Billy Joel - Piano Man (Legacy Edition) (CD review and giveaway)

From the P/R firm: It’s hard to believe, but it’s been forty years since Billy Joel began his recording career. With songs like “Piano Man”, “She’s Always A Woman”, “My Life”, “Keeping The Faith”, “Only The Good Die Young”, and many, many, more, Billy has touched most of our lives in some way, and Sony Music / Legacy Recordings is commemorating those years with two very special releases, Piano Man (Legacy Edition) and Billy Joel - The Complete Albums Collection, both to be released on November 8. 


Columbia/Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, is commemorating forty years of Billy Joel's career as a solo recording artist with a pair of historic releases--a limited edition Billy Joel - The Complete Albums Collection boxed set and a two-disc Legacy Edition of 1973's Piano Man album (exclusively featuring a long-lost fabled radio concert from 1972)--each appealing to aficionados of the iconic American singer-songwriter-performer.

Billy Joel - The Complete Albums Collection brings together for the first time, in one elegantly designed box, the artist's complete catalog of 14 essential titles, from 1971's Cold Spring Harbor through 1979's Grammy-winning Album of The Year 52nd Street and 1981's live Songs In The Attic to 2001's Fantasies & Delusions, the first album of Billy's classical compositions. Each album has been recently remastered in 24 bit audio for this edition and comes in cardboard jackets replicating the original album covers and sleeves.  Random copies of The Complete Albums Collection ordered through the Official Billy Joel store (www.CompleteBillyJoel.com) will be autographed by Billy Joel, so big fans will want to be sure to order their copy there.

The forthcoming Legacy Edition of Piano Man, Billy Joel's 1973 debut album on Columbia Records, includes the 10-song original album in its entirety, remastered for this release in addition to a second disc premiering the first-ever release of Billy's mythic performance at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studio on April 15, 1972 (a year prior to his signing with Columbia). Philadelphia Daily News music writer Jon Takiff, an eye-witness to the event, has penned a new essay on the Sigma Sound show for the Legacy Edition of Piano Man.


The release and failure of a flawed Cold Spring Harbor, his first solo album, on an indie label in 1971 prompted then-struggling musician Billy Joel to go to Los Angeles and cut-his-chops incognito in local piano bars as Bill Martin (chronicled in Piano Man's title track). Unbeknown to Billy, WMMR, a top-rated Philadelphia FM station, had begun spinning "Captain Jack," a live track from a Billy Joel show they'd recorded at Sigma Sound, and the station's phones were going off-the-hook. The "Captain Jack" live recording was turning into a bonafide underground FM anthem, opening the door for a New York audition, competing major label interest, and a Columbia Records contract for the song's author and performer.


"Columbia was Bob Dylan's label," Billy said. "That was the deciding factor. At this time, you were allowed to build your career through FM radio, album tracks, concerts, singles and Bob Dylan was iconic for not being a hit singles type of artist. This was a company that knows how to build a career with an artist, so we decided to go with Columbia.


"I never sat down and said I'm gonna write a hit record. I wouldn't know a hit record if it bit me. I just wrote songs. I wrote them for me, I wrote them for the band, or I wrote a song for the women in my life. I was just writing songs for me. It's music that I wanted to hear. If I didn't hear certain kind of music on the radio, I realized, 'Well, if I write and record this it'll probably be on the radio and that's what I'll hear.' That's what I was thinking. Not so much about having hits, but about making music that I liked. I only really ever did it for me. That may sound selfish, but I'm the only person that I really know all that well."


The Legacy Edition of Piano Man makes available, for the first time ever, Billy's full performance at Sigma Sound, re-mixed from the original studio recording. The concert includes three Billy Joel songs--"Long, Long Time," "Josephine," and "Rosalinda"--which do not appear on any other albums by the artist and, of course, the performance of "Captain Jack" which launched one of the most remarkable careers in show business. The legendary Sigma Sound performance is available exclusively on the new Legacy Edition of Piano Man (and is not included on The Complete Albums Collection).


My take: I received a copy of one of these new CDs - the Legacy Edition of Piano Man.  If you are like me, you may not have ever heard Billy Joel from his very early years, which are reflected on this 2-CD set. The first CD in the set is an all new digitally remastered "Piano Man" CD and the second CD is a never-before-released Sigma Sound Studio recording from April 1972.  The set includes a nice booklet telling the tale of how Billy Joel's career was started during these years.  Forget everything you've ever heard from Billy Joel and prepared to be wowed by this amazing set.  I know I was.  This was Billy Joel as I had never heard him.  The Sound Studio recording includes the interplay dialogue between Billy and his producers and also includes several songs not on the "Piano Man" CD (see below for a listing). Both showcase a star on the rise and offer a glimpse of the singer he becomes.  If you are a Billy Joel aficionado, this release is a must have for you.

Billy Joel - Piano Man (Legacy Edition)


DISC ONE:
The Original Album


1. Travelin' Prayer
2. Piano Man
3. Ain't No Crime
4. You're My Home
5. The Ballad Of Billy The Kid
6. Worse Comes To Worse
7. Stop In Nevada
8. If I Only Had The Words (To Tell You)
9. Somewhere Along The Line
10. Captain Jack


DISC TWO:
The Sigma Sound Studios Performance


Introduction
Falling
Travelin' Prayer
The Ballad of Billy the Kid
She's Got A Way
Everybody Loves You Now
Nocturne
Turnaround
Long, Long Time
Captain Jack
Josephine
Rosalind
Tomorrow is Today


Recorded live in April 1972 at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, PA; Previously unreleased

The giveaway:  Win your own copy of "Piano Man (Legacy Edition)!"

To win: Leave me a comment telling me your favorite Billy Joel song or CD.  Be sure to leave your email address with your comment if you are not a blogger or your email is not easily found on your blog. This giveaway is open until 11:59 p.m., EST, Thursday, December 1, 2011. Good Luck!

Bonus entries: Get up to 8 extra entries for a total of 9 entries (please leave a separate comment for each extra entry):

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This review was sponsored by Sony Music / Legacy Recordings who provided the CD for review and giveaway. I was not compensated in any way except for the complimentary CD.