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On January 24, 2024, Billy Joel will take the stage at the Tokyo Dome for his first concert in Japan since 2008. To commemorate the occasion, Sony Japan is revisiting the 2019 digital release Live Through the Years on December 20 in the Blu-Spec CD2 format (playable on all CD players). It's being expanded from 20 tracks to a whopping 32. Of those, 13 are worldwide CD premieres, and six are new to Japanese CD; all have been freshly remastered for this debut physical release. In essence, this is an entirely new release, as many of the songs from the digital version have been dropped from this edition.
From the digital release, the set includes a pair of tracks from Joel's June 4, 1977 Carnegie Hall show: "Prelude/Angry Young Man" and "She's Got a Way," both of which were previously available on the iTunes-exclusive edition of the 30th Anniversary Legacy Edition of The Stranger. (The June 3 concert was issued on the physical box set.) "Just the Way You Are" from later that year at Joel's Long Island hometown venue Nassau Coliseum has been drawn from the Best Buy bonus disc of that same release. Through the Years journeys four years later to another Nassau show (December 29, 1982) for "Allentown," "The Stranger," and "Pressure," all three of which are also included on the new Live from Long Island 3LP set as part of Joel's second volume of The Album Collection, and to December 1993 for Coliseum performances of "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant," "We Didn't Start the Fire," and "Piano Man."
One song from Joel's June 22-23, 1990 Yankee Stadium concerts heard on a recently restored audiovisual version of the sets ("Only the Good Die Young") has been carried over. Similarly, just one of the three songs included on the digital album from Frankfurt, Germany's Festhalle gig on June 18, 1994 ("River of Dreams") is reprised on this set. Performances of River of Dreams' "No Man's Land" and "Shades of Grey" from Boston 1993, available on a European CD single, appear here. "Sleeping with the Television On" and "Honesty," digital bonus tracks for 12 Gardens Live, now makes official physical appearances. "It's Still Rock 'n' Roll to Me" originally was a hidden track on that same album.
What else is new here? Among the highlights, "Christmas in Fallujah," just one of two pop songs composed by Joel since his studio retirement in 1993, gets another airing after appearing on a super-rare CD single. "The Entertainer" from 1975 at the Great American Music Hall has been released on vinyl but now premieres on CD. Four songs from a December 1976 show at New London, Connecticut's Palmer Auditorium ("The Ballad of Billy the Kid," "Summer, Highland Falls," "New York State of Mind," "Souvenir") also make their CD debuts, having been released on a promo LP before the release of The Stranger in 1977. Disc 2 showcases a rare, rollicking version of "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" recorded at a benefit concert at Madison Square Garden shortly after the September 11 attacks. Finally, an early '80s live cover of Sam & Dave's "You Got Me Hummin'," a favorite of Joel's early band The Hassles, makes its first appearance since ending up on 12" pressings of 1983's chart-topping "Tell Her About It" single.
Covering concerts from 1972-2008, Live Through the Years is a most welcome souvenir of Joel's return to Japan, and indeed, a fine overview of the Piano Man onstage with many of his most beloved songs and plenty of rarities for the physical collector. Look for it wherever imports are available, including at CDJapan.
