Customer Reviews

My Lives

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Below is some abridged information to help fans make their decision on this box set. Some of the information is from the included 58 page booklet and parts are from yours truly.


DISC ONE (CD): 1965-1980

(1) My Journey's End
Previously Unreleased. Originally Recorded 1965 - Sony BMG. By group "The Lost Souls". Billy on Vocals and Keyboards.

(2) Time And Time Again
Previously Unreleased. Originally Recorded 1968 - Sony BMG. By group "The Lost Souls". Billy on organ and vocals (with John Dizek vocals).

(3) Every Step I Take (Every Move I Make)
Originally Recorded 1968 - EMI. By the Group, "The Hassles". Billy on organ and vocals.

(4) You've Got Me Hummin'
Originally Recorded 1968 - EMI. By the group, "The Hassles". Billy on organd and background vocals.

(5) Amplifier Fire
Originally Recorded 1970 - Sony BMG. Group "Attila". Instrumental only with Billy Joel on Keyboards and Bass. Jonathan Small on Drums.

(6) Only A Man
Never Released Before Demo. Originally Recorded 1971.
[REVIEWER: Chorus continually says "It's Not Easy"]

(7) She's Got A Way
Album Version. From Cold Spring Harbor. 1971, 1981 Sony BMG.
[REVIEWER: Yes, different from Live version you always hear from Greatest Hits II]

(8) Oyster Bay
Never Released Before Demo. 1973. Billy on Harmonica, Keyboards and vocals.
[REVIEWER: Nice soft blues/rock feel. "Taking it easy" is chorus.]

(9) Piano Man
Never Release Before Demo. 1973. Billy on Harmonica, Keyboards and vocals.
[REVIEWER: Slightly different verse lyrics and slower than regular version. Not the full song. A bit of echo in some words that can be a bit annoying. Raw, but beautiful work that was in progress.]

(10) The Siegfried Line
Never Released Before Demo. 1973. Billy on Harmonica, Keyboards, and vocals.
[REVIEWER: To me, this sounds like Billy vocals over an accoustic guitar. Good, but another unreleased song that seems to brief. Good lyrics like "Soon, soon they say the war will be over. Home, home we will come home in the summer."]

(11) New Mexico
Never Released Before Demo. 1973. Early version of "Worse Comes To Worse" song.
[REVIEWER: Simply the piano, harmonica, lead and backup voice from Billy.]

(12) Cross To Bear
Never Before Released Demo. 1974. Joel on piano and vocals.
[REVIEWER: Sounds like a second duet that he and the late Ray Charles should have done]

(13) Miami 2017
Never Before Released Demo. 1975. Original songs is from Turnstiles Album, Columbia Recording.
[REVIEWER: "I've seen the lights go down on Broadway" done with just piano and vocals - slow and easy. Good length though]

(14) These Rhinestone Days
Never Before Released Demo. 1976. Early version of "I Loved These Days". Billy on vocal and piano alone.

(15) Everybody Has A Dream
Version from "The Stranger" album. 1977 - Sony BMG.

(16) Only The Good Die Young
Alternate Version Never Before Released. 1977. Original song from "The Stranger album.
[REVIEWER: Interesting version. Dare I suggest its reggae style. No, I wouldn't do that to him! Not quite reggae, but dangerously too close for my tastes...]

(17) Until The Night
Album version from 52nd Street. 1978 - Sony BMG. David Friedman on orchestral chimes and percussion.

(18) Zanzibar
Unfaded album version. 7/13/1978 - A&R Recording. Original was on "52nd Street" album.

(19) It's Still Rock And Roll To Me
Album Version. 1980 - Song BMG. From "Glass Houses" Album.


DISC TWO (CD): 1981-1988

(1) Captain Jack
Live Never Before Release Version. July 1981. Recorded live in Sparks Saloon on Huntington, Long Island.
[REVIEWER: Good polished version for a live cut.]

