Live at Shea Stadium (2011)


 

Disc One
  1. Prelude / Angry Young Man
  2. My Life
  3. Summer, Highland Falls
  4. Everybody Loves You Now
  5. Zanzibar
  6. New York State of Mind
  7. Allentown
  8. The Ballad of Billy the Kid
  9. She's Always a Woman
  10.Goodnight Saigon
  11.Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)
  12.Shameless
  13.This is the Time
  14.Keeping the Faith
  
Disc Two
  1. Captain Jack
  2. Lullaby (Goodnight, My Angel)
  3. The River of Dreams / A Hard Day's Night
  4. We Didn't Start the Fire
  5. You May Be Right
  6. Scenes From an Italian Restaurant
  7. Only the Good Die Young
  8. I Saw Her Standing There
  9. Take Me Out to the Ball Game
  10.Piano Man
  11.Let it Be

 

It had to be him.

As Shea Stadium, the once-throbbing cathedral of New York baseball and rock 'n' roll history, faced its final curtain, it was only fitting that Billy Joel—long crowned the Piano Man of the boroughs—should give it its swan song. The Beatles may have broken ground at Shea in '65, but Joel closed the place with a bang and a brass section. Two nights, a cavalcade of guest stars, cameras in place, and—naturally—a live album to commemorate the whole thing.

On paper, it’s iconic. In practice, it’s oddly familiar.

By this point, Joel’s live catalog had already grown bloated. From Songs in the Attic to 12 Gardens Live, there were more post-retirement performances than actual studio albums in circulation. Shea Stadium: The Concert is neither reinvention nor revelation—it is an echo. A loud, slick, crowd-pleasing echo, yes, but an echo nonetheless.

There’s an undeniable celebratory pulse here, and the setting is spectacular. Joel runs through the greatest hits with unwavering professionalism and scattered levity. The show is spirited, the crowd electric. But for a supposed milestone, too much feels recycled. The setlist is, predictably, the usual mix: Movin’ Out, Big Shot, You May Be Right, and, of course, Piano Man (this time sung almost entirely by the audience, with Joel stepping back like a mildly amused conductor). The sound of 60,000 singing drunks is either magical or maddening—depending on your mood.

The guest appearances, intended as defining moments, are a mixed bag. Tony Bennett's turn on New York State of Mind is a genuine highlight—his velvet phrasing breathes new, smoky life into a track that had begun to sag under its own self-importance. Here, the song feels like it finally found its proper owner. It's sublime.

But then there’s Garth Brooks, who hijacks Shameless without even a nod to Joel’s presence. A duet? No. A hand-off? Perhaps. A missed opportunity? Definitely. Even Paul McCartney’s climactic cameos—I Saw Her Standing There and Let It Be—tilt more toward novelty than collaboration. One suspects Joel was simply starstruck.

Elsewhere, the between-song banter showcases Joel’s self-deprecating charm—he riffs on ex-wives and DUIs with the looseness of a man who’s long stopped worrying what the tabloids think. He’s comfortable, maybe too comfortable. There’s no risk here, no new angle. Just another (admittedly triumphant) lap around a very familiar track.

As a live artifact, Shea Stadium delivers spectacle. But in the grand canon of Billy Joel’s performances, it’s not the definitive statement it wants to be. For that, 12 Gardens Live remains the more focused, musically satisfying experience—fewer fireworks, perhaps, but more meat.

Still, there’s something undeniably poignant in hearing Joel salute a stadium that, like himself, had long since entered the realm of myth. For fans, this is a victory lap worth taking. Just don’t expect many surprises along the way.


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