Billy Joel: Essential, The

Disc: 1 1. Piano Man 2. You're My Home 3. Captain Jack 4. The Entertainer 5. Say Goodbye to Hollywood 6. Miami 2017 (I've Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway) 7. New York State of Mind 8. She's Always a Woman 9. Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) 10. Only the Good Die Young 11. Just the Way You Are 12. Honesty 13. My Life 14. It's Still Rock and Roll to Me 15. You May Be Right 16. Don't Ask Me Why 17. She's Got a Way 18. Allentown Disc: 2 1. Goodnight Saigon 2. An Innocent Man 3. Uptown Girl 4. The Longest Time 5. Tell Her About It 6. Leave a Tender Moment Alone 7. A Matter of Trust 8. Baby Grand - Billy Joel duet with Ray Charles 9. I Go to Extremes 10. We Didn't Start the Fire 11. Leningrad 12. The Downeaster 'Alexa' 13. And So It Goes 14. The River of Dreams 15. All About Soul 16. Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) 17. Waltz No. 1 (Nunley's Carousel) 18. Invention In C minor

Early in his career, Billy Joel seemed cynical about fame, even as that distrust bore strange fruit: mainstream superstardom (thanks to "Just the Way You Are," "Honesty," and "My Life") and multiple Grammy awards, as well as the critic's-whipping-boy status that went with them. Maybe it was that restlessness--or undiluted cynicism--that inspired left turns into roots and nostalgia (the spunky "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me," "You May Be Right," "Uptown Girl," and "The Longest Time") as his career peaked. Perhaps not surprisingly, not long after Joel's songs seemed to find their most satisfying balance of angst and mature reflection on songs like "Storm Front" and "River of Dreams," he threatened to bolt the pop music business altogether. The 2001 recordings of "Waltz No. 1" and "Invention in C Minor" that round out this set are the unlikely products of Joel's commitment to classical music. Billy Joel remains both a true, if oft-lambasted, American pop icon and that rarest of animals: a bonafide crowd-pleaser with a serious case of 'tude. Both are well chronicled here. --Jerry McCulley

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