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| The Stranger: 30th Anniversary [Limited Edition] (Deluxe Boxed Set - 2 CDs + 1 DVD) | ![The Stranger: 30th Anniversary [Limited Edition] (Deluxe Boxed Set - 2 CDs + 1 DVD)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/316Jk-EHrcL.jpg)
| List Price: $49.98
Buy New: $27.55
You Save: $22.43 (45%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $24.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 29 reviews)
Sales Rank: 2789
Category: Music
Artist: Billy Joel
Publisher: Sony Legacy
Studio: Sony Legacy
Manufacturer: Sony Legacy
Label: Sony Legacy
Format: Box Set, Extra Tracks, Original Recording Remastered
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 3
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 10.1 x 5.8 x 1
MPN: 730801
UPC: 886973080122
EAN: 0886973080122
ASIN: B00168PTG0
Release Date: July 8, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Billy Joel at his best. August 17, 2008
The Stranger is Billy Joels best album. The live CD of him at Carnegie Hall sounds excellent. Hearling Billy and his band perform songs from the Stranger before it was released is amazing. The DVD of Billy in concert in his prime is great, although I wished there was more songs included. I really enjoyed hearing Billy and Phil Ramone discussing how the Stranger came about and the stories behind the classic songs.
 The piece de resistance of the celebration of Billy Joel's breakthrough fifth album August 14, 2008
New York native Billy Joel released his fifth album The Stranger in November of 1977.
Prior to The Stranger, Billy was almost seen as a pop one-hit wonder thanks to the title track from his 1973 album Piano Man (despite the fact FM rock stations played "Captain Jack" and "New York State of Mind"). However, pop radio ignored him. It was in the summer of 1977 that Billy and producer Phil Ramone (famed for work with The Carpenters and Paul Simon) went into A&R Recording Studios in New York to record Billy's fourth album for Columbia, which (had it not sold) might have been his last time at bat. Is the album the classic it is or some artifact from a bygone time, read on and find out.
We start the album with a great rocker out of "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" which is driven by piano and guitar. Next is The Stranger's title cut which its intro and outro (also repeated at album's end) sounds like it could have been recorded for a Bogart film before giving way into another great rocker. Next we slow things down with the album's famous ballad "Just The Way You Are" (which won the 1978 Record of the Year Grammy) and was Billy's biggest hit up until that point. He almost left it off the album had it not been for female singers Phoebe Snow (who appears on the album's last track) and Linda Ronstadt persuaded Billy to release it and the rest is history. The first half ends with the epic centerpiece of the album is "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" which is almost like listening to one of the medleys on The Beatles' Abbey Road as it's three songs stitched into one and one of the sections told the tale of the rise and fall of Brenda & Eddie.
"Vienna" starts the second half of the album off and was one of the lesser known songs on the album but a great number. Next is the acoustic guitar and piano driven rocker "Only the Good Die Young" which is still a great number though some religious groups cried foul and some stations banned the record. Next is another classic ballad out of "She's Always A Woman" which is a nice ballad. We then have another rocker out of "Get it Right the First Time" which is a great piece. We end with the gospel sounding ballad "Everybody Has a Dream" which is a nice track and the album ends with the reprise of The Stranger's title cut's intro and outro this time with an orchestra.
The Stranger paid off as it hit #2 on the Billboard album chart upon release and became Billy's first Platinum selling album and righfully sold to date 10 million copies in the US alone.
In 1998, The Stranger was re-released in a remastered version which soundeed better than the 1980s sterile CBS release and includes all original LP art.
Now in 2008, The Stranger was given a 30th Anniversary fit for a king in two incarnations. First is a 2-CD reissue which has The Stranger remastered by Phil Ramone. Second is a unreleased concert from the famed Carnegie Hall in New York recorded one month before The Stranger's release. Billy always delivered on stage and the versions of overlooked tracks like "Say Goodbye to Hollywood", "New York State of Mind", "Captain Jack" and "Angry Young Man" are all performed better than the studio versions. Also, you had preview versions of "Just the Way You Are" and "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" all recorded a month before The Stranger was recorded.
The other re-issue is a 3-disc package which includes the remastered CD plus the Carnegie Hall show plus a DVD which included two promo films (what music videos were called in the 1970s) plus his performance on the old BBC program The Old Grey Whistle Test which featured Billy and his band (drummer Liberty DeVitto, the late bass player Doug Stegmeyer, keyboard/sax player Richie Cannata and looked like guitarist Russel Javors on guitar) giving a great performance. Plus there is a documentary on the making of the album with new interviews with Billy and producer Phil Ramone. Also included is a book with photos and an essay by well respected rock critic David Fricke.
Recommended!
Long-Time Fan Loves the Extras August 11, 2008
I've owned all off Billy Joel's albums from the day they were released going back to 1982 or so, and I had purchased all of his older albums by then. I'm a huge fan, but I never trafficked much in the "extras" that were available. This release adds two wonderful discs to my collection. Having been a fan so long, it was awesome to see 1970s Billy talking, playing, and singing. I love Mark Rivera but had missed seeing sax virtuoso Richie Cannata with the band. What a joy!
A classic album receives a proper celebration August 11, 2008
There are some albums that appear to be instant classics as soon as they are released. In 1978 "The Stranger" was everywhere. Living on Long Island in a town very close to Hicksville Billy Joel seemed more like an older brother to all of my friends and family than a rock star. The music of The Stranger was all over the radio, playing inside of every house I visted, including my own, and playing overhead wherever I went.
I have always been amazed at the fact that every song on this album is a classic song. Listening to the re mastered version you will quickly hear how poor the orignal CD release of The Stranger was treated.
The best part of this package is the Live CD of the Carnegie Hall concert. It is simply the best live recording of Billy Joel that i have ever heard and no fan of Billy Joel should be without it. In fact, for the Billy Joel doubters out there, i suggest listening to this Carnegie Hall concert and questioning your doubting selves about how special his talents truly are.
Any show taken from The Old Grey Whistle Test is bound to be special and the DVD, while short, is a nice look back at Billy and the band when they had full heads of hair and lots of rock and roll charisma. All in all a nice package in which i can say for once, i do not feel like a ripped off consumer.
Billy Joel at his best!!! August 10, 2008
Certainly The stranger is the best Billy Joel's work, and this Box Set Edition just improved this timeless record.
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