(2) The End Of The World
Never Before Released Demo. 1981 Media Sound. Early version of "Elvis Presley Blvd."

(3) The Prime Of Your Life
Never Before Released Demo. 12/7/1981 - A&R Recording. Early version of "The Longest Time"

(4) She's Right On Time
Album Version from "The Nylon Curtain". 1982 - Sony BMG.

(5) Elvis Presley Blvd.
Allentown B-side. 1982 - Sony BMG.

(6) Nobody Knows But Me
From a children's album, "In Harmony II". 1982 - CBS.

(7) An Innocent Man
Album Version from "An Innocent Man". 1983-Sony BMG.

(8) Christie Lee
Never Before Released Demo. 4/18/1983 - A&R Recording. Billy on Baldwin Acoustic Piano (SF-10), Fender Rhodes, Hammond B-3 and vocals.

(9) Easy Money
Album Version from "An Innocent Man". Also, on "Easy Money" Soundtrack. 1983-Sony BMG.

(10) And So It Goes
Never Before Released Demo. 1983. Billy on piano and vocal.
[Reviewer: On this one, personally I see little difference between this and the album version...]

(11) I'll Cry Instead
Live version from "An Innocent Man" B-side. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. 1983 - Sony BMG.

(12) Keeping The Faith
From 12" Dance Remix done on 1/20/1984 Hit Factory. 1983(?)-Sony BMG.
[REVIEWER: Although labeled a dance remix, not really any faster. Someone just added a back beat to me. Not a bad different version though, beat doesn't hurt the song any.]

(13) Modern Woman
Album Version from "Ruthless People" Soundtrack. 1985, 1986 - Sony BMG.

(14) Baby Grand
Duet with Ray Charles, this is version from album "The Bridge". 1986 - Sony, BMG.

(15) Getting Closer
Alternative Version Never Before Released. With Steve Winwood on Hammond Organ. Recorded at the Power Station. 1986. The original song was from album "The Bridge".

(16) House Of Blue Light
From "We Didn't Start The Fire" B-side. 4/8/1989 Hit Factory. 1989 - Sony BMG.

(17) Money Or Love
Never Before Released Demo. 4/8/1989. Billy on keyboard and vocals.

(18) The Times They Are A-Changin'
Live album version from "Kohuept" concert in Soviet Union. 1987 - Sony BMG.


DISC THREE (CD): 1989-1999

(1) The Downeaster "Alexa"
Album Version from "Storm Front". 1989 - Sony BMG.

(2) I Go To Extremes
Live Never Before Released. 4/1990 recorded in L.A. Sports Coliseum.

(3) Shout
From "Live At Yankee Stadium". 2000 - Sony BMG.

(4) All Shook Up
From "Honeymoon In Vegas". 1992 - Sony BMG.

(5) Heartbreak Hotel
From "Honeymoon In Vegas". 1992 - Sony BMG.

(6) When You Wish Upon A Star
From "Simply Mad About The Mouse". 1991 - Sony BMG.

(7) In a Sentimental Mood
From "A League Of Their Own" Soundtrack. 1992 - Sony BMG.

(8) Motorcycle Song
Never Before Released Demo. Early version of song, "All About Soul." 1992.
[REVIEWER: As much as I like "All About Soul", this is a good alternate version that should have been called "Jericho Road". In some ways, I like this song better as Billy doesn't seem to be forcing it as much...]

(9) You Picked A Real Bad Time
The "All About Soul" B-side. 1992, 1993 - Song BMG.

(10) River Of Dreams
Never Before Released alternate version. March & April, 1993. Hit Factory. Originally version from "River Of Dreams.
[REVIEWER: Similar, but bridge goes into "Lullaby {Goodnight, My Angel}" for a twist.

(11) A Hard Day's Night
From "A Voyage On The River Of Dreams - Live From The River Of Dreams Tour". 1997 - Sony BMG. Written again by Lennon & McCartney.

