Sunday, July 27, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Go and buy Billy Joel's "The Stranger"
I am a big music fan. I have moderately large collection of CDs, cassettes, and vinyl records (but no 8-tracks or 78s). A few years back, I might have said that I'm a huge music fan, but after spending several years working within the music industry, and watching it descend into its current state (which could be the subject of whole other rant), I had to reevaluate my fan status.
One of the things that I always hated about the industry was the "remastered" album. That and the greatest hits package that threw in one or two new songs. In these days of single song downloads on iTunes, I guess that’s not as much of a problem, but back not too long ago, it wasn't easy to get those additional songs without buying the whole greatest hits package. Not a big deal if you're not a big fan of the artist and don’t already have the artist’s prior albums or an earlier greatest hits album - I have several greatest hits packages for bands and artists that I'm not huge fans of, but that's because I didn't have any of their previous albums. So that worked out well for me. But what if you are a huge fan of a given artist? What then?
I am a huge Billy Joel fan, as is a large percentage of the population of Long Island, where we’re both from. I think it's actually a law that at least one member of every family that lives on Long Island must be a devoted Billy Joel fan and possess at least one of the several greatest hits packages his label has released over the years. I guess I should clarify somewhat: I'm a huge fan of Billy Joel up until about 1980. Glass Houses. Maybe some Nylon Curtain. After that, things started to go downhill for me (with the exception of Songs In The Attic, but that was a live concert of his earlier songs, so that doesn't count in my book). Sure there's a good song or two (or maybe 3) on his later albums, but those albums pale in comparison to albums like The Stranger, 52nd Street, and Turnstiles.
I have just about every one of Billy Joel's albums on CD. Sorry, no Cold Spring Harbor (I can't get past the whole mastering issue; I guess I'm not much into chipmunks), and not that Russian album either (though I do have it on cassette). I did go ahead and buy his greatest hits package when it first came out, and my wife bought the box set they released a few years ago, that had some additional live recordings. So when I heard that they were coming out with a remastered version of The Stranger on its 30th anniversary I yawned. I am not an audiophile. I mostly listen to my music on my iPod on the train, or in my car. Not necessarily the best conditions for listening to music, given all the background noise, so I saw no need to go and spend money on yet another copy of the album, even if it was of superior audio quality to the copy that I already have.
But I think the good folks at Columbia records knew this. They weren't just going to release a remastered edition. Oh, no, not them. They would come up with some additional material that would surely entice people to pick up the re-release. And they weren't going to release just one version of their special package either. How do I know this? Well, I went into Best Buy recently to purchase equipment for my computer. On my way out, I happened to see a large box with The Stranger cover image on it. I had to stop and check it out. Remastered album, check. But then came the good stuff. A recording of a concert Billy Joel gave at Radio City Music Hall in 1977, and some DVD with that I think was a making of the album documentary and some of his live performances (I obviously didn’t buy this one, mostly because it was selling for around $45 and I'm a notoriously frugal person). I was initially slightly bummed, but then I looked down. And there it was: the affordable version. No DVD, no special booklet. Just the remastered original album and the Radio City CD. And for just $15. But wait, there's more. Because, in typical Best Buy fashion, they had an exclusive deal. Their deal included a bonus disc with tracks recorded live at Nassau Coliseum in December, 1977. For those who aren't familiar, that's the coliseum on Long Island where the New York Islanders hockey team plays. Sweet Georgia Brown! Billy Joel practically owns the joint. A CD recording of one of his concerts there? Not quite the motherload, since it only includes 5 tracks, but I was still giddy with excitement and snatched up a copy.
Some background. In my collection of cassette tapes, I have several copies of Billy Joel concerts from the 1970s that were recorded off of Long Island radio station WBAB, which broadcast them. These are pure gold and some of my favorite recordings to listen to...when I have access to a cassette player. Billy Joel in his prime. It's my firm belief that Billy Joel was not meant to record in a studio. I think all of his albums should have been live albums. Anyone who has listened to the original recordings of the songs on Songs in the Attic can attest to that. But Songs in the Attic doesn't have songs like “Angry Young Man,” “The Entertainer,” and “Souvenir.”
