The Essential Billy Joel (2CD)
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Free Music Notes for The Essential Billy Joel (2CD)
Free Music Review: All of My Favorites In One Place
Hit: 5 Stars
This album is one of the greatest you could imagine. I've heard people say it's not that good, but personally I loved it. I could beat those people. This is one of the best damn CDs ever made. Don't listen to the other people, this is great.Free Music Review: A Great Sampling Of Billy's Best
Hit: 5 Stars
I don't really agree with any of the negative reviews of this album. I don't think we should judge an entire album just because a feew songs are missing. I thought these reviews were supposed to be based on qulaity not quantity. And frankly, this is some high quality music, some of the best rock and pop music ever recorded spanned over two discs by one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.
What "The Essential Billy Joel" basically gives you is 36 of Billy's most popular hits, which if you don't by know include "Piano Man", "Just The Way You Are", "My Life", "You May Be Right", "It's Still Rock And Roll To Me", "Uptown Girl" and if I keep going I'll name every track on the album. To entice hardcore fans they've included rarely heard gems like "The Entertainer", "You're My Home" and "Miami 2017". All of these songs are excellent rock classics that prove why Billy is one of the greatest artists ever.
I do agree that a lot of great songs are left out, but I won't fault the entire album for it. All of Sony's "Essential" series albums aren't perfect (the exception being the excellent compilation put together for Heart in 2002). Still, they all have excellent music thst prove why the classics never get old.
Free Music Review: Two disc collection is too much
Hit: 1 Stars
If you must add Billy Joel to your cd collection, pick up The Stranger and Piano Man. This bulky 'Essential' collection is loaded with his cheesy late 70's and 80's pop diddies and mysteriously leaves out two of his best songs, Scenes From An Italian Restaurant and The Stranger.Free Music Review: A Matter Of Opinion
Hit: 5 Stars
When I saw how many negative reviews this album got, I have to admit that I was surprised. Okay, "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" is a very serious omissions. And even I would have liked to have seen "Big Shot", "Sometimes A Fantasy", "Keeping The Faith", "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" and "Modern Woman" included on this set. But should we really let these omissions, no matter how serious they are, affect how much we like the songs that are included? C'mon, all the songs here are great.
Okay, maybe "You're My Home", "The Entertainer", "Goodnight Saigon" (awful song), "Lullabye" and the classical pieces could've been thrown off to include more essential songs. But the majority of these songs are rock masterpieces.
Disc 1 is from his early years. The first 10 songs are from when he was a folksier, more introspective singer. Most of these songs are really among his best. "Piano Man" is timeless, probably his best. The same can also go for "Just The Way You Are". "Only The Good Die Young" is pure fun. "Movin' Out" and "My Life" are great anthems for the American dream. I really think that "She's Always A Woman" and the haunting "Honesty" are among his underrated masterworks.
The 1980s' stuff is even better. There's still a raw urgency heard when you listen to "It's Still Rock And Roll To Me" and "You May Be Right". "Don't Ask Me Why" really is one of my favorite. His voice is sly and the melody just glides along. "Allentown" is another favorite of mine that is a great way to close the album.
Disc 2 is my favorite of the two. This has when he got into some harder edged music while also returning to the doo - wop songs he loved as a kid. "An Innocent Man's" lyrics to me seem haunting after 9/11, especially "I am not willing to lay down and die 'cause I am an innocent man". "Uptown Girl" is possibly my favorite Billy Joel song. It almost sounds like a Four Seasons song, but Joel makes it untouchable. "Tell Her About It" is a great rock rave up. "Leave A Tender Moment Alone" is a great ballad. And "The Longest Time" is quite possibly one of the finest doo - wop songs ever. "A Matter Of Trust" and "I Go To Extremes" are great stabs at hard rock. "We Didn't Start The Fire" and "The River Of Dreams" were proof that Joel could appeal to a mass audience even in the 1990s'. "All About Soul" is another underrated number. The closing songs stink, but don't let them ruin the fun.
Overall, not perfect but has some great music. We have yet to have a perfect Billy Joel "greatest hits" set (even the boxed set left out "Honesty" and "Modern Woman"), butif you don't want to pay a lot for Billy's best, this is the set for you.
Free Music Review: Is Billy Joel Crazy or a Genius?
Hit: 4 Stars
This is a good compliation of Billy Joel's work. It has a large range of his good stuff, although it could have been better. The first disc is mostly his older stuff, beginning with Piano Man. They are all well written and well sung songs. The mood of the music changes with almost every track. No matter what mood you're in, there will be a song to fit it.
Personally, I think that The Entertainer, My Life, You May Be Right, Miami 2017, and Movin' Out are the best songs on this CD. I have never cared for Captian Jack or Just The Way You Are, but that's an opinion. All in all, Disc One is probably a 9/10.
Disc Two isn't quite as good. The songs are of the same quality, but some of the last tracks are unesscary. While Disc One was a range of generas, this one is mostly rock, and that's OK. Joel does well with almost anything.
Uptown Girl is a classic, as well as We Didn't Start The Fire. Baby Grand will always be remembered, as it was a duet with Ray Charles. Together Joel and Charles are two of the best singer/songwriters, and this is a perfect song for them. I have always liked The River Of Dreams and The Downeaster "Alexa".
Lullabye, Waltz No. 1 (and hopefully last), Invention In C Minor, and Goodnight Saigon, were put on this album for reasons best known to Sony and Sony only. They were a waste of CD and aren't good tracks. Lullabye, however, does work to put people to sleep, and might be good if you have a young child. The CD that was wasted on these few tracks would have been better spent on Scenes From An Italian Resturant, Stranger, and Sleeping With The Television On. OK, that last one isn't known all that well, but it was a fun rock song that I never tire of. All in all, probably an 8/10 CD.
Besides the aforementioned, this is one of the best Greatest Hits/Essential CDs made, with only a few mistakes. If you are a Billy Joel fan, whether die-hard or just occasional, this is the CD for you.
IS Billy Joel crazy or a genius? Well, this CD gives grounds for either arguement. I think he's a little bit of both, as his songs are marvelous time and time again.
This compliation is 4 stars for me, but only because of the missing few tracks. With the few that I talked about above switched around, it would easily, very easily, be a 5 star CD.