(12) Light As The Breeze
From album "Greatest Hits Vol. 3". 1995, 1997 - A&M Records. Clint Black on Harmonica. Trisha Yearwood on Background Vocals.

(13) To Make You Feel My Love
From album "Greatest Hits Vol. 3". 1997 - Sony BMG. Written by Bob Dylan.

(14) Hey Girl
1997 - Sony BMG. Everette Harp on the Saxaphone.

(15) Why Should I Worry
From Walt Disney's "Oliver & Company". 1988, 1998.

(16) Where Were You (On Our Wedding Day)?
Album version from "Runaway Bride" Soundtrack. 1999 - Sony BMG.

(17) Highway 61 Revisited
Never Before Released Demo. 4/28/99 Hit Factory. Written and originally performed by Bob Dylan.
[Reviewer: Hopefully the skipping is only on my CD... If you haven't heard it before, it jams!]


DISC FOUR (CD): 2000-

(1) Movin' Out
From "2000 Years The Millenium Concert". 2000-Sony BMG.

(2) You May Be Right
Never Before Released Live Version with Elton John from July 1994 Giants Stadium.
[REVIEWER: This is particularly cool for me since I was there at Giants Stadium in July '94 to see them.]

(3) Big Shot
From "The Essential Video Collection". 2001.

(4) Don't Worry Baby
From "An All Star Tribute To Brian Wilson". 2001, 2003.

(5) Goodnight, Saigon (Vietnam Veterans Version)
From Live Performance on "The Essential Video Collection". 2001.
[REVIEWER: What makes this different from the KOHUEPT and Greatest Hits versions?]

(6) Los Angelenos
Live version from "The Essential Video Collection". 2001. Original version was on "Summer of 1980".

(7) New York State Of Mind
From "America: A Tribute To Heroes". 2001 Sony BMG.

(8) Opus 1. Soliloquy (On A Separation)
From Fantasies & Delusions. 2001-BMG.
[REVIEWER: Enter his post-rock phase. Classical song over 11 minutes long]

(9) Opus 8. Suite For Piano (Star-Crossed)
From Fantasies & Delusions. 2001-BMG. Part I is Innamorato, Part II is Sorbetto, and Part III is Delusion.

(10) Elegy: The Great Peconic
Performed by The London Symphony Orchestra. 2001 - Dawn Treader.


DISC FIVE (DVD): Live From The River Of Dreams

DVD includes No Man's Land, Pressure, Ballad of Billy the Kid, Leningrad, Allentown, My Life, I Go To Extremes, Shades Of Grey, The River Of Dreams, Goodnight Saigon, We Didn't Start The Fire, A Hard Day's Night, Big Shot and Piano Man.
[REVIEWER: Didn't have a chance to look at the DVD, but a note in the box says you can "share the studio experience with Billy Joel" by inserting disc 5 (DVD) in your PC. "Add loops, even your own vocals. Create your own remixes & mashups."]


BOTTOM LINE:
This set contains 21 new unreleased tracks along with a great amount of already released Billy Joel material. Some of the material probably was unnecessary to put here. That said, it would be very difficult for one to gather many of the previously released tracks from the many older soundtracks (even a children's album in one case). The brand new tracks in this set will be appreciated by diehard fans the most, since few are polished enough to be released on an album.

The fact that Columbia released some songs EXACTLY from their original Billy Joel album seems a bit unnecessary to me. Billy already has 3 greatest hits albums that do the job for many of these songs. However, I recommend this set as a great supplement to all Billy Joel fans who want to experience the raw work of his career.

If this review helped you, then please rate that it was helpful. The positive feedback helps me to write more reviews.

I would love to rate this collection five stars - it certainly SHOULD deserve it. However, the strange tracklist puts me off a bit, and thus one star less.

This box is for the serious Billy Joel collector (and I am one). Many of the hits are NOT represented here, even in alternate versions or demos. Some are though, and those are a treat to hear in alternate versions.

