Collection, Volume 1

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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.

Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, are celebrating the first 50 years of Billy Joel’s legendary career with today’s release of Billy Joel – The Vinyl Collection, Vol. 1, a definitive 9LP boxset library chronicling Billy’s evolution as a songwriter, performer and recording artist during his rise from obscurity to international superstardom in the 1970s. 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 November 1, 1971).

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Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings Celebrate 50 Years of Billy Joel’s Artistry with Release of Billy Joel – The Vinyl Collection, Vol. 1 Today, Friday, November 5 Originally released in September 1981 (and celebrating its 40th anniversary this year), Songs in the Attic, Billy Joel’s first live album, features top-flight performances recorded in concert in June-July 1980, curated specifically to introduce new fans to his earlier 1970s material following the phenomenal mainstream success of The Stranger. In the nearly ten years–and hundreds of concerts–since he’d recorded his debut, Billy Joel and his touring ensemble had become one of the tightest, most electrifying live bands in the world honing Billy’s songs into the concert gems heard on Songs in the Attic. The album peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200 while charting in Australia (#9), Canada (#21), Japan (#3), New Zealand (#30), Norway (#12), Sweden (#38) and the United Kingdom (#57). Songs in the Attic has been certified 3x Platinum by the RIAA. Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, is gearing up for one of their biggest line-ups in years for Record Store Day (April 22, 2023). Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, are releasing Billy Joel – The Vinyl Collection, Vol. 2 on November 3, continuing an ongoing celebration of the legendary artist’s 50-plus years of musical magic, on-stage and in-the-studio. Billy Joel’s fifth studio album, The Stranger, was originally released September 29, 1977 and catapulted the artist into the pop culture stratosphere. The first Billy Joel album to be produced by Phil Ramone and the first to capture the chemistry of Billy in the studio with his road-tested touring ensemble, The Stranger was recorded in a mere three weeks and generated no less than four Top 40 hit singles: “Just the Way You Are” (#3), “Movin’ Out (Anthony’ Song)” (#17), “She’s Always a Woman” (#17) and the controversial “Only the Good Die Young” (#24). The album also introduced fans to repertoire standards including “Vienna” and “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.” The Strangerpeaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 while charting in Australia (#2), Canada (#2), Japan (#3), the Netherlands (#36), New Zealand (#2) and the United Kingdom (#24). The album has achieved RIAA Diamond status and has been recently certified 11x Platinum in the United States. The Strangerbrought Billy Joel his first two career Grammy Awards when “Just the Way You Are” took home trophies for Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 21st Grammy Awards in 1978. The Stranger is Billy’s top-selling non-compilation album to-date.

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. Selected items are only available for delivery via the Royal Mail 48® service and other items are available for delivery using this service for a charge. In advance of the release of The Vinyl Collection, Vol. 1, an official new animated music video for “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” (a sophisticated musical suite–and perennial crowd-pleasing fan favorite–from Billy’s The Stranger) was created for #50YearsofBilly by Lightborne Communications and premiered online September 30, 2021. Watch HERE The Vinyl Collection, Vol.1 arrives to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Billy’s career starting with Cold Spring Harbor, first released November 1, 1971. Named after a favorite spot located on Long Island Sound near Billy’s hometown, Cold Spring Harbor introduced the world to Billy Joel, singer-songwriter, who, at the beginning of a new decade, was already penning future standards like “She’s Got a Way” and “Everybody Loves You Now.” The album charted in the United States (#158), Japan (#44) and the United Kingdom (#95).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. 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).