The single-layer 5.1 releases of The Stranger and 52nd Street from the early-2000s were pretty rare until Sony Japan reissued them as part of the 7-inch series.
Billy Joel - Piano Man 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Mch SACD of Quad mix from Sony Japan)
- Thread starter sfactor23
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52nd Street seems hard to come by (in sacd surround) for cheaper than $60+, but I see a few listings on eBay for The Stranger and I might bite on one of them. Setting up an alert for 52nd Street.
Well I just spent $150 on like three days worth of groceries, so I figure what's another $60 for a lifetime of music.
There appears to be what is a nice copy (sans slipcase) of 52nd Street on Discogs priced rather smartly.
This is a great release! I mean, the previous single disc releases were around $45 or so, and this one has 3 discs, so it's more or less along the lines of a box set, which puts the $66 into a good value mode, especially if you are a fan of his early work. These are the tracks that got played on Philadelphia radio that broke him as an artist and got Columbia to sign him and start his career for real.
I am so hoping for "Turnstiles" in this series. I would not be disappointed in the least bit if they skipped over "Streetlife Serenade" and went right to Turnstiles!
Completely agree - obviously the quad mix on SACD would be the main attraction for us, especially given that it was only ever released on a pretty terrible-sounding SQ LP, as seems to be the case with all the SQ vinyl CBS released between 1976 and the end of their quad output in early 1977. But there's a lot of other stuff that could go on there too: Turnstiles had a kind of tortured genesis - the album was originally recorded at Chicago producer James William Guercio's Caribou ranch (with Guercio producing) and Nigel Olsson and Dee Murray (from Elton John's band) on drums and bass respectively.
Joel was apparently dissatisfied with the recordings and went back to New York and re-cut the album with his touring band, and those were the recordings that were released. The Caribou Ranch recordings have never been issued (or even leaked) in any form, and if they still exist I think that despite whatever misgivings Joel had about them in 1976, they'd be of huge historical (not to mention musical) interest given the participants. Billy Joel produced by Chicago's producer and backed by Elton John's rhythm section? Sign me up!
Beyond that there's of course the version of New York State of Mind with the alternate (or re-recorded) sax solo from the 1985 Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II and also a whole bunch of professionally filmed and/or recorded gigs from the '76/'77 Turnstiles tour. To say this album is ripe for the box set treatment is an understatement, I think.
You know you're supposed to listen to the discs, right? Maybe keep the urgent care clinic on speed dial for dinner time.
Pre-ordered for a total of: $65.16 to my door with DHL
Can't wait!
Regards,
Can't wait!
Regards,
I have a ton of Billy Joel discs but I've never owned a proper copy of the "Piano Man" album. The fact that this is Quad and a new album to my collection, as well as tacking on 2 Santana discs (that I've also never owned) since I was already paying for shipping. So, a real easy call for me to make. $101 for the music, $26 for shipping. Never would have bought them if they weren't multi-channel.
You are the in for a real treat then, as this is a pretty great record. All killer, no filler. I had transfers of the SQ LP for years, which I never considered any great shakes. The discreetness just wasn't there. But I've also heard the discrete version via RA360. It is literally night and day regarding the mix. You'll love it.
The Japanese translations for the track list is hilarious.
This one was automatic. Pre-ordered. 
Anything vintage "surround" not previously released on modern silver disc is interesting to me.
Well, Don Young is credited with the quad mix here, and supervised by Harold J. Kleiner which is not a bad thing at all. "Head to The Sky" (quad blockbuster spectacular) from EW&F (plus plenty of other stunners) was this exact duo. So, not the same exact deal as "Streetlight" but great enough that I would confidently expect a near revelation here with Piano Man in quadraphonic.
I like Billy Joel. I don't love Billy Joel. I have the SQ album (and a Surround Master) and rarely listen. But I love these multichannel SACDs and Blu-ray's. I think I'll hold out, hoping for a less expensive option down the road.
Too steep for me right now!
Awesome.
Ordered.
Amazon Japan has a few copies of 52nd Street for $33 plus shipping - must have found a box of them during a stock check that had fell behind some shelving because I was under the impression that it was oop (at least CD Japan were unable to get hold of copies when I last checked).
I picked up a copy a few weeks ago and yes, its the legit Sony 7" mini LP packaged job.
https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/ビリー・ジ...ap_d_grid_rp_0_1_ec_ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_bia_item_i
JoshBasswood
Well-known Member
Yep, I had the same a couple of weeks ago on CDJAPAN. A mint and legit 7" mini LP.
For anyone who was interested in the DVD:
Not sure if I’ll be buying this set, never heard the entire album and while I’d like to hear the Quad, I wish they’d just do a single SACD version.
Not sure if I’ll be buying this set, never heard the entire album and while I’d like to hear the Quad, I wish they’d just do a single SACD version.
Agreed
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