Billy Joel, Live Through the Years (Sony Japan SICP-31669, 2023) (CDJapan)
* previously unreleased on CD
CD 1
- Captain Jack (Live at Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia, PA - April 15, 1972)
- The Entertainer (Live at Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA - June 8, 1975) *
- The Ballad of Billy the Kid (Live at Palmer Auditorium, New London, CT - December 5-6, 1976) *
- Summer, Highland Falls (Live at Palmer Auditorium, New London, CT - December 5-6, 1976) *
- New York State of Mind (Live at Palmer Auditorium, New London, CT - December 5-6, 1976) *
- Prelude/Angry Young Man (Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 4, 1977) *
- She's Got a Way (Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 4, 1977) *
- Just the Way You Are (Live at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY - December 11, 1977)
- Everybody Loves You Now (Live at The Bayou, Washington, D.C. - June 23, 1980)
- You Got Me Hummin' (Live) *
- Allentown (Live at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY - December 29, 1982) *
- Pressure (Live at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY - December 29, 1982) *
- The Longest Time (Live in Moscow & Leningrad, USSR - July/August 1987)
- Uptown Girl (Live in Moscow & Leningrad, USSR - July/August 1987)
- Say Goodbye to Hollywood (Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 3, 1977)
- Souvenir (Live at Palmer Auditorium, New London, CT - December 5-6, 1976) *
CD 2
- The Stranger (Live at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY - December 29, 1982) *
- Only the Good Die Young (Live at Yankee Stadium, New York, NY - June 22-23, 1990)
- No Man's Land (Live at Boston Garden, Boston, MA - September 14-20, 1993)
- Shades of Grey (Live at Boston Garden, Boston, MA - September 14-20, 1993)
- Vienna (Live at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY - December 31, 1993)
- Scenes from an Italian Restaurant (Live at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY - December 31, 1993)
- We Didn't Start the Fire (Live at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY - December 31, 1993)
- The River of Dreams (Live at Festivalhalle, Frankfurt, Germany - June 18, 1994)
- My Life (Live at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY - December 31, 1999)
- Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway) (Live at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY - October 20, 2001)
- Honesty (Live at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY - January 23-April 24, 2006) *
- Sleeping with the Television On (Live at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY - January 23-April 24, 2006) *
- It's Still Rock 'n' Roll to Me (Live at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY - January 23-April 24, 2006)
- You May Be Right (Live at Shea Stadium, Flushing, NY - July 16 and 18, 2008)
- Christmas in Fallujah (Live at Acer Arena, Sydney, Australia - December 9 and 11, 2008)
- Piano Man (Live at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY - December 31, 1993)
Disc 1, Track 1 from Piano Man (Legacy Edition) - Columbia/Legacy 88697 61901-2, 2010
Disc 1, Track 2 from The Vinyl Collection Vol. 1 - Columbia/Legacy 19075 92552-1, 2021. Later released separately on Live At The Great American Music Hall, 1975 - Columbia/Legacy 19439 88483-1, 2023.
Disc 1, Track 3-5 and 17 from Souvenir - Columbia AS-326, 1977
Disc 1, Tracks 6-7 from iTunes edition of The Stranger (30th Anniversary Legacy Edition) - Columbia/Legacy (no cat. #), 2008
Disc 1, Track 8 from Best Buy edition of The Stranger (30th Anniversary Legacy Edition) - Columbia/Legacy 88697 30801-2, 2008
Disc 1, Track 9 from Songs in the Attic - Columbia TC 37461, 1981
Disc 1, Track 10 from "Tell Her About It" 12" - Columbia 44-04138, 1983
Disc 1, Track 11-12 and Disc 2, Track 1 from The Vinyl Collection Vol. 2 - Columbia/Legacy 19439 95718-1, 2023
Disc 1, Track 13 from A Matter of Trust: The Bridge to Russia - Columbia/Legacy 88883 75976-2, 2014
Disc 1, Track 14 from Концерт - Columbia C2X 40996, 1987
Disc 1, Track 15 from The Stranger (30th Anniversary Legacy Edition) - Columbia/Legacy 88697 22581-2, 2008
Disc 2, Track 2 from Live At Yankee Stadium - Columbia/Legacy 19658 70156-2, 2022
Disc 2, Tracks 3-4 from "No Man's Land" European CD single - Columbia 659920 2, 1994
Disc 2, Tracks 5-7 and 16 from The Complete Hits Collection - Columbia CXK 68007, 1997
Disc 2, Track 8 from A Voyage on the River of Dreams Australian box set - Columbia 478091 2, 1994
Disc 2, Track 9 from 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert - Columbia C2K 63792, 2000
Disc 2, Track 10 from The Concert for New York City - Columbia C2K 86270, 2001
Disc 2, Track 11 from iTunes edition of 12 Gardens Live - Columbia (no cat. #), 2006
Disc 2, Track 12 from Sony Music Direct digital edition of 12 Gardens Live - Columbia (no cat. #), 2006
Disc 2, Track 13 from 12 Gardens Live - Columbia 82876 85176-2, 2006
Disc 2, Track 14 from Live At Shea Stadium (The Concert) - Columbia 88697 84588-2, 2011
Disc 2, Track 15 from "Christmas in Fallujah" Australian CD single - Columbia JOEL08, 2009
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Wish he would release complete concerts from the 70’s&80’s as an archive series the way Springsteen does.
