Greatest Hits Vols. 1 & 2 [Remaster] [ECD] - Joel, Billy (CD 1998)

By the time An Innocent Man was released in 1983 Billy Joel was at his peak, king of the hill, and at the top of the heap. The 1980s were a good time for Billy Joel. The Cold War kid from Long Island released enough great songs to justify the release of Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II. He would still release some good albums in the post-GH era, and he would even make more history (he already performed in Cuba in 1979; more details can be found at [http://www.turnstiles.org/articles/Playboy5-82.html]). But the release of Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II places Billy Joel in very good company.
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Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II
(also known separately as Greatest Hits Volume I (1973-1977) and Greatest Hits Volume II (1978-1985))
Billy Joel (1985 - Columbia)

GHv1 songs are surrounded by these characters : [)
GHv2 songs are surrounded by these characters : (]

No band information was available for the first 23 songs since they are found on their original albums. The band information which follows appears in the GH booklet, and it is band information for (13] and (14]

Billy Joel's instrumental contributions :
Keyboards -- (13](14]
Harmonica -- (14]

Backup/Supporting Musicians :
David Brown (lead guitar) -- (13]
Russell Javors (rhythm guitar) -- (13]
Doug Stegmeyer (bass) -- (13] (14]
Liberty DeVitto (drums) -- (13] (14]
Jimmy Bralower (percussion) -- (13] (14]
David Lebolt (synthesizer) -- (13] (14]
Ronnie Cuber (syntharmonicas) -- (13]
Jon Faddis (syntharmonicas) -- (13]
Mark Rivera (syntharmonicas) -- (13]
David Matthews (horn arrangement) -- (13]
John McCurry (guitar) -- (14]

Background/Supporting Vocals :
Peter Hewlett -- (13]
Frank Simms -- (13]

Duration times of songs in bold are for the songs as they appear on the GH collection. Italicized times show which version of the song is shorter.
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So many songs were classified as Greatest Hits that the CD format needed two CDs. Each CD contains one volume of Greatest Hits. Here is the list of songs on each CD:

Greatest Hits Volume I (1973-1977)
[01) 5:36 / 5:37 "Piano Man" (Piano Man)
[02) 6:55 / 6:55 "Captain Jack" (Piano Man)
[03) 3:39 / 3:48 "The Entertainer" (Streetlife Serenade)
[04) 3:53 / 4:36 "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" (Turnstiles)
[05) 5:58 / 5:58 "New York State of Mind" (Turnstiles)
[06) 4:55 / 5:10 "The Stranger" (The Stranger)
[07) 7:35 / 7:37 "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" (The Stranger)
[08) 3:34 / 4:50 "Just the Way You Are" (The Stranger)
[09) 3:27 / 3:30 "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" (The Stranger)
[10) 3:53 / 3:55 "Only the Good Die Young" (The Stranger)
[11) 3:18 / 3:21 "She's Always a Woman to Me" (The Stranger)

Greatest Hits Volume II (1978-1985)
(01] 3:50 / 4:44 "My Life" (52nd Street)
(02] 3:43 / 4:03 "Big Shot" (52nd Street)
(03] 4:09 / 4:16"You May Be Right" (Glass Houses)
(04] 2:54 / 2:57 "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" (Glass Houses)
(05] 2:57 / 2:59 "Don't Ask Me Why" (Glass Houses)
(06] 2:44 / 2:44 "She's Got a Way" (Songs in the Attic)
(07] 3:13 / 4:42 "Pressure" (The Nylon Curtain)
(08] 3:49 / 3:52 "Allentown" (The Nylon Curtain)
(09] 7:02 / 7:05 "Goodnight Saigon" (The Nylon Curtain)
(10] 3:55 / 3:51 "Tell Her about It" (An Innocent Man)
(11] 3:15 / 3:16 "Uptown Girl" (An Innocent Man)
(12] 3:35 / 3:37 "The Longest Time" (An Innocent Man)
(13] 4:47 "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" (GHv2)
(14] 5:27 "The Night Is Still Young" (GHv2)

So many songs from 1973 through 1985 are considered Greatest Hits that three songs which appear on the double CD set do not appear on the single audio cassette version ("Captain Jack" and "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" from GHv1 and "She's Got a Way" from GHv2).
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More details about each GH song (less (13] and (14]) can be found within the following opinions:
Greatest Hits Volume I (1973-1977)
PIANO MAN Gives Billy Joel His Identity @ [http://neomartin.epinions.com/content_34526957188]
STREETLIFE SERENADE Is the Weakest of Billy Joel's Albums @ [http://neomartin.epinions.com/content_34418560644]
TURNSTILES May Not Be the Best Album, But It Is the Most Critical @ [http://neomartin.epinions.com/content_34307149444]
THE STRANGER Was The Standard for Many Years @ [http://neomartin.epinions.com/content_33000230532]

