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The Stranger (album)

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Untitled
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
Allmusic (Deluxe Edition) [2]
Robert Christgau(B-) [3]
NeuFutur (Deluxe Edition) [4]
Rolling Stone (Deluxe Edition) [5]
Slant Magazine [6]
Uncut [7]
"Just The Way You Are"
Billy Joel's "Just The Way You Are" from The Stranger
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The Stranger is the fifth studio album by musician Billy Joel, released in 1977 (see 1977 in music). While his four previous albums had been moderate chart successes, this was his breakthrough album, and is generally regarded by critics as his magnum opus, spending six weeks at #2 in the U.S. album charts. It remains Joel's best-selling non-compilation album to date and was ranked number 67 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

History

Songs

The Stranger contained nine songs, many of which are now considered "classic Joel." "Movin' Out," "She's Always a Woman," "Just The Way You Are," "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant," "Everybody Has A Dream," and "Only The Good Die Young" were all written prior to recording, while "Vienna," "The Stranger," and "Get It Right The First Time" all came from short tunes or fragments of songs that Joel finished in the studio. Each song had stories attached to it. The seven-and-a-half-minute epic "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" began as the shorter "Ballad of Brenda and Eddie," a section that now forms the third part of the song. Joel came up with the signature whistle line for the title track, which he whistled to producer Phil Ramone, claiming that he needed to find an instrument to play it. Ramone replied: "No, you don't. That's 'The Stranger,' the whistling."

Four singles from the LP charted on the Billboard Hot 100: "Just The Way You Are," (#3), "Movin' Out" (#17), "She's Always a Woman," (#17), and "Only The Good Die Young" (#24). Many of the songs on the album are now staples on classic rock FM radio stations.

Release and Reaction

Much of the album's success is attributed to Joel's collaboration with producer Phil Ramone, whose innovative production methods complemented Joel's songs. This fruitful collaboration would continue for a decade. Singles released from the album include "Just the Way You Are" (which won the Grammy for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year), the acoustic ballad "She's Always A Woman," the mildly controversial "Only the Good Die Young," and "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)," which later lent its title to Movin' Out, an acclaimed hit Broadway musical based on Billy Joel's songs. This album overtook Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water album to become the best-selling album on the Columbia Records imprint at the time. Generally regarded as Joel's finest work, in 2003, the album was ranked number 67 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Legacy & 30th Anniversary Editions

In July 2008, a special 30th Anniversary Edition of the Stranger was released. It contains two special editions - a 2 CD Legacy Edition and a Deluxe Limited Edition including 2 CDs plus a bonus DVD. The limited deluxe edition of "The Stranger" includes a CD of the original album, in its entirety, remastered by producer Phil Ramone; a CD of a previously unreleased concert featuring Billy and his band, "Live At Carnegie Hall 1977," recorded at the historic Manhattan venue on June 3, 1977, one month prior to the sessions for "The Stranger" album and newly restored for the new editions of "The Stranger"; and a DVD showcasing two live promotional videos from "The Stranger" and the long-awaited release of Billy's fabled appearance on the BBC's "Old Grey Whistle Test," a seldom-seen sixty minute cavalcade from 1978 that has aired only once on the UK's BBC2. Also included in this box set is a facsimile poster from the 1977 Carnegie Hall concert, and a facsimile notebook that contains copies of rough draft lyrics for many of the songs that appeared on The Stranger, The remastered version is much louder than the original and has much less dynamic range.

Track listing

All songs by Billy Joel.

Side 1

  1. "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" – 3:30
  2. "The Stranger" – 5:10
  3. "Just the Way You Are" – 4:52
  4. "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" – 7:37

Side 2

  1. "Vienna" – 3:34
  2. "Only the Good Die Young" – 3:55
  3. "She's Always a Woman" – 3:21
  4. "Get It Right the First Time" – 3:57
  5. "Everybody Has a Dream/The Stranger (Reprise)" – 6:38

Live At Carnegie Hall, June 3, 1977 CD

  1. "Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway)" - 5:11
  2. "Prelude/Angry Young Man" - 6:05
  3. "New York State of Mind" - 8:20
  4. "Just the Way You Are" - 4:56
  5. "She's Got a Way" - 3:32
  6. "The Entertainer" - 6:09
  7. "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" - 7:35
  8. "Band Introductions" - 2:02
  9. "Captain Jack" - 6:51
  10. "I've Loved These Days" - 4:29
  11. "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" - 6:45
  12. "Souvenir" - 2:09

