Descrizione
Billy Joel: The Stranger
180g – Limited Numbered Edition – 45 RPM – 2 LPs – Gatefold Cover
Label: MFSL – 1977
Release date: 11.02.2014
With the 1977 album “The Stranger” Billy Joel achieved the long-awaited breakthrough. Phil Ramone, who worked with Simon & Garfunkel, among others, produced the LP and helped Joel to turn his already flawless already flawless arrangements and poignant lyrics into real hits. None of his previous Ballads hit the heart like “Just The Way You Are,” for which he was awarded the 1979 Grammy for Song of the Song of the Year. The album itself, ranked 67th in Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest Best records of all time, received a Grammy.
Joel’s voice is full of bittersweet longing, exuberance and a commitment to the working class that could have come from Bruce Springsteen. With great dynamism, he paints lush details in vivid Colors and makes wistful feelings audible. Somewhat less subtle, however, were the lyrics to “Only The Good Die Young,” in which a boy tries to seduce his Catholic girlfriend. Although she maintains her innocence in the end Innocence, the song was banned from many us radio stations as “anti-Catholic” Program as “anti-Catholic. This ban, however, attracted even more attention, as Joel reported in 2008.
With the 1977 album The Stranger, Billy Joel achieved the long-awaited breakthrough. Phil Ramone, who worked with Simon & Garfunkel among others, produced the LP and helped Joel turn his already flawless arrangements and poignant lyrics into real hits. None of his previous ballads hit the heart like Just The Way You Are, for which he won the Grammy for Song of the Year in 1979. The album itself, ranked 67th on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest records of all time, also won a Grammy.
Joel’s voice is full of bittersweet longing, exuberance and a commitment to the working class that could have come from Bruce Springsteen. With great dynamics, he draws rich details in vivid colors and makes wistful feelings audible. Less subtle, however, were the lyrics to Only The Good Die Young, in which a boy tries to seduce his Catholic girlfriend. Although the latter retains her innocence in the end, the song was banned from the program by many us radio stations as “anti-Catholic”. This ban, however, created even more attention, as Joel reported in 2008: “The minute they banned it, the album started shooting up the charts.”
The MFSL Re-Issue is released as a 180g double 45 vinyl LP in gatefold sleeve with consecutive serial number as a limited edition. The re-mastering was done by Krieg Wunderlich, assisted by Rob LoVerde, using the original tapes. The song lyrics are printed into the cover
Reviews
“‘The Stranger’ is bursting with First Class Songs; it’s hard to single out one.” (Good Times, June / July 2014)