Greatest Hits Volume II (1978-1985)
52ND STREET Shows Why Billy Joel Is a Big Shot (For Reasons Unlike the Song) @ [http://neomartin.epinions.com/content_39789497988]
GLASS HOUSES Has a New Wave Motif @ [http://neomartin.epinions.com/content_33709985412]
SONGS IN THE ATTIC Gives OK Songs New Life by Billy Joel and Band @ [http://neomartin.epinions.com/content_34856078980]
THE NYLON CURTAIN Features a More Mature Billy Joel @ [http://neomartin.epinions.com/content_34988265092]
AN INNOCENT MAN Shows That Billy Joel Is Guilty of Popularity @ [http://neomartin.epinions.com/content_36046016132]
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Aside from "She's Got a Way" (which itself is found on the 1971 debut album Cold Spring Harbor), two other GH songs also appear on the 1981 live compilation album Songs in the Attic ("Captain Jack" and "Say Goodbye to Hollywood"). Five GH songs would appear on the 1987 live album derived from the historic tour of the USSR, KOHWEPT ("Goodnight Saigon," "Allentown," "Only the Good Die Young," "Uptown Girl," and "Big Shot").

GHv1 : "Piano Man"
The title track from Billy Joel's second solo album, changes made to this song fro inclusion on GHV1 are trivial. As the song which helped Billy Joel acquire his moniker, "Piano Man" retains the sad and reflective qualities it had in 1973.

GHv1 : "Captain Jack"
Perhaps the grimmest song Billy Joel would ever sing, "Captain Jack" appears on GHv1 intact-- no changes can be detected. The song about escape through mind-altering chemicals (mainly illegal drugs, but legal drugs are just as dangerous in sufficient amounts) still causes listeners to cringe at the lyrics yet marvel at the sheer intensity of the music. "Captain Jack" reaches its musical peak on Songs in the Attic where Billy Joel and the band pull out all the stops in performing this song. The lyrics may be a turn off because of their negativity-- if I want to hear about such things I can turn on the local news on television-- but the music demands our attention. WARNING : NEVER USE "CAPTAIN JACK" FOR ROMANCING PURPOSES (EVEN ACCIDENTALLY).

GHv1 : "The Entertainer"
When Billy Joel sang this song for Streetlife Serenade in 1974, he noted that for some songs to stay on the charts they had to be cut to "three-oh-five"; the song itself was 3 minutes, 48 seconds, and for GHv1 it was trimmed to 3 minutes 39 seconds. When I hear the two versions of this song I don't notice where the editing took place. With its airy synthesizer sounds and its balladeer rhythms, "The Entertainer" remains one of the better songs from Streetlife Serenade.

GHv1 : "Say Goodbye to Hollywood"
Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II was my starter Billy Joel album-- it is because of the collection of songs found on this double-CD set that I became interested in the original albums. "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" sounds OK on GHv1, but it is one of the few songs to sound better on the original album. For years I never knew why. However, while re-writing my opinion for Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II I discovered why the GHv1 version sounded wanting: 43 seconds were removed. The lyrics themselves are intact, but extra sounds and words from the original version were removed. The version of "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" found on GHv1 sounds sanitized and taken from a vacuum or from the ether-- it lacks the intangibles found on the Turnstiles version of the song. "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" was always a good song, and it remains a good song. Just keep in mind the time discrepancy when listening to "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" on GHv1.

GHv1 : "New York State of Mind"
No words or lyrics were removed from "New York State of Mind" (the official song of the New York Mets from Major League Baseball). Even the duration time is the same between the two versions of "New York State of Mind." However, the musical arrangement was changed for GHv1. Unlike the changes to the other entry from Turnstiles, "Say Goodbye to Hollywood," the GHv1 version of "New York State of Mind" sounds finished and complete.Near the end of "New York State of Mind" there are higher notes which signal the end of the song and give the song a sense of finality-- that sense of finality was missing from the Turnstiles version of "New York State of Mind."

GHv1 : "The Stranger"
The title track from the 1997 breakthrough album appears on GHv1 in a shorter and edited form. However, the missing 15 seconds between the original and GHv1 versions is not noticeable. The song maintains its main inner song within the outer whistling shell. In both cases, "The Stranger retrains its secretive and introspective qualities and its sophisticated rhythms.

GHv1 : "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant"
For a song well over seven minutes in duration, it is surprising that only 2 seconds were removed from the original version for inclusion on GHv1. The history within a tale within a song remains one of the most complex songs for Billy Joel the musician as well as his supporting band. Horns, percussion, piano, synthesizer-- "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" is practically an epic in song. The piano solo by Billy Joel remains one of the two most challenging piano pieces he would perform (the prelude to "Angry Young Man" from Turnstiles and performed in the USSR in 1987 is the other). Unlike "Captain Jack," "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" is better suited for romancing (or at least wining and dining).