The Radio City concert disc does! Granted some of the live recordings that Billy has released over the last few years have these songs on them. But his performances on 12 Gardens pales in comparison to his live performances from the 1970s. It's not even close. The purity and power of his voice, the way he attacks the songs, even his attitude in delivery are worlds apart. It's the performance of someone in his 30's {VERIFY}, not someone 30 or so years removed.
Remember that these songs were new back then. New enough to still have meaning. He hadn't gotten sick and tired of them yet. Hell, there's something incredible about hearing him say that “Just the Way You Are” is a new song, or dedicating “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant” to Christianos restaurant. I was too young when these songs came out to appreciate their freshness back then.
I can see why Columbia wouldn't have released the Radio City album before. Radio City doesn't have the capacity of a larger venue like Madison Square Garden or Nassau Coliseum, where you can get the roar of the crowd on the recording. It's a more intimate setting, even if it does hold a few thousand people. And Billy Joel feeds off of crowds. The performances of songs like “Captain Jack” aren't as heated and fiery as the ones on Songs In The Attic. But the quality of the performance is still there. In fact, I would suggest to Columbia that they release recordings of those concerts I have on cassette in my basement from Nassau Coliseum. I'd buy them.
The Best Buy bonus disc with the 5 songs from the Coliseum is sadly too short. It's got some of the same songs from the Radio City disc, but a Nassau Coliseum performance on his home turf is nothing like a New York City performance, so I expected the bonus disc to be a little piece of gold. And, while it’s ok, it’s nothing like the recordings I have on cassette. Sorry Best Buy, but the disc doesn’t include any of the banter that make his shows great (and that is present on the Radio City CD), and it only has one of the songs (“The Ballad of Billy The Kid”) that really get the Long Island crowd going, with its New York or Long Island references. What, no “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant”? No “New York State of Mind”?
So go out and buy this release, if not the full package with the fancy booklet and DVD. If you're a Billy Joel fan, you probably already have it. If you're not a fan, but you appreciate good songs and great live performances, you'll enjoy the bonus material. And The Stranger is a classic album that you should have in your collection if you don't already. If you’ve got an extra $100 bucks lying around, you may still be able to get the special edition that WLIW television (Long Island’s PBS station) was hawking earlier this week.
One of the things that I always hated about the industry was the "remastered" album. That and the greatest hits package that threw in one or two new songs. In these days of single song downloads on iTunes, I guess that’s not as much of a problem, but back not too long ago, it wasn't easy to get those additional songs without buying the whole greatest hits package. Not a big deal if you're not a big fan of the artist and don’t already have the artist’s prior albums or an earlier greatest hits album - I have several greatest hits packages for bands and artists that I'm not huge fans of, but that's because I didn't have any of their previous albums. So that worked out well for me. But what if you are a huge fan of a given artist? What then?
I am a huge Billy Joel fan, as is a large percentage of the population of Long Island, where we’re both from. I think it's actually a law that at least one member of every family that lives on Long Island must be a devoted Billy Joel fan and possess at least one of the several greatest hits packages his label has released over the years. I guess I should clarify somewhat: I'm a huge fan of Billy Joel up until about 1980. Glass Houses. Maybe some Nylon Curtain. After that, things started to go downhill for me (with the exception of Songs In The Attic, but that was a live concert of his earlier songs, so that doesn't count in my book). Sure there's a good song or two (or maybe 3) on his later albums, but those albums pale in comparison to albums like The Stranger, 52nd Street, and Turnstiles.
I have just about every one of Billy Joel's albums on CD. Sorry, no Cold Spring Harbor (I can't get past the whole mastering issue; I guess I'm not much into chipmunks), and not that Russian album either (though I do have it on cassette). I did go ahead and buy his greatest hits package when it first came out, and my wife bought the box set they released a few years ago, that had some additional live recordings. So when I heard that they were coming out with a remastered version of The Stranger on its 30th anniversary I yawned. I am not an audiophile. I mostly listen to my music on my iPod on the train, or in my car. Not necessarily the best conditions for listening to music, given all the background noise, so I saw no need to go and spend money on yet another copy of the album, even if it was of superior audio quality to the copy that I already have.
