Billy Joel - Greatest Hits Vols. 1 & 2, 1973-1985 (Remastered) Review

Did you ever have expectations so high, the actual event left you flat?  Billy Joel always reminds me of one such happening.  Years ago (back in the early '80s) there was a gorgeous blonde I had been chasing after.  It seemed that every portable DJ gig I did, she was there - but always with someone new. (Should've been my first clue.)

Finally getting a date with her, I reserved a table at a nice Italian restaurant.  Before the main course came out, we were on the subject of music.  She loved Mick Jagger & hated Billy Joel.  I stated that Billy Joel had more talent in his little finger than Mick Jagger had in his whole body.  Needless to say...that was our first & last date.  Oh, well...

Greatest Hits Vols. 1 & 2, 1973-1985 gives one nearly every song you'd want to hear from Billy Joel's early career.  The key word being "nearly".  I wish he would've included "The Ballad Of Billy The Kid".

"From a town known as Oyster Bay, Long Island
Rode a boy with a six-pack in his hand
And his daring life of crime
Made him a legend in his time
East and west of the Rio Grande"

Naturally Disc 1 starts with "Piano Man".  Being an EX-DJ I can relate to these lyrics...

"It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
To forget about their life for a while"

Track 8, "Just the Way You Are" won the 1978 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.  Ironically, it was written as a birthday gift to Joel's first wife Elizabeth Weber.  It seems he never learns...  On Disc 2 - track 11 Joel wrote "Uptown Girl" for Christie Brinkley.  That didn't work out either.  "Uptown Girl" is reminiscent of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

Backing up a bit to track 4 on Disc 2, "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me" - Joel pokes fun at all the new styles of music. (punk, funk, new wave, etc.)

"What's the matter with the car I'm driving?
"Can't you tell that it's out of style?"
Should I get a set of white wall tires?
"Are you gonna cruise the miracle mile?
Now-a-days you can't be too sentimental
Your best bet's a true baby blue Continental."
Hot funk, cool punk, even if it's old junk
It's still rock and roll to me"

Yep...it's still rock 'n' roll to me also.  And Billy Joel does it better than most.