Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings, the catalogue division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release Billy Joel – The Vinyl Collection, Vol.2 on 3rd November, continuing an ongoing celebration of the legendary artist’s 50-plus years of musical magic, on-stage and in-the-studio.
Billy Joel – The Vinyl Collection, Vol.2 can be pre-ordered HERE
An 11LP deluxe box set, Billy Joel – The Vinyl Collection, Vol.2 completes the definitive Billy Joel 12″ vinyl album project which began with The Vinyl Collection, Vol.1, a 9LP set released in November 2021 in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Cold Spring Harbor (Billy’s debut solo studio album, originally released 1st November, 1971).
The Vinyl Collection, Vol.2 is being released near the 50th anniversary of “Piano Man,” Billy Joel’s first signature song, released as a single on 2nd November, 1973 with the Piano Man album dropping a week later (9th November, 1973).
With The Vinyl Collection, Vol.1 chronicling Billy Joel’s evolution as a songwriter, performer and recording artist during his rise from obscurity to international superstardom in the 1970s, The Vinyl Collection, Vol.2 focuses the surprising next phase of his extraordinary career. Billy became a household name in the MTV era with some of his biggest chart-smashing hits and most all-time beloved songs including “Allentown,” “Uptown Girl,” “A Matter of Trust,” “Baby Grand” (his duet with Ray Charles), plus his three Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping hits “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” “Tell Her About It,” and “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me.”
In addition to bringing together Billy’s monumentally successful 1980s albums — Glass Houses (1980), The Nylon Curtain (1982), An Innocent Man (1983), The Bridge (1986) and Storm Front (1989) — alongside 1993’s River of Dreams, his final studio album of newly written pop songs, The Vinyl Collection, Vol.2 presents, for the first time on vinyl, an exclusive 2LP pressing of 2001’s Fantasies & Delusions, an instrumental album showcasing classical piano compositions by Billy Joel, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Classical Album chart.
All titles in The Vinyl Collection, Vol.2 have been sourced from the original album masters (analogue and digital) and carefully prepared for this release by Ted Jensen with lacquers cut by Joe Nino Hernes at the legendary Sterling Sound in Nashville, Tennessee. The box set includes a 60+ page booklet featuring Billy’s revelatory personal observations and insights about each album, an informative essay by Rob Tannenbaum, rare photos and memorabilia from the era and more.
As a special bonus, The Vinyl Collection, Vol.2 presents the first-ever audio edition (3LP) of Billy Joel – Live from Long Island, the celebratory homecoming concert/party Billy and his band threw for fans at the Nassau Coliseum on 29th December, 1982. A broadcast edit of the legendary show originally aired on HBO in 1983 while a longer version of the show was a massively popular VHS title. 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. Its inclusion as an audio album in The Vinyl Collection, Vol.2 is an essential addition to the classic Billy Joel catalogue.
A new digital edition of the Billy Joel – Live from Long Island concert film is also available and may be pre-ordered.
Comments are closed.