Search - Billy Joel :: Ultimate Collection

Truly the ultimate Billy Joel compilation

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 04/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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. Billy has never achieved that level of success elsewhere although he has built up a significant international following.



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

Scott | Chicago | 10/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an extrordinary collection of Billy Joel's music. It contains so many songs. 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."