The Stranger: 30th Anniversary [Limited Edition] (Deluxe Boxed Set - 2 CDs + 1 DVD) [BOX SET] [EXTRA TRACKS] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Billy Joel

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 8, 2008)
• Original Release Date: July 8, 2008
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Box set, Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Sony Legacy
• ASIN: B00168PTG0
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,373 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Limited Edition 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition - 3 Discs (2 CDs and 1 DVD)

CD of "The Stranger" remastered by the original album producer, Phil Ramone

CD of "Live At Carnegie Hall 1977"- previously unreleased - On June 3, 1977, one month prior to the recording of The Stranger album, Billy and his band performed at the historical Carnegie Hall.

Bonus DVD of BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test - approx 60 minutes PLUS 2 live promotional videos

48 Page Booklet with liner notes by Rolling Stone Editor, David Fricke and un-seen photos from the original album photo shoot

The Stranger CD Tracklist:
Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
The Stranger
Just The Way You Are
Scenes From An Italian Restaurant
Vienna
Only the Good Die Young
She's Always A Woman
Get It Right The First Time
Everybody Has Dream

"Live At Carnegie Hall 1977" CD
On June 3, 1977, one month prior to the recording of The Stranger album, Billy and his band performed at the historical Carnegie Hall in NYC. This show has been brilliantly restored to be released for the first time as part of the 30th Anniversary edtion of The Stranger

"The Old Grey Whistle Test" DVD
Billy Joel made a special appearance on BBC2 television music show "The Old Grey Whistle Test" in early 1978 during the promotion for The Stranger album. The show is approximately 60 minutes and aired only once on BBC2. The Old Grey Whistle Test was an influential BBC2 television music show that ran from September 1971 to 1987. The Old Grey Whistle Test was also the template for what later became MTV.
"Miami 2017"
"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"
"New York State Of Mind"
"The Entertainer"
"She's Always A Woman"
"Root Beer Rag"
"Just The Way You Are"
"Souvenir"
"Ain't No Crime"
"Only The Good Die Young"

PLUS Live Promotional videos:
"The Stranger"
"Just The Way You Are"

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is one for the collectors!, July 8, 2008

By	Allen Chapman (STAFFORD SPRINGS, CT USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This new boxed set is released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Billy Joel's breakthrough album "The Stranger". The album, originally released in 1977, made Billy Joel a household name. To celebrate the 30th anniversary Columbia has put together a nice set. The first disc is the original album, the second disc is a live recording from his sold out Carniege Hall shows in June of '77. Aside from the pristine sound on this disc, what's interesting is to hear him introduce two of the songs from "The Stranger" that would become classics but at the time were unknown to audiences. "Just The Way You Are", in a slightly different arrangement receives only a smattering of applause at the intro, while "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" which is a huge concert favorite today receives almost no applause at the introduction. Overall it's a really great show.
The DVD includes two live promotional videos for "The Stranger" and "Just The Way You Are", a half hour documentary about the making of the album with recent interviews from both Billy and album producer Phil Ramone. Among other things you learn that the sax solo in "Just The Way You Are" is a combination of several solos that Ramone spliced together so that it was seamless. Also on the DVD is an additional one hour concert from England.
Depending on where you pick this set up, you will also get a bonus disc. If you get it at Best Buy it has five live tracks recorded in December of 1977 at Nassau Colliseum, if you get it at Target you get a DVD with live videos from previously released collections.
Finally the set also includes a replica of the Sold Out poster for Carniege Hall, a book about the album loaded with unseen photos and memorbilia all on glossy pages. The coolest thing though is a replica of Billy's lyric notebook for "The Stranger" with his handwritten lyrics and notes about the album. You even get the grease stains on the pages!!!
A very cool set, but one for diehard collectors. For the casual fan pick up the 2 disc set that contains just the original album and live Carniege Hall disc.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Record Industry will never get it., July 20, 2008

By	Sound Chaser "musicamatian" (NY) - See all my reviews

Overall I'm happy with my purchase but in the end all I got was a very expensive dvd that wasn't even remastered in Dolby Digital and a partial live show from Carnegie Hall. Lets start the review off with the remaster of the original album. It's one of the worst remasters ever and I'm very disappointed. I find myself constantly twitching in anticipation of having to continually turn the volume down because the audio hits saturation on a continual basis. It's almost as if the engineer either forgot to compress the soundwave before adding amplitude or this was someones first attempt at remastering a cd. Either way I'm very happy that I own the SACD as it is simply perfection. Next up is the Carnegie Hall concert. This show is very good especially since it has the mini orchestra which adds a uniqueness to owning it and The sound is also very good, but the downfall lies in the fact that they cut about 10 songs from the original show, probably because they didn't want to make the box set larger than it already is. Next they have the audacity to include 5 songs from the Nassau 77 show (purchased at best buy) when in fact the masters for the entire 24 song show is available and has been in circulation as a bootleg for many years. Even if you add the four tracks from Nassau that aren't on the Carnegie Hall show the concert is still not complete. Any Serious Billy Joel fan already owns a high quality bootleg of the Nassau 77 show, so only mastering 5 tracks adds insult to injury. Finally I get to the DVD. Surely they couldn't screw this up. Wrong!! No Dobly Digital??? Just Stereo??? It's still a great DVD but it would have been awesome in 5.1. Take a listen to the Springsteen '75 show that was released in 5.1 several years ago and you will know exactly what is lacking in this stereo only show. How would I done it differently if I was Columbia Records? 1. The remastered album should have been offered as a hybrid SACD or DVD audio that would play on both a conventional CD player or in 5.1 on a SACD\DVD player and packaged as a mini LP with all the original artwork. 2. The Carnegie Hall show should have been the complete show which would have been 2 discs and packaged as a mini LP. Who wants to store their discs in the plastic sleeve of the long box? 3. The DVD should have been mastered in Dolby Digital 5.1. It's 2008 for christ's sake. They should have included the 5 tracks from Nassau 1977 in all the boxes and then offered the remaining tracks from the full show as a download for an additional $8-$10. Other than the replica of Billy Joel's lyric book there was absolutely no creativity or imagination put into this box which is a real shame. Maybe the record labels should ask what the fans would like to see in an anniversary box, similar to what Ford did when they reissued the Mustang. In that case everyone was a winner. In the case of the 30th Anniversary of the Stranger most people will walk away knowing they could have had more but got less.

29 of 35 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 "sound fanatic" (Arlington, MA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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 features which, honestly, are the lure of this package. On the second CD (there is no "third" CD, regardless of how Amazon describes this package) 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.

As for the DVD: You get 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.