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The Ultimate Collection

Billy Joel - The Ultimate Collection Audio CD

A fair review of the Billy Joel "The Ultimate Collection" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Billy Joel reviews here, or go back to the Billy Joel tabs.

Band: Billy Joel
Title: The Ultimate Collection
Rating:

Release Date: 2001-01-29
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Just the Way You Are 2: My Life 3: It's Still Rock & Roll to Me 4: Innocent Man 5: Piano Man 6: You're My Home 7: Everybody Loves You Now 8: Entertainer 9: Streetlife Serenader 10: New York State of Mind 11: Say Goodbye to Hollywood 12: She's Got a Way 13: Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) 14: She's Always a Woman 15: Honesty 16: You May Be Right 17: Don't Ask Me Why 18: Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway) 19: Uptown Girl 20: Tell Her About It 21: River of Dreams 22: Longest Time 23: We Didn't Start the Fire 24: Goodnight Saigon 25: Allentown 26: All for Leyna 27: This Is the Time 28: Leave a Tender Moment Alone 29: Matter of Trust 30: Modern Woman 31: Baby Grand 32: I Go to Extremes 33: Leningrad 34: Downeaster "Alexa" 35: You're Only Human (Second Wind) 36: All About Soul [Remix]

A must have...
The novice will get more than just the usual hits, with songs that show his versatility as a songwriter and performer alike. This two disc, generous career spanning 24 Bit remastered, 36 song set is a must have for the Billy Joel novice and die hard fan. Billy is a true artist adapting himself to fit each of his distinguishable songs. An ample touch of everything is included. His love ballads(ie. "Shes Always a Woman", "Honesty"), personal commentary(ie. "An Innocent Man", "My Life" , Piano Man"), social commentary(ie "Allentown", "Goodnight Saigon"). He pays homage to his beloved home state with "New York State of Mind" and "Miami 2017". You get that playful rock tribute "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me". "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" and "Moving Out"(title for his Broadway show)show the rebel side of him. Many of Billy's fans are attracted to the energy of his live concert performances. Rousing renditions of "Everybody Loves You Now" and "Miami 2017" are presented in concert mode. "Just the Way You Are" and "Uptown Girl", two big hit songs Billy tends to disassociate himself from when doing recent concerts are included. With such an output of material there are bound to be exclusions of favorites for any given fan. I would have loved to have "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" included. Yet unexpected gems like the frantic "All for Lenya" and the Cold War tribute "Lenningrad" appear. The overall sequencing and convience of this set will make any long boring drive fly by. One hearing of his unique sound and catchy lyrics will make one wonder if Billy will be accepted with the likes of Porter, Berlin, and Gershwin, as one of the great AMERICAN songwriters. .

He Is Still Through Extremes
It is just a shame older artists aren't around for anyone right now but classic radio. Arguably, when I hear a lot of acts right now in the industry, they arguably all sound alike, without any amicable essence of pop, and soul. Billy Joel is just one of those acts that has defined the essence of great pop music. Yet, it is just sad that the real only place right now you can truly hear his defiant music gems is the Broadway musical Movin' Out. Still, those gems that the piano man has made keep coming back. While he ahs also had so many truly showcased hits as well, there is always one that can be more defiant at a time.

The Ultimate Collection, is a double album reflecting Billy's legendary career. Arguably, this was reflected very well in reflection, and trims down the fat from the well-recognized three greatest hits volumes. The collection really does deliver with so many great hits like Piano Man, I Go To Extremes, We Didn't Start The Fire, the bluesy soul New York State Of Mind, as well as lesser known tracks omitted from Billy's previous collections like the overlooked Modern Woman, and Honesty to name just a few. Yet, there is a few disadvantages to this collection. One of them is that the record does overlook a few great gems including Big Shot, And So It Goes, and the simplistic Lullabye (Goodnight My Angel. )

Despite a few omissions, Billy Joel's The Ultimate Collection is a much more defiant collection than most of the other ones on the market. This also showcases much better than the 2001 Essential Billy Joel. This is arguably, a must have for anybody who loves to hear those wonderful melodies the Piano Man has carried for years.

Album Cover: B+

Songs: B+

Price: B

Mastering: A-

Overall: B 1/2+.

Truly the ultimate Billy Joel compilation
Billy has never achieved that level of success elsewhere although he has built up a significant international following. In his American homeland, Billy became one of the most successful singers of the twentieth century - he was third in the list of best selling solo artists behind Garth Brooks (whose American country hits included a cover of Shameless, written by Billy although Billy's version is omitted from this collection) and Elton John.

Success came slowly for Billy but he finally made the big time with his fifth album, The stranger, originally released in 1977. Its most famous song, Just the way you are, became a major American hit and also gave Billy his first UK hit, making the top twenty. Less than a year later, Barry White covered it and also made the UK top twenty. Other notable tracks from the album to be found on this compilation are Moving out and She's always a woman.

Great as that album was, Billy released an even greater album in 1983 - An innocent man. This set included Uptown girl (a UK number one hit), Tell her about it, The longest time, Leave a tender moment alone and the brilliant title track. With this album, Billy confirmed his status as a truly international performer.

Billy recorded many other fine albums from which he had plenty of American hits, some of which also charted in the UK. His most successful hits from these albums include It's still rock and roll to me, My life and We didn't start the fire. He occasionally sang about controversial topics, as in Goodnight Saigon and Allentown.

This is the best retrospective of Billy's career, including all his classic hits and much else besides. Plenty of great songs have been omitted but if you want those, you'll just have to buy the original albums. Even if you plan to do just that, this set provides a good start to your collection. On the other hand, you might just want one collection of Billy's music and in that case, this should satisfy your needs.

The best of Joel's 'Greatest Hits' albums
It contains so many songs. This is an extrordinary collection of Billy Joel's music. I liked that not all of them were Top 10 hits, etc. . . There were a few surprises in here. The songs come from so many albums, there's something here for everyone. This is great for car rides because there are so many songs and it takes up tons of time. Plus, theses songs are so much fun to listen to. Billy Joel's music is always something you can tap your foot to, but there's so much complexion in his songs. He's wonderfully romantic. His songs are perfect for the 'first dance' at a wedding or something like that. In this collection you get staples like 'Piano Man', 'Uptown Girl', 'River of Dreams', 'We Didn't Start the Fire', etc. . . but we also get gems like 'Allentown', 'I Go to Extremes', 'You're my Home' and 'New York State of Mind'. I don't see how anyone cannot like Billy Joel. His music is so universal and so well known, and for good reason.

GREATest hits!
Other than that, this collection is the one to own. This cd only has three problems with it, it does not have: only the good die young, just a fantasy, and and so it goes. It condenses Vol. 1 and 2 and Vol. 3 on to one CD, and saves you the money of buying all three to get the hits on this one collection. So, go out and buy it!.

You can see a complete list of all Billy Joel discography, or go back to the Billy Joel tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.