The Stranger [Vinyl LP]

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The other three singles were all top 40 hits, with "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" and "She's Always a Woman" both peaking at number 17. Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" went on to lend its name to a 2002 jukebox musical, featuring several of Joel's songs alongside narrative choreography by Twyla Tharp. The stereo imaging is wider on the MoFi, which allows some of the instrumentals clearer and more distinct which is great. Ramone disagreed, and brought Linda Ronstadt and Phoebe Snow into the studio to prove that it was worth including.

Billy Joel – The Stranger (1977, Vinyl) - Discogs Billy Joel – The Stranger (1977, Vinyl) - Discogs

In Canada the album spent 72 weeks in the Top 100 Album charts between November 1977 and April 1979. Not wanting to waste all of the words he had come up with, Joel rewrote the song, coming up with a new melody that fit with the lyrics. While there, he found that Austrians had a vastly different outlook on life than the one he was familiar with in America. Along with the rest of Joel's catalogue, the album was remastered and re-released in 1998, including a multimedia component that included four live videos. ORICON STYLE-ミュージック"[Highest position and charting weeks for The Stranger (30th Anniversary Edition) by Billy Joel].The restaurant would go on to inspire the setting of " Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", a song on The Stranger. George Martin, who had initially declined to produce The Stranger using Joel's band, reportedly wrote Joel a letter following the album's massive success, in which he congratulated Joel and reflected that he was wrong about the band. Though never released as a single, "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" is a staple of his live set, named by Rolling Stone 's Rob Sheffield as Joel's equivalent to Bruce Springsteen's " Jungleland". The album's final song, "Everybody Has a Dream", a gospel-influenced piece, was also inspired by Joel's wife.

The Stranger (album) - Wikipedia The Stranger (album) - Wikipedia

While his previous four albums had been moderately successful, The Stranger became Joel's true critical and commercial breakthrough, spending six weeks at number 2 on the US Billboard 200.The songs were all recorded with Joel alongside his band which he had formed while touring, in addition to various other musicians who were brought into the studio for specific songs. According to Joel, he and Ramone met with each other at Fontana di Trevi, an Italian restaurant near Carnegie Hall, where Joel had been playing at the time. Certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (their highest certification), from the time of its release until 1985, The Stranger was Columbia Records’ biggest selling album: the album has also been named one of the 500 greatest albums of all time by influential music publication Rolling Stone.

Billy Joel – The Stranger (2022, Grey Swirl, Vinyl) - Discogs Billy Joel – The Stranger (2022, Grey Swirl, Vinyl) - Discogs

From the time of its release in 1977 until 1985, The Stranger was Columbia Records’ biggest selling album. Joel originally considered keeping the song off the album, as he dismissed it as a "gloppy ballad" that was out-of-place compared to the rest of the album. And I'll stand on Donald Fagen's coffee table and say that the title track is Joel's fine swipe at writing a Steely Dan song. S CBS 82311 and LC 0149 on label, CBS 82311 on spine, CB 271 54 on rear upper sleeve right, CBS 82311 on rear lower sleeve left, LC 0149 on rear lower sleeve right.The album won two awards at the 1978 Grammy Awards: Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Just the Way You Are". All titles have been sourced from the original album tapes and prepared by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound. Before The Stranger, Billy Joel was on the verge of being dropped by his record label Columbia Records. is being released near the 50th anniversary of “Piano Man,” Billy Joel’s first signature song, released as a single on November 2, 1973 with the Piano Man album dropping a week later (November 9, 1973). The Stranger was well-received by critics, particularly in retrospect, with many considering it to display some of Joel's best-written material.

Billy Joel – The Stranger (1977, Santa Maria Pressing, Vinyl

Billy's voice especially is clear and center and feels like you're listening to him in the booth 5 feet away, not quite in the same room, but it still feels like it's just right there. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic praised The Stranger as a highlight of Joel's discography, noting that its lyrical shortcomings are outweighed by Joel's musical flair, and ultimately concluding that Joel "rarely wrote a set of songs better than those on The Stranger, nor did he often deliver an album as consistently listenable". A 30th Anniversary Legacy Edition released in 2008 which includes a second disc containing a live concert from Carnegie Hall recorded on June 3, 1977. The Stranger is the fifth studio album by American singer Billy Joel, released in September 1977 by Columbia Records. Vienna" has also become a popular part of his live set; when Joel lets the audience choose between it and "Just the Way You Are", "Vienna" is most often the winning contender.But after meeting with Joel, Martin expressed interest in producing the album, but did not want to use Joel's band, wishing instead to bring in session players. Considered his magnum opus, it remains his best-selling non-compilation album to date, and was ranked at number 70 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. full citation needed] While composing the song, Joel whistled the track's signature theme for Ramone, claiming that he (Joel) needed to find an instrument to play it. This explosive performance is highly regarded as one of Billy’s best of the era and one of the few to be professionally filmed and recorded.