However, there are a few issues with some of the tracks that have been included. Most albums are represented with one studio track - "Everybody Has A Dream" from The Stranger; "She's Right On Time" from The Nylon Curtain - but then there are some tracks like "It's Still Rock And Roll To Me" presented in their original versions. Why not a different track from that album? The previous greatest hits box covers that song and others. I feel that the content overlap, although few, is distracting and doesn't make sense.

The sequencing is also strange - not quite chronological. It's a weird juxtaposition of tracks and I would have preferred a disc of demos, a disc of live tracks, a disc of alternate versions, and so on.

The meat here though is the content, and there's plenty. It's interesting to hear early versions of tracks like "The Longest Time" and "All About Soul" - these only have the melody is common and provides an interesting look at the creative process.

The book is nice, but not as extensive as I had hoped. There's credits for each track but no in-depth notes on each - some are just briefly touched upon in the essay.

The DVD is nice - and includes software to remix "Zanzibar" and a live version of "I Go To Extremes". Isolating those tracks is very interesting and entertaining. The River Of Dreams concert included feels a bit like a ripoff though - it's an edit for the Disney Channel and doesn't really represent a full Billy Joel show.

The only complaint that one might have with the musical content (aside from the handful of standard tracks) is that there are some great songs we've heard on bootlegs for years (like "Rosalinda") that aren't covered. We know there's tons of Billy Joel demos in the can. Also, some live tracks from the 1976 promo LP Souvenir would have been tasty - they were mastered for LP so they must be around somewhere. Having said that, it's nice to have B-sides and non-LP cuts like "Elvis Presley Blvd." and "Nobody Knows But Me" in the digital format. There's also an amusing hidden track on the last disc that I'll keep secret.

All in all a great package - but one I'll be listening to in my favorite sequence instead of the way it's presented here.

The last song of Billy's Joel's album, "The River of Dreams" seemed to be somewhat appropriate. On the song, "Famous Last Words", Billy sings the words "These are the last words I have to say; That's why this took me so long to write; There will be other words some other day; But that's the story of my Life". Billy Joel would soon proclaim that his 13th studio album, 1993's "The River of Dreams" would be his last original Rock/Pop album he would do. Following that album, Billy Joel would assume a place as an "elder statesman" of Rock. Instead of creating new music, he would spend his time touring, doing the College Lecture series (discussing his music), and dabbling in Classical Music. In a way, Billy would go into semi-retirement. As for new releases, with the exception of a classical release, "Fantasies and Delusions", most of Billy's releases would be devoted to live albums. In 1997, Billy released his first boxed set entitled "The Complete Hits Collection: 1973-1997". For the most part this was just a compilation of the three volumes of Billy's "Greatest Hits" albums with an additional that contained materials from Billy's "college lecture" series. This boxed set was a decent collection, but left many of his fans craving for more. Thus in 2006, Billy released his second boxed set entitled "My Lives". This 4 disc, 1 DVD collection is more of an anthology set covering unreleased songs, demo recordings, B-sides, rarities, soundtrack recordings, and live recordings - including a DVD recorded in Frankfurt from the "The River of Dreams" tour.

I've always looked at Billy Joel's career as having three phases. The first phase is what I call "Old Billy Joel". This basically includes all of his material from "Cold Spring Harbor" through "Turnstiles". These are perhaps the strongest days as the piano sound, but they also contain most of Joel's least heard material. The next phase is what I call "Middle Billy Joel". This was his most successful period and covers from "The Stranger" to "Billy Joel Greatest Hits Volume 1 and 2". Joel would go through a transition during this phase - expanding his musical horizons and exploring different avenues. The final phase is the "Later Billy Joel" phase - this covers "The Bridge" to "River of Dreams". "My Lives" actually extends this by including what I call "Pre Billy Joel" - materials from the 1960s with "60s" bands he was associated with. It also includes material from Joel's classical album, "Fantasies and Delusions".

