The Stranger [Enhanced, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Billy Joel | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 20, 1998)
• Original Release Date: 1977
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000DCHC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (147 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,959 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This, pop superstar Joel's breakout LP, came years after he first hit the charts with the novelty-ish "Piano Man." In the meantime, the New York-based songwriter released two lackluster and stylistically confused platters that blunted interesting songs with a sound that was neither Elton mellow nor Elton attitude. Produced by Phil Ramone, The Stranger took those who had written Joel off as a one-hit wonder by surprise ("Just the Way You Are" was among the biggest hits of 1977) and it remains a solid introduction to Joel's restless muse at a crucial point in his career. It invited a few comparisons to Bruce Springsteen, with its prominent sax breaks, hard-edged rebel-rockers ("Only the Good Die Young"), and slice-of-life dramatics ("Scenes From an Italian Restaurant"), recounting life in a lower middle-class (Eastern Urban) setting; but Joel's chameleonic, formalist approach to pop wasn't to be so easily pigeonholed (Glass Houses, The Nylon Curtain, An Innocent Man...). --Don Harrison

Product Description

His 1977 #2 smash, with Just the Way You Are , and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 73 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Terrible remaster of original album; great live show unnecessarily edited July 9, 2008

By David Pearlman TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

OK, first things first: The Stranger is the album that made Billy Joel a household name throughout the world (though not because it was a breakthrough album in terms of content; the earlier "Turnstiles" is at least as good). It is a very well recorded album with many of Joel's best loved songs. It has been reissued multiple times in the digital era (the original CD, the remastered CD, the SACD version, etc.). It is hard to imagine anyone interested in this expensive expansive edition doesn't already own AT LEAST one other digital version of the album, so the inclusion of the album on this package is a money grab.

Unfortunately, it's worse than that: The remaster of The Stranger included here is far-and-away the WORST remaster of the album to ever appear. It is extremely compressed and maximized, which means it sound nice and LOUD, but it sacrifices all sorts of subtleties of the music itself. If you are only interested in The Stranger, go and buy yourself any other edition. Or if you already own The Stranger in some other digital edition, keep that if you buy this: The version here is just plain junk.

Now, on to the bonus CD which, honestly, is the lure of this package. On the second CD you get a TRUNCATED version of the shows that Billy Joel played in New York City in Summer 1977. This was Joel and his band at the height of their powers, and with a trunkload of great material (from the Stranger and earlier albums) to draw upon. To any fan of Billy Joel, this is essential, terrific stuff. UNFORTUNATELY, you don't get an entire show (neither a real entire show, nor a cut-and-paste from separate performances to simulate an entire show). This is a real travesty and begs the question "Why?" The source material to offer a full show is available. Someone made the decision to offer the abridged version here, and, given the relatively high cost of this package and that fact that a full show from era of Joel's career is not legitimately available anywhere is just criminal. What's here is excellent, but it's just not enough.

(Note: There is also a more deluxe version of this set available, which also includes a DVD and more elaborate packaging. The DVD on that version includes an hour long show originally recorded for the UK's Old Grey Whistle Test. Again, it's excellent, but does not represent a full show of the era (even if an hour is all that Joel and his band recorded for that fixed format show). There's also a documentary and a bit of other ephemera that's nice, but won't merit repeat viewings in most households.)

In all, this is an opportunity missed. A poor remaster of the original album coupled with a tantalizing but unsatisfying abbreviated version of a classic era show. Bad decisions were made here and--sadly--I'd guess there won't be a another physical media attempt to correct them in the future.

Hardcore Joel fans will buy this, as well they should (what legitimate alternatives are there for the live material?) But anyone on the fence should think hard before jumping.

69 of 74 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Stranger remains frozen in time as a great album. April 25, 2000

By Leonard Fleisig TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

I have always suspected that certain musicians, Bill Joel and Paul Simon come to mind, resent being told by fans that one of their earlier albums remains a great favorite. Both Joel & Simon have graduated, apparently, from musician to artist and I imagine they would prefer that their fans share and appreciate their development and evolution. However, the album listener is not burdened by the pains of artistic growth. Rather, the music that I heard at a certain time in my life remains frozen in time and memory. For me, the Stranger is the best album Joel ever recorded. It has been a long time since I actually sat down and listened to the entire Stranger album. I had forgotten how good it was. Every song works. Even "Just the way you are" which became one of the all-time vomit inducing wedding songs of the '70s sounds good in the context of this album. I still care about Brenda and Eddie. I grew up in Queens at the same time Joel was growing up in Long Island. I knew Brenda and Eddie - or lots of people who could pass for Brenda and Eddie. Only the good die young still has that parochial school resonance and lust-driven undertones that it had almost 30 years ago. So sit down - have a bottle of red, have a bottle of white - it all depends on your appetite - and enjoy this great cd.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Piano Man's Best July 26, 2000

By Thomas Magnum HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

Billy Joel had tasted some success before the release of The Stranger, with the hit single "Piano Man", but this is the album that made him a superstar. The album is a virtual greatest hits record with most of the 9 songs being instantly recognizable. The songs move from sentimental ballads like "Just The Way You Are" (which won the 1978 Record of the Year Grammy) and "She's Always A Woman" to rockers like "Only The Good Die Young" and "Anthony's Song". "The Stranger" is a strange combination of what seems like two different songs. It opens and closes with a jazzy piano riff while the middle of the song is a hard rocker. "Vienna" is one of the lesser known songs on the album, but is a personal favorite of mine with it's sing-a-long chorus and what sounds like an old squeeze box in the break. The centerpiece of the album is "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" which tells the story of the rise and fall of Brenda & Eddie. Some of the songs may be a bit overplayed, but the reason is that they're great and timeless songs.