Greatest Hits Vols. 1 & 2 (Remaster) (CD)

Part Jerry Lee Lewis, part George Gershwin, piano man Billy Joel combines Tin Pan Alley craftsmanship, rock-&-roll fervor, and a keen sense of vintage melodic balladry. He emerged in the 1970s as the definitive singer-songwriter for those who wanted something a little less introspective than James Taylor, and his way with a hook made him a superstar. His popularity waned in the '90s, and with it went his interest in pop music, which he eventually forsook to pursue an all-instrumental, classical-influenced direction.

• Category:  Music  »  Rock & Pop  »  Singer/Songwriter
• Format: CD   Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
• Release Date: October 13, 1998
• Label: Columbia (USA)
• UPC: 074646939123
• WAPI (Tower ID): 106696022
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• Tower.com Sales Rank: #911 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #458 in Rock & Pop (See Top 100 Rock & Pop Bestsellers)
• #13 in Singer/Songwriter (See Top 100 Singer/Songwriter Bestsellers)

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Personnel includes: Billy Joel (vocals, harmonica, piano); Steve Khan, Mark Rivera (various instruments); Eric Gale, Russell Javors, David Brown, Larry Carlton, Gary Dalton, Don Evans, Hugh McCracken (guitar); Tom Whitehouse (pedal steel guitar, banjo); Toots Thielmans (harmonica); Phil Woods (alto saxophone); Michael Brecker (tenor saxophone); Ronnie Cuber (baritone saxophone); David Sanborn (saxophone); Jon Faddis (trumpet, synthesizers); Joseph J. Shepley, John Gatchell (trumpet); Riachard Tee (piano, organ); Leon Pendarvis (organ); Michael Omartian (keyboards); Doug Stegmeyer, Wilton Felder (bass); Liberty DeVito, Ralph MacDonald, Jimmy Bralower (percussion); Rory Dodd, Peter Cetera, Donnie Dacus (background vocals).

Digitally remastered by Ted Jensen (Sterling Sound, New York, New York).

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.

Billy Joel, a classically-trained pianist, was signed to Columbia Records in 1973. The title track to Piano Man, became a US Top 30 single and sowed the seeds of a highly successful recording career. However, Joel refused to bow to corporate demands for commercially-minded material and despite enjoying hits with two subsequent albums, Street Life Serenade and Turnstiles, it was not until 1977 that his fortunes flourished with the release of The Stranger, which eventually surpassed Bridge Over Troubled Water as Columbia's best-selling album. Joel's 1979 album, 52nd Street, spawned another smash single, 'My Life' while the singer's first US number 1, 'It's Still Rock 'N' Roll To Me' came from a subsequent release, Glass Houses. His image as a popular, uncontroversial figure was shaken with The Nylon Curtain, which featured two notable 'protest' compositions, 'Allentown' and 'Goodnight Saigon'. However he returned to simpler matters in 1984 with An Innocent Man which included the effervescent best-seller 'Uptown Girl'. In 1997, he announced that he would not be writing any pop songs in the foreseeable future, concentrating instead on classical scores.

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