There is so much that this collection has to offer. Here are nine highlights to look out to:

1. The pre-Billy Joel material really gives us a good feel for Billy's roots in Rock. The early songs that make up the first 5 tracks demonstrate Billy's roots in "60s Rock" (psychedelic, R&B, Beatle-sque). These tracks include Billy as part of other bands (The Lost Souls, The Hassles,Attila)

2. Perhaps the strongest point of this set are the "Alternative Versions of Songs". These are recordings with different lyrics and titles that became Billy Joel classics and songs released on albums. Included in this collection are" "New Mexico" (became "Worse Comes to Worst"); "These Rhinestone Days" (became "I Loved These Days"); "The End of the World" (became the B-side "Elvis Presley Blvd"); "The Prime of Your Life" (became "The Longest Time"); and "Motorcycle Song" (became "All About Soul"). I think "Motorcycle Song" is the best of the group.

3. Another strong point are "Alternate Takes of Songs". These are modified demo versions from an arrangement and melody standpoint. Included in this collection are: "Piano Man"; "Miami 2017"; "Only the Good Die Young"; "Christie Lee"; "And So It Goes"; "I Go to Extremes"; "Keeping the Faith" (a 12-inch version); and "The River of Dreams".

4. One thing many people may not realize is how strong a cover artist Billy Joel is. "Shout", "All Shook Up", "A Hard Day's Night", "Heartbreak Hotel", "Hey Girl", and "When You Wish Upon a Star" are the strongest covers that are included. Despite not including the "whole song", "Shout" might be the best cover Billy has done.

5. The live DVD from "The River of Dreams" tour is very good. It focuses on more of Billy's material from the second half of his career. The video quality is outstanding. I really enjoyed the inclusion of "No Man's Land" - an underrated track. Billy picking up the guitar for "We Didn't Start the Fire" and "A Hard Day's Night" is amazing. The only negative is that the disc doesn't show enough of Billy's sense of humor that he normally demonstrates in concert.

6. The collection does include several album cuts. I'm not sure if they are put in for filler or not, but with the exception of "It's Still Only Rock and Roll to Me" - these are cuts that haven't been seen on any previous "greatest hits" collections.

7.The 4th Disc includes a "hidden track". Billy has always demonstrated a sense of humor and this "hidden track" is a promo from 1980 for his "Glass Houses" album that I found very entertaining.

8.When it comes to Billy's work with Elton John, there isn't much out on the marketplace. It was nice they included live duets of "You May Be Right" and "A Hard Day's Night" with Elton John. (It should be noted that "A Hard Day's Night" was recorded in Frankfurt and is included on the DVD, but the DVD version doesn't have Elton John).

9.A good boxed set is always going to include a good booklet and "My Lives" is no exception. There is a detailed discography of the tracks as well as a list of awards. There also superb write-up on Billy by Anthony DeCurtis as well as some testimonials by people who knew Billy.

This "anthology"-style collection is as good as it gets. This collection not only will keep the serious Billy Joel fan happy, but even keep the casual fan entertained. Highly recommended.

As a kid, Billy Joel was one of the first musicians I really got into. I would buy everything, seeking out some of the obscure tracks, alternate takes, and prefame recordings found here. While my fandom for Joel has faded a bit, I sorta jumped at the opportunity to give this a whirl.

I enjoyed hearing a number of these cuts, including early versions of classics such as I've Loved these Days (These Rhinestone Days) and For the Longest Time (The Prime of Your Life). Many of the early versions and demos are clearly unfinished, sometimes with a guiding vocal or Joel abruptly interrupting Only the Good Die Young to say "big question mark, I don't like this part right here." There are also some good songs that never made the cut, like Oyster Bay, a song truly inspired by Joel's beginnings, or the b-side Elvis Presely Boulevard.

But as I was listening to this, a couple of things caught my attention. For one, the quality of these recordings leaves something to be desired. You would think that they would clean these up a bit or have better sources for some of the b-side material. Instead, you have to settle for some of the quite unremarkable prefame recordings (they're bad in both sound and song quality), and some recordings clearly sourced from old vinyl (they don't have a better source for elvis presley boulevard????). Then there are some clear throwaways, like the 12" version of Keeping the Faith (also sourced from vinyl).