But I think the good folks at Columbia records knew this. They weren't just going to release a remastered edition. Oh, no, not them. They would come up with some additional material that would surely entice people to pick up the re-release. And they weren't going to release just one version of their special package either. How do I know this? Well, I went into Best Buy recently to purchase equipment for my computer. On my way out, I happened to see a large box with The Stranger cover image on it. I had to stop and check it out. Remastered album, check. But then came the good stuff. A recording of a concert Billy Joel gave at Radio City Music Hall in 1977, and some DVD with that I think was a making of the album documentary and some of his live performances (I obviously didn’t buy this one, mostly because it was selling for around $45 and I'm a notoriously frugal person). I was initially slightly bummed, but then I looked down. And there it was: the affordable version. No DVD, no special booklet. Just the remastered original album and the Radio City CD. And for just $15. But wait, there's more. Because, in typical Best Buy fashion, they had an exclusive deal. Their deal included a bonus disc with tracks recorded live at Nassau Coliseum in December, 1977. For those who aren't familiar, that's the coliseum on Long Island where the New York Islanders hockey team plays. Sweet Georgia Brown! Billy Joel practically owns the joint. A CD recording of one of his concerts there? Not quite the motherload, since it only includes 5 tracks, but I was still giddy with excitement and snatched up a copy.
Some background. In my collection of cassette tapes, I have several copies of Billy Joel concerts from the 1970s that were recorded off of Long Island radio station WBAB, which broadcast them. These are pure gold and some of my favorite recordings to listen to...when I have access to a cassette player. Billy Joel in his prime. It's my firm belief that Billy Joel was not meant to record in a studio. I think all of his albums should have been live albums. Anyone who has listened to the original recordings of the songs on Songs in the Attic can attest to that. But Songs in the Attic doesn't have songs like “Angry Young Man,” “The Entertainer,” and “Souvenir.”
The Radio City concert disc does! Granted some of the live recordings that Billy has released over the last few years have these songs on them. But his performances on 12 Gardens pales in comparison to his live performances from the 1970s. It's not even close. The purity and power of his voice, the way he attacks the songs, even his attitude in delivery are worlds apart. It's the performance of someone in his 30's {VERIFY}, not someone 30 or so years removed.
Remember that these songs were new back then. New enough to still have meaning. He hadn't gotten sick and tired of them yet. Hell, there's something incredible about hearing him say that “Just the Way You Are” is a new song, or dedicating “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant” to Christianos restaurant. I was too young when these songs came out to appreciate their freshness back then.
I can see why Columbia wouldn't have released the Radio City album before. Radio City doesn't have the capacity of a larger venue like Madison Square Garden or Nassau Coliseum, where you can get the roar of the crowd on the recording. It's a more intimate setting, even if it does hold a few thousand people. And Billy Joel feeds off of crowds. The performances of songs like “Captain Jack” aren't as heated and fiery as the ones on Songs In The Attic. But the quality of the performance is still there. In fact, I would suggest to Columbia that they release recordings of those concerts I have on cassette in my basement from Nassau Coliseum. I'd buy them.
The Best Buy bonus disc with the 5 songs from the Coliseum is sadly too short. It's got some of the same songs from the Radio City disc, but a Nassau Coliseum performance on his home turf is nothing like a New York City performance, so I expected the bonus disc to be a little piece of gold. And, while it’s ok, it’s nothing like the recordings I have on cassette. Sorry Best Buy, but the disc doesn’t include any of the banter that make his shows great (and that is present on the Radio City CD), and it only has one of the songs (“The Ballad of Billy The Kid”) that really get the Long Island crowd going, with its New York or Long Island references. What, no “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant”? No “New York State of Mind”?
So go out and buy this release, if not the full package with the fancy booklet and DVD. If you're a Billy Joel fan, you probably already have it. If you're not a fan, but you appreciate good songs and great live performances, you'll enjoy the bonus material. And The Stranger is a classic album that you should have in your collection if you don't already. If you’ve got an extra $100 bucks lying around, you may still be able to get the special edition that WLIW television (Long Island’s PBS station) was hawking earlier this week.
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