Track Listing
DISC 1:
1. Piano Man
2. You're My Home
3. Captain Jack
4. Entertainer, The
5. Say Goodbye to Hollywood
6. Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)
7. New York State of Mind
8. She's Always a Woman
9. Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
10. Only the Good Die Young
11. Just the Way You Are
12. Honesty
13. My Life
14. It's Still Rock and Roll to Me
15. You May Be Right
16. Don't Ask Me Why
17. She's Got a Way
18. Allentown
DISC 2:
1. Goodnight Saigon
2. Innocent Man, An
3. Uptown Girl
4. Longest Time, The
5. Tell Her About It
6. Leave a Tender Moment Alone
7. Matter of Trust, A
8. Baby Grand - (with Ray Charles)
9. I Go to Extremes
10. We Didn't Start the Fire
11. Leningrad
12. Downeaster "Alexa", The
13. And So It Goes
14. River of Dreams, The
15. All About Soul - (remix)
16. Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)
17. Waltz No. 1 (Nunley's Carousel)
18. Invention in C Minor
| Details | | Contributing Artists: | Ray Charles, Richard Joo | | Distributor: | Sony Music Distribution ( | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes
Personnel includes: Billy Joel (vocals, piano); Ray Charles (vocals); Richard Joo (piano); Liberty DeVito (drums).
Producers include: Michael Stewart, Billy Joel, Phil Ramone, Mick Jones, Steven Epstein.
Compilation producers: Greg Linn, Mark Feldman.
Recorded between 1973 and 2001.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
At the close of the 20th Century, it became apparent that Billy Joel was one of the premier pop craftsmen of the post-Beatles era. This generous two-disc compilation neatly makes a case for Joel's reign at the top of the musical heap by chronicling nearly 20 years of hits. Joel's melodic gift and lyrical acumen are amply displayed as THE ESSENTIAL BILLY JOEL moves from the introspective "Piano Man" to the sardonic, self-parodic "The Entertainer," from the Springsteen-like rocker "Only the Good Die Young" to the McCartneyesque "Dont Ask Me Why." As Joel's career progressed, his work became increasingly occupied with socio-political issues, as evidenced by disc two's "We Didn't Start the Fire" and "The Downeaster 'Alexa.'" By the end of the '90s, Joel decided to abandon pop in favor of classically inspired instrumental music, and this chronological collection fittingly ends with some of the first fruits of that notion, indicating that even after so many years in the public eye, Joel still had plenty to say, whether he used words or not.
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