A vinyl box set celebrating the 50th anniversary of Billy Joel‘s career and focusing mainly on his 1970s albums is due out on November 5, the same day Joel will play his first rescheduled residency show at New York’s Madison Square Garden since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Billy Joel — The Vinyl Collection, Vol. 1 is a nine-LP package featuring the singer/songwriter’s first six studio efforts — 1971’s Cold Spring Harbor, 1973’s RIAA four-times-Platinum Piano Man, 1974’s Streetlife Serenade, 1976’s Turnstiles, 1977’s RIAA Diamond-certified The Stranger and 1978’s seven-times-Platinum 52nd Street — plus his first live album, 1981’s Songs in the Attic, and a previously unreleased two-disc concert album titled Live at The Great American Music Hall – 1975.
The box set, which you can pre-order now, also will feature a booklet that boasts archival photos, Joel’s comments about his early music, tributes from various well-known musicians and celebrities, and an essay by music journalist Anthony DeCurtis.
Live at The Great American Music Hall, which will be available exclusively as part of The Vinyl Collection, Vol. 1, was recorded in June 1975 in San Francisco. The concert features versions of such popular Joel tunes as “You’re My Home,” “New York State of Mind,” “The Entertainer” and “The Ballad of Billy the Kid,” as well as Billy’s imitations of Joe Cocker, Elton John and Leon Russell.
Among the many classic songs features on the box set are “She’s Got a Way,” “Piano Man,” “Captain Jack,” “The Entertainer,” “New York State of Mind,” “Say Goodbye to Hollywood,” “Just the Way You Are,” “Movin’ Out (Anthony’ Song),” “She’s Always a Woman,” “Only the Good Die Young,” “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,” My Life,” “Big Shot,” and “Honesty.”
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