Then there's the DVD. Trust me on this one kids, this one's a stinker. Joel's performance is okay, but if you really want to make a solid collection of rarities, I would be culling back to some of those concerts where his performances were much more top notch. The old Long Island concert, not available yet on DVD, would've been a better inclusion.

So at last, I checked out the liner notes. At quick glance, I thought I'd get a lot of insight into these recordings from the piano man himself, but alas - it's from a journalist and a couple of Joe's collaborators from waaaaaaaayyyyyy back, with only a few recent words from Joel himself.

Overall, there are some jewels on this set, but the jewels are in much better fashion and often overshadowed by poor quality or unneccessary recordings. It's a shame such an important artist cant get a better package together. For an example of a better approach to this, I feel Rhino does a better job, remastering the recordings, offering extensive insightful liner notes from the artists themselves, and offering a wealth of quality rare material (i.e., Elvis Costello, the Cure.)

For what it's worth, die hards should like this. Casual Joel fans best borrow from a friend if they can or get it second hand. There is an interesting, fun little bonus treat at the end of disc 4 that Joel fans should get a kick out of!

I am a biased Billy Joel fan....by that I mean this collection is for hard-core fans and not those just into the greatest hits. So Billy semi-digs into the vaults....there is somethings missing (famous radio broadcast from philly circa 1972 with unreleased tunes! not here!). Some of the demos are fun to hear (again you have to be into hearing outtakes and demos-which I am, just like The Beatles Anthology). You do get the feeling that they threw somethings on here, well just to put them on the boxed set. That being said there are lots of real gems....the live Captain Jack from a small Bar in Huntington Long Island, the demos of unreleased tunes like "oyster bay". Disc 3 & 4 do wear thin....do we need all the tunes from greatest hits 3? All the covers? no....we could've used the two songs that only appeared on hits 1 & 2 if that were the case. Disc four has a great live take of Los Angelenos (probably the audio of a film clip).....but they do not tell us the exact date and year of the song....why?

Finally the reason for giving this set 4 stars....because they do not have a 3 and a half rating and because the DVD.....

Live from the river of dreams tour...already from the title one has to wonder...why not go through the vaults and pick live clips from through out his career? The European TV performances that are all over ebay from 1978, some earlier clips, the live from long island tape had good performances...Live in Russia, yankee stadium.....instead they put on one show from the 90's that Disney broadcast....very very lazy of the compliers....and a very poor choice. For those of you who have seen the DVD I think you will agree....his band is on fire, Liberty and Crystal rock out....however.....maybe Billy is tired, cranky...after all at this point he is going through a divorce from one of the hottest woman on the planet....Billy really has the least energy I have ever seen him with (I have seen him personally over a dozen times live-including 2006 garden show). He literally "phones in" ever performance here...very disappointed they used this DVD....Ever performer has "off" nights so I am not bashing Billy, even at his weakest he still is head and shoulders over a lot of others....but if this was an "off" night...which when you see this DVD it clearly was...why use it? Sony you could have done a little more research, dug a little deeper and this WHOLE set would've been much better...the DVD is just lazy bad choice.

Hopefully sony will release some vintage Billy performances like they do with Dylan....if they don't think they will sell they should just look at how many shows Billy sold out this tour at the Garden!!! Give us rare live Billy! Bottom line 1976, Philly Sigma sound 1972, CW Post 1977....the list goes on and on!

Like other purchasers of this box set, I'm a huge Billy Joel fan. I've listened to all his albums, seen him live, etc. And I looked forward to the day this box set came out.

First off, there is a ton of good stuff on here. Early versions of hits like All About Soul and For The Longest Time, demos of songs like Miami 2017, B-sides, soundtrack hits, and lots of covers -some good and some bad (my faves: Hey Girl and Dont Worry Baby).