GHv1 : "Just the Way You Are"
One of the greatest love songs from the last thirty years, "Just the Way You Are" was included on GHv1 at the cost of 76 seconds from the original version found on The Stranger. Even though that much time was removed, I never noticed where the editing was done for this song. No matter which version of "Just the Way You Are" is heard, the song will deliver the desired message to the listener.

GHv1 : "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"
The editing done to "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" is trivial, so the song retains the power and impact it has on The Stranger. Anthony and Sergeant O'Leary still have dreams, and both know what they have to do to realize them. "If that's moving up then I'm moving out." The defiant tone of the song remains.

GHv1 : "Only the Good Die Young"
Like "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)," the editing for "Only the Good Die Young" is also trivial. The song which caused quite a stir on its release in 1977 was well received by concertgoers in the USSR in 1987, and the song even had a few words change during the intervening years and miles. As for the GHv1 version of "Only the Good Die Young," the song maintains its church-like music and its modern dance beat.

GHv1 : "She's Always a Woman to Me"
The loss of three seconds did nothing to clarify the most cryptic Billy Joel song I have ever heard. I realize that the woman sung about in the song is a complex character and black and white descriptions fail to do this woman justice. The song itself sounds the same both on The Stranger and on GHv1. (Someone please explain to me what the song means!)

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GHv2 : "My Life"
Being used as the theme for a television program helps to establish the greatness of a song or instrumental. This is what Bosom Buddies starring Tom Hanks, Peter Scolari, and Donna Dixon did for "My Life" by Billy Joel. 54 seconds were removed for inclusion on GHv2. Despite the size of the time discrepancy, I don't see where the editing was done. The lyrics sound intact, so the editing had to be during music-only sequences. The song sounds the same to me either way.

GHv2 : "Big Shot"
One song where editing is noticeable is "Big Shot," the first track from 52nd Street. The missing 20 seconds from "Big Shot" make a greater impact on the song than the missing 54 seconds do on "My Life" (or even the missing 89 seconds from "Pressure"). The song has great lyrics, and the words remain on both versions. However, the GHv2 version of "Big Shot" sounds sanitized-- it lacks the angry and aggressive qualities from the original song. When Billy Joel sings "Big Shot" on 52nd Street I can hear him scowl-- the scowl is gone from the GHv2 version. Then again, the 7 years between 1978 and 1985 may have caused Billy Joel to become a bit more mellow.

GHv2 : "You May Be Right"
The song about a lonely woman whose dream man happens to be insane ("I've been stranded in the combat zone / I walked through Bedford Stuy alone") retains its quick and carefree qualities. Only 7 seconds were removed, but the essentials remain in music and words. The breaking glass at the start of the song remains an integral part of "You May Be Right."

GHv2 : "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" and GHv2 : "Don't Ask Me Why"
Relentless bass keeps "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" going. Caribbean music elements define "Don't Ask Me Why." Hardly anyone will notice the three seconds missing from "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" and the missing two seconds from "Don't Ask Me Why.".

GHv2 : "She's Got a Way"
"She's Got a Way" is the first track from Billy Joel's first album as a solo artist, Cold Spring Harbor from 1971. However, the version of "She's Got a Way which is on GHv2 comes directly from the 1980 live compilation album Songs in the Attic. The live version performed by Billy Joel and the backup band at the Paradise Club in Boston, Massachusetts in June 1980 has feeling, energy, and power not generated by the original version of the song. This live version of "She's Got a Way" is perfect.

GHv2 : "Pressure"
If "She's Got a Way" is perfect, then "Pressure" was mugged. "Big Shot" may be missing elements which made the song a listening experience back in 1978, but it has all its lyrics intact. 89 seconds were removed fro GHv2, but along with the music during those 89 seconds are the following lyrics:

All grown up and no place to go
Psych 1, Psych 2
What do you know?
All your life is Channel 13
Sesame Street
What does it mean?
Pressure
Pressure
Don't ask for help
You're all alone
Pressure
You'll have to answer
To your own
Pressure
I'm sure you'll have some cosmic rationale
But here you are in the ninth
Two men out and three men on
Nowhere to look but inside
Where we all respond to
Pressure
Pressure
All your life is Time Magazine
I read it too
What does it mean?
Pressure

If the GHv2 version of "Pressure" is heard first-- which was the case for me-- then the truncation won't be noticed until "Pressure" is heard on The Nylon Curtain. If "Pressure is heard from The Nylon Curtain, then the truncation on the song for GHv2 will be noticeable immediately. Learning that "Pressure" had extra words and music was great for me, but if anyone expects them to be heard on GHv2 after hearing them on The Nylon Curtain then shock is a likely reaction. (Although "Pressure" on GHv2 sounds truncated, the lyrics contained in the GH album booklet are intact. Strange.)

