Billy Joel
The Stranger: 30 Year Anniversary Legacy Edition
Sony Legacy
By George W. Harris

Back in the 70s, the big trend was the "singer-songwriter" that
featured some of the best tunes of the day. Joni Mitchell, Randy
Newman, Laura Nyro were some of the major names. Billy Joel was also
initially on that path, until he put together a rock band and met up
with producer Phil Ramone who tried to bring out the inner Springsteen
in Joel. Whatever happened, "The Stranger" became Joel's best seller,
and surprisingly, his strongest collection of material, particularly
for the jazz fan. It paid the bills for altoist Phil Woods, whose solo
on "Just The Way You Are" became the most hummable alto melody in the
past 30 years. Joe Williams used to sing this tune as part of his
repertoire for years; other songs on the million selling reissue are
just as good and should be re-examined by the jazz community. "Scenes
From An Italian Restaurant", "Always A Woman" and "Vienna" are just
too good to pass by. There are no alternate takes or unreleased songs,
but so what/ This one's a gem.

Also included is a cd from a concert at Carnegie Hall in June of 77,
just before recording "The Stranger. The band, and Joel, are cooking as
a unit, and the concert includes a beautiful and earthy take of "New
York State Of Mind", another tune that should become part of the jazz
canon. The accompanying DVD features a gig originally put out by the
BBC in March of 78. The music and show are first rate; "Movin' Out" has
aged well over the years, as have so many of Joel's tunes. A
documentary of how "The Stranger" came together, as well as a promo
video of "Just The Way" and "The Stranger" complete this 3 disc set.
Great stuff, and it shows that not everything from the 70s has dated
poorly. Joel definitely survived and has aged well.