The Complete Hits Collection 1973 - 1997 (1997)
Disc One
1. Piano Man
2. Captain Jack
3. The Entertainer
4. Say Goodbye to Hollywood
5. New York State of Mind
6. The Stranger
7. Scenes From an Italian Restaurant
8. Just the Way You Are
9. Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
10.Only the Good Die Young
11.She's Always a Woman
Disc Two
1. My Life
2. Big Shot
3. You May Be Right
4. It's Still Rock and Roll To Me
5. Don't Ask Me Why
6. She's Got a Way
7. Pressure
8. Allentown
9. Goodnight Saigon
10.Tell Her About It
11.Uptown Girl
12.The Longest Time
13.You're Only Human (Second Wind)
14.While the Night is Still Young
Disc Three
1. Keeping the Faith
2. An Innocent Man
3. A Matter of Trust
4. Baby Grand
5. This is the Time
6. Leningrad
7. We Didn't Start the Fire
8. I Go to Extremes
9. And So it Goes
10.The Downeaster "Alexa"
11.Shameless
12.All About Soul (Remix)
13.Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)
14.The River of Dreams
15.To Make You Feel My Love
16.Hey Girl
17.Light as the Breeze
Disc Four
1. Billy Joel Spoken Intro/Music Concepts (Dialogue)
2. Scenes From an Italian Restaurant (Live)
3. Beatles Influence (Dialogue)
4. A Hard Day's Night (Live)
5. Why Vienna? (Dialogue)
6. Vienna (Live)
7. History Through Music (Dialogue)
8. We Didn't Start the Fire (Live)
9. Music Source (Dialogue)
10.River of Dreams (Unreleased)
11.Piano Bar (Dialogue)
12.Piano Man (Live)
 
This is one of those box sets that, if
you're a fan, you simply must get. The first 3 discs of the 4 disc set
are essentially the same as his two "greatest hits" packages (note: to
avoid confusion, even though there were two "packages", the first was a
volume one and a volume two and then the second package was
a volume three. Make sense?). The only differences are that the songs
that were butchered on that first release,
for whatever reason in terms of song length, have
now been restored to their full time allotment. Oh, sure, there are a
few songs that should be here that aren't, but what Greatest Hits album
is 100% perfect? Perfect for every fan's tastes.
The real treat on this package is the bonus fourth disc. Throughout his career, Billy
gave songwriting workshops to groups of lucky, aspiring musicians and he
would share insights and do Q&A on his song ideas, musical inspirations
and the business itself. It's a pleasure to listen to, because Joel is
really comfortable in this environment. He's not an artist that
mumbles behind a dark pair of glasses causing embarrassment for all. He
genuinely enjoys the experience of chatting with his admirers
and he is very funny and engaging. This
disc is comprised of such a workshop. In addition, the songs referenced
in the workshop are also included here in never heard before live versions.
It's one of those bonus discs that you can hear "more than once", which is not
really something you can say about most supplemental material designed
to get you to buy an expensive package.
He would go on to release other "best of" compilations, but they were
all essentially rehashes of the material that's here. Again, this one
is worth whatever the price tag may be.
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