting the remastered version.
In addition to "Greatest Hits Volume I and II", there are several other compilations available. In 1997 Billy would release "Greatest Hits Volume III" that would include songs from the "Later Billy Joel" phase plus "An Innocent Man" and "Keeping the Faith" ("Middle Billy Joel songs). Billy would release a boxed set called "Billy Joel: Complete Hits Collection" that includes the remastered version of "Greatest Hits Volume I and II", "Greatest Hits Volume 3", and a fourth disk that includes outtakes and live versions from a College Tour he did. In 2001, Billy Joel would release anothe two disc collection entitled "The Essential Billy Joel". This collection does include some songs missing from "Greatest Hits Volume I and II" (i.e. "Miami 2017", Honesty", and "Leave a Tender Moment Alone"), however that collection is missing "The Stranger", "Pressure", and "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant". Despite the inclusion of some of the missing songs on "Greatest Hits Volume I and Volume II", I would avoid "The Essential Billy Joel" Overall, my first choice would be to go the Boxed Set collection, but if you want to focus on just Phases 1 and 2, then get the remastered "Greatest Hits Volume I and Volume II".
One thing that I like about "Greatest Hits Volume I and Volume II" is that the collection is in chronological order of when the songs are released - for the most part. There are some minor quirks with this: "She's Got a Way" was really from Billy's first album, so it should be the first song - however it is included just before "The Nylon Curtain" tracks because the original version of this collection had the live version from "Songs From the Attic". On the other hand, on the original version of the collection, they include the "Songs From the Attic" version of "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" with the "Turnstiles" songs (they do get this right on the remastered release). By having songs in chronological order, it allows me to see how the artist progresses and changes over time.
My version of the collection came in a "double CD case" with a nice booklet. In an unusual move for a Greatest Hits collection - all of the lyrics are included. The musician and production credits are included only for the new songs. Overall, this is a great place to get those "Phase 1 and 2" Billy Joel "Hits" in one place. I'd still recommend trying for the Boxed Set, but if not - the remastered version is the next best thing.
Description of Billy Joel Greatest Hits: Vol. 1-2 (2CD)
*********please note that this box set has been throughly inspected for quality before shipping THERE ARE NO RETURNS ON BOX It's one of the cruel ironies of music today that Billy Joel has been relegated to a kind of adult-contemporary hell, where his legacy is measured by soft-rock staples such as "Just the Way You Are," "Piano Man," and "New York State of Mind." To be sure, well-crafted ballads are a part of his legacy, but they're hardly the whole story, as this collection of his early and mid-period hits amply demonstrates. From the unbridled biographical boasting of "The Entertainer" and the ambitious storytelling of "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" to the careening abandon of "Only the Good Die Young" and the thoughtful social commentary of "Allentown," Joel was as complete an artist as the last three decades have produced. --Daniel DurchholzClassic Rock CDs
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