GHv2 : "Allentown"
The sad yet defiant song about life in a steel town during hard times sounds the same even with three missing seconds. The quittin' time whistle and the locomotive train sound effects remain, which is good since both are integral to "Allentown." The distant and disembodied voice of Billy Joel remain on "Allentown" for GHv2, but the song gains new life when sung in the USSR in 1987.

GHv2 : "Goodnight Saigon"
Even though "Goodnight Saigon" is just over seven minutes long and the song is heard within the middle five minutes, only three seconds were cut from this song for GHv2. The imperceptible helicopter motors gradually become loud during the first minute of "Goodnight Saigon," and during the last minute the helicopter motors are replaced by chirping crickets. On The Nylon Curtain and GHv2 Billy Joel sings "Goodnight Saigon" in whispers, but during his 1987 tour of the USSR he sings "Goodnight Saigon" with feeling and power.

GHv2 : "Tell Her about It"
Unlike most songs on GHv1 and GHv2 which were shortened by a few seconds or had entire segments lopped off, "Tell Her about It" gained four seconds. No additional lyrics or words were added, so it had to be music in the middle or lead/end sounds. The education of a young man from a man of experience still causes people to dance and sing along.

GHv2 : "Uptown Girl"
Love conquers all, and "Uptown Girl" is the epitome of that idea. The song is closer to real life than is realized at first glance given the backgrounds of Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley before 1983. Two seconds are cut from "Uptown Girl," but they won't be noticed by many people while listening to either version of the song.

GHv2 : "The Longest Time"
The song which gives insight into 1950s America uses vocalists as musicians-- street corner singers first mentioned in "Streetlife Serenader" on Streetlife Serenade in 1974. The loss of one second did nothing to diminish the essence of "The Longest Time."

GHv2 : "You're Only Human (Second Wind)"
The first of two songs which appear exclusively on Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II, "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" (according to official information from Billy Joel's web site at [http://www.billyjoel.net/thelifeandtimes/index.html]) is a song of encouragement to aid in teenage suicide prevention. No one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes, and just when we think we hit the wall we pick up a second wind so we can carry on.

GHv2 : "The Night Is Still Young"
The second of two songs which appear exclusively on Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II, "The Night Is Still Young" is a modern romantic song about the possibilities for two lovers. The singer is old enough to see beyond the present, but the singer is also young enough to remember the youthful person he was and can still be inside. The music is modern yet gripping-- it lets us know that we still have a future, and our future needs our youthful enthusiasm now.
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The double CD format of Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II comes with a thick CD jewel case, so it can be hard finding space for the CD case. However, the booklet which comes with Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II contains lyrics for every song on the two CDs. This is important since the first four Billy Joel albums (spanning Cold Spring Harbor from 1971 through Turnstiles from 1976) did not come with lyrics at all. The lyrics contained in the booklet are also more comprehensive-- the lyrics for "Pressure" are unabridged, yet the GH version of the song is missing 90 seconds of music and associated lyrics.

Music arrangements vary for "New York State of Mind" and "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" between their original versions and the GH versions. The GH version of "New York State of Mind" sounds more complete, while the GH of "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" seems to lack something minor. Although the music is the same on both 52nd Street and GHv2 for "Big Shot," the primal and visceral emotion Billy Joel projected for "Big Shot" on 52nd Street is missing on the GH version. "Big Shot" sounds the same on both albums, but it lacks a degree of energy and punch. Even so, "Big Shot" sounds great on GHv2.
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Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II is the first Billy Joel album I purchased. I knew a couple of songs were on this album, but I never realized that it was he who sand a lot of songs which I liked years before making my purchase. If many of his songs are considered Greatest Hits, I figured that his non-hit songs would be pretty good also. It was Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II which prompted me to purchase the original albums so I can see how Billy Joel evolved as a solo artist. Many people grew up with Frank Sinatra in his prime; for many from my generation, we grew up with Billy Joel in his prime. Frank Sinatra may sing "New York, New York," but Billy Joel is New York's Favorite Son. I may live in New jersey now, but don't expect me to switch to Bruce Springsteen-- Billy Joel is still The Man when it comes to music for me.

Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II features the best songs from Billy Joel's first ten albums. Some modifications were made when the songs were remastered or reproduced in the studio for inclusion in Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II, but they are not enough to lessen the quality of the collection. Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II is the definitive album for Billy Joel fans, and it makes a perfect introduction for people new to Billy Joel's songs and music. Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II is a must for any CD collection.