But I have two HUGE beefs with the box set:

The "one-disc-per-decade" format is just plain stupid. Billy Joel's best work was done in the '70's. After all, The Stranger and Turnstiles are two of the albums of all time. Not to mention Piano Man, 52nd Street, etc. This era deserved a lot more than 1 CD shared with Billy's really early stuff.

And Joel jumped the shark after Stormfront (though that CD and River have some good songs). Yet the Stormfront-and-beyond era inexplicably gets 2 discs worth of material! Ridiculous. I'll take more of his 80's stuff.

My second beef: why do we need a repeat of album tracks like "innocent man," "still rock 'n roll" "baby grand" "easy money" etc.?? Anyone buying this box set undoubtedly has all these songs on CD. No need to reproduce them on here. I'm sure there are lots more rarities out there that they couldve put on here. This stuff, to me, is just plain filler and a way for the record company to make this box set look like it's got more content.

Basically, I love the rarities on this box, but it just disappoints me knowing how much better it could've been. Maybe next time they'll get it right.

As a huge Billy Joel fan, this box set is a long time in the making. I always got the impression from him in some interviews that he didn't have a lot of stuff like this to release. I guess he does. The box set is not your typical set. This isn't really a greatest hits kind of thing. That's good because we already have that. This is much better than having another one of those. So, let's get started. There are B-sides, demos, rarities, live tracks, different versions of songs, key album tracks, soundtrack songs and so on. There are a lot of goodies here folks. The tracks from his early bands The Lost Souls, The Hassles, and Attia, are interesting. The first track is too muddy sounding tho. The demos of some famous songs are incredibly interesting, especially the demo version of "Piano Man". "Only The Good Die Young" is included here, but in a more reggae sounding kind of way. Interesting. "Elvis Presley Blvd." is a B-side, and it's real catchy. It's a mystery why it wasn't am illegitimate release. Most of the B-sides are all great songs. "Nobody Knows But Me" from a children's album is catchy. "House Of Blue Light" is a smokey, jazzy number, and the best of the bunch is the funky "You Picked A Real Bad Time". Billy's ' Elvis ' days are here on "All Shook Up", and a more bluesy rendition of "Heartbreak Hotel". There are a handful of live tracks of songs from other artists that is pretty cool. The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Brian Wilson are all accounted for. Even Billy's classical output is here. This is a great overview of this kind of material from Billy's lengthy career. I hear some of the negative reviews and it seems they don't get it. Some original album tracks are here, and I see they are probably here because this box set is a showcase for other material that makes Billy up as an artist. These album tracks, some of them not even singles, represent great work that might not get noticed as much as it should. The 5th disc is a DVD of a concert from Billy's 1993 tour for "The River Of Dreams". The set also includes a booklet with an overview of Billy's career, and an essay by Rolling Stone writer Anthony DeCurtis. There are a number of very cool, never before seen, photos in it as well. The demos of some famous songs are not all complete, and that's okay. It doesn't really matter. It's still very interesting to hear what these beloved songs we all know were like in their early conceptions. This is a very worthy set and Billy did some mighty fine picking. The essay says that this set showcases the evolution of a superstar. More truer words cannot be said.

Let's get this out of the way first. I am a HUGE Billy Joel fan, SO I AM BIASED. This is not a perfect set, but for several reasons it does deserve 5 stars. (I'd give it 4.5, but I had to round up.) Sure, I'd have loved to have alternate versions of "THE HITS." Sure, there are things missing ("Where's the Revolution", "Long, Long Time", "Great Ships, Great Oceans", the original "You Can Make Me Free" w/ Guitar solo just to name a couple...), however to complain about that just misses the point. AS A DIE HARD FAN, THERE ARE THINGS ON HERE THAT I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF. That is cool. Not to worry, I am sure that next year there will be a 1 disc "Best of the Box" with some of these missing tracks on it. Until then, enjoy this for what it is, a largely Hit-free collection of some should have been hits, and rarities. I am just glad for some "new" Billy Joel material!