I have thought about that exactly the last past few weeks. I sure would love some soundboard concerts of Glass Houses tour to be released.
Also… So many great Billy songs from his 30 year run of albums, and they’re giving us “Christmas in Fallujah”?
Really? Ugh. Yet another puzzling live Billy release.
I actually think "Christmas in Fallujah" makes a lot of sense on this set. It's a super rarity, one of the few "new" Billy Joel songs from the twenty-first century, and it's good that it'll be more easily available.
So… Is this a prelude to Sony finally opening the vaults and releasing full Billy shows?
Because while this is kind of nice, taking bits and pieces of historic shows really holds little interest to this long time fan.
Sony’s done a crap job with live Billy over the decades. The expanded Russian concerts release was pretty good, but they sure botched the Millennium Concert and Yankee Stadium releases.
They also tinkered with the classic WMMR performance, and gave us a woefully incomplete Carnegie Hall.
Then there’s the recent Great American Music Hall and (the long, long wished for) Live From Long Island that are VINYL ONLY. CD buyers are SOL again.
Sony should be doing something more for Billy’s fans while interest is still there.
Was there something wrong with original comments that needed moderation and now doesn’t appear?
Well, fine.
Anyhow, yet another offering in Japan and not the States since Sony U.S. seems to not want to do much with Billy’s music anymore. And it’s just a compilation at that.
So many great live shows represented here, yet only a handful have actually had a general release.
Billy’s live album history has been spotty at best. The expanded Russian album was handled pretty well, but the Millennium concert was a chopped up, woefully incomplete, overdubbed mess. The WMMR concert (Piano Man deluxe edition) had overdubs too, messing with a historical document.
Yankee Stadium is another patchwork mess, with songs inexplicably out of order, poorly edited, and still more studio tinkering (This time, the drums).
Carnegie Hall was also woefully incomplete. The recent San Francisco 1975 is terrific but extremely limited and on vinyl only (CD buyers get the shaft again). Live From Long Island FINALLY gets an audio release and it’s the full show… But vinyl only again, and you have to buy a $200 or more box set to get it (Not to mention no reissue of the concert video on physical media).
Along with the expanded Russian album the best live Billy releases remain Songs in the Attic and 12 Gardens, but the lack of vault releases — especially on CD — is baffling.
The Mar y Sol festival, the Bottom Line ‘76; C.W. Post ‘77, Houston ‘79, Sparks ‘81, Wembley ‘84, and on and on. Get this stuff out while there’s still interest and while his fan base is still alive to enjoy them.
Oh, now my original comment is appearing… After I just typed a new, long rant. LOL.
Delete this thread if you want, guys. I just figured it wasn’t getting published.
Apologies for any difficulties...sometimes the comments take a little longer to populate than we'd like. 🙂
Coming back to this late, but all good Joe. Thanks for replying!
2 discs of already available material again. what a way to alienate your fan base
I love this release ...Lots of "odds and ends" (video tracks, promo stuff, digital-only releases, etc, and of course having the for tracks from the SOUVENIR album). Huge Billy fan (going to his 100th show of the MSG residency tonight !) so while I will treasure this set, I too would like some full shows made available as archive sets like Springsteen, Neil Young and others have done.
Disc 2, track 13 (It's Still Rock and Roll To Me) is listed as having come from the standard issue "12 Gardens Live" cd, but that song isn't on that album. Possible it was a digital bonus track or something ? Anyone know ?