30th Anniversary Edition DVD

  • Live Promotional Videos, 1977
  1. "The Stranger"
  2. "Just the Way You Are"
  • The Old Grey Whistle Test on BBC 1 (First transmitted 14 March 1978)
  1. "Intro"
  2. "Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway)"
  3. "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"
  4. "New York State of Mind"
  5. "The Entertainer"
  6. "She's Always a Woman to Me"
  7. "Root Beer Rag"
  8. "Just the Way You Are"
  9. "Only the Good Die Young"
  10. "Souvenir"
  11. "Ain't No Crime"
  • 30 Minute Making of The Stranger Documentary

Best Buy Exclusive Bonus CD (Live At Nassau Coliseum 12/77)

(packaged with both the 2CD Legacy and 2CD/1DVD 30th Anniversary Edition)

  1. "Just the Way You Are"
  2. "Vienna"
  3. "The Ballad of Billy the Kid"
  4. "Get It Right the First Time"
  5. "Summer, Highland Falls"

Target Exclusive Bonus DVD

(packaged with the 2CD Legacy Edition)

  1. "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" (Live from Long Island)
  2. "The Stranger" (Live from Long Island)
  3. "Only the Good Die Young" (Live from Leningrad)
  4. "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" (Live from Yankee Stadium)
  5. "Piano Man" (Live from The River of Dreams Tour)

Online Store Bonus Tracks

  1. "Prelude/Angry Young Man" (Live Version) (Version 2) (iTunes Album Only Exclusive Track) - 5:03
  2. "She's Got a Way" (Live Version) (Version 2) - (AmazonMP3 Exclusive Track) 3:42


  • NOTE: The iTunes and AmazonMP3 Exclusive tracks are different than the ones featured on the "Live At Carnegie Hall, June 3, 1977" bonus disc, hence the "Version 2" distinction.

Personnel

Chart positions and certifications

Albums

Year Country Chart Position Weeks Certification (if any) Sales/shipments
1978 United States The Billboard Pop Albums 2 137 Diamond[8] 10,000,000+
1978 Australia Kent Music Report 2
1978 Japan Oricon Weekly LP Chart (Top 100) 3 75 370,000+[9]
1978 United Kingdom UK Albums Chart 24 40 Gold 100,000+

30th Anniversary Edition

Year Country Chart Position Sales
2008 Japan Oricon Weekly Albums Chart (Top 100) 28 6,000+[10]

Singles

Year Country Single Chart Position
1978 North America "Just the Way You Are" The Billboard Hot 100 3
1978 North America "Just the Way You Are" Billboard AC 1
1978 United Kingdom "Just the Way You Are" UK Singles Chart 19
1978 North America "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" The Billboard Hot 100 17
1978 North America "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" Billboard AC 40
1978 United Kingdom "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" UK Singles Chart 35
1978 North America "Only the Good Die Young" The Billboard Hot 100 24
1978 North America "She's Always a Woman To Me" The Billboard Hot 100 17
1978 Japan "The Stranger" Oricon Weekly 2

See also

Awards

Grammy Awards

Year Winner Category
1978 Just the Way You Are Record of the Year
1978 Just the Way You Are Song of the Year

Issues

Media Release Date Publisher Catalog Number
Vinyl LP 09/1977 Columbia JC 34987
Vinyl LP

Australian release

1977 Columbia

(CBS Inc.)

SBP 237057
CD 1st Issue Japan 06/03/1982 CBS/Sony 35-DP-2
2CD/DVD 30th Anniversary Edition 07/08/08 Columbia/Legacy 88697 30801 2
Cassette 1990 Columbia JCT 34987
CD 1990 Columbia CK-34987
CD Remastered 10/20/1998 Columbia CK 69384
Super Audio CD 07/31/2001 Sony CS 69384
2CD Legacy Edition 07/08/08 Columbia/Legacy 88697 22581 2
2CD/DVD 30th Anniversary Edition 07/08/08 Columbia/Legacy 88697 30801 2

References

  1. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r10432
  2. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r1391230
  3. ^ http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=billy+joel
  4. ^ http://neufutur.com/?p=4483
  5. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/billyjoel/albums/album/260768/review/21471717/the_stranger_30th_anniversary_deluxe_edition
  6. ^ http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=498
  7. ^ Luke Torn Uncut magazine, September 2008.
  8. ^ RIAA
  9. ^ "a-ビリー・ジョエル (Yamachan Land: Albums Chart Daijiten -Billy Joel)". Retrieved 2008-02-27.
  10. ^ Japanese Overall Chart+ Sales Oricon. Retrieved August 1, 2008.
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