First, a note of caution to Christmas shoppers: This is NOT the set for the casual fan who wants all the hits and best known tracks. That would be the previous box set, "Greatest Hits Vol. 1-3."

As a hardcore Billy Joel fan, I was excited just by just the announcement of this set of mostly rarities, one-shots, demos, live tracks, and alternate versions. Finally, we'd have Billy's own version of Springsteen's "Tracks" or Dylan's "The Bootleg Series" for diehards!

However, the end result - while offering some gems and songs I'd never heard before (Lost Souls tracks, "Oyster Bay," "Money or Love"), still left plenty to be desired. As a whole, the set tips a bit too much to post-Nylon Curtain material. And some song choices are downright puzzling. Why only five tracks from the Holy Trinity of "Stranger-52nd Street-Glass Houses" (and all those familiar songs mostly lifted off the records), but three classical pieces? Were there no outtakes or unused songs in the vaults? It also offers a bit too many cover tunes.

I was also disappointed in the accompanying booklet which does list personnel for each track, but no remembrances or reflections from Joel or others. Photos are not even I.D.'d (poor Liberty! Poor Jon Small!), and why feature the cover for the "Ruthless People" soundtrack and not, say, "Streetlife Serenade?"

The DVD was a nice added touch. Now I can only pine for a re-release of the "Live from Long Island" video.

I know this might sound like it's too negative. At this point, I am excited about ANY new release from one of my favorite artists of all time. And as a lifelong fan whose first rock concert ever was on Billy's "Innocent Man" tour, this box set and the upcoming 2006 tour is very much cause for celebration. Hell, I even forced myself to watch the Ellen Degeneres show today just to see Billy's interview (with Mark Rivera AND Richie Cannata on saxes!). I only wish that "My Lives" lived up more to its promised and potential.

Well first off let me say that Billy Joel is the best overall singer/songwriter/musician ever, so there is no way that a career-spanning box set could not be 5 stars. This could have been better though, at least for the average Billy Joel fan. There are SO MANY great unreleased songs missing. "Where's the Revolution" and "Great Ships, Great Oceans" are better than any of the unreleased songs on here. Live recordings from his 1977 CW Post concert as well as other performances (Bottom Line and other lives shows from his early days) would have also made this box set much better. That time period was when Billy was in his prime as a musician, but this set focuses way too much on his later career. Not to mention there are some songs that don't fit (why is It's still rock and roll to me on here?) and some parts of the set are out of order. I actually like the idea of making this set include rarities and lesser-known songs that have already been released though.
The average Billy Joel fan should still want to purchase this set, since it is put together really well (remember how poorly the Beatle's Capitol box set was put together last year? luckily the music saved it). The track list is also very good overall, and the DVD is a nice bonus. But the people who should defninitely want to buy "My Lives" are the die-hard Billy Joel fans (like me) who thought that they already owned every demo and outtake that exists. I found several songs on here that I've never heard before, and I must admit that I'd rather find new material than remastered versions of the unreleased songs I already own, although that would have been nice as well (It's almost as if billy knew this. many of the unreleased songs on here don't appear on any bootlegs!) I didn't even know that "The Siegfried Line" existed, and hearing "The End of the World" for the first time was awesome! I like that version much better than "Elvis Presley Blvd." Having good-sounding versions of B-sides and other rare released songs is another great feature of this set.
And hey, you never know, maybe someday they'll release a CD exclusively of unreleased songs that billy made in the early 70's (there's an entire album's worth of material there), as well as maybe releasing an entire concert from before he was famous (CW Post, best bootleg i've ever heard). For now this will definitely do though. I was able to fill up nearly an entire CD of songs on this set that I didn't previously own, including a listenable version of the unreleased gem "Oyster Bay." No matter what kind of music fan you are, "My Lives" is worth buying. Other than music by the Beatles, Billy Joel's music is probably the best there is!