12 Gardens (Live) [Digipak] - Billy Joel

Advantages: A fantatic collection of unreleased, rare and alternate recordings
Disadvantages: Really only one for previous Joel fans

...released B-sides from singles on CD 2. They include; An Innocent Man, Easy Money, the soundtrack to the Ruthless People film called Modern Woman, The 12" single re-mix version of Keeping The Faith, She's Right On Time, Baby Grand (recorded with Ray Charles) and Joel's cover of Bob Dylan's The TImes They Are A Changin'. Another cover, I'll Cry Instead (Live) by Lennon and McCartney was a single B-side, as was House of Blue Light (1989). Although classic Joel, it's confusing as to why any standard album tracks or B-sides, made it onto this compilation of rare recordings? An alternate version of Getting Closer (with Steve Winwood) is a much lighter version of of the song that was actually released. Disk 3: 1989-1999 Representing 1989 this CD starts with a straight album track version of Downeaster Alexa (a song named after Billy Joel... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Very good songs
Disadvantages: Not as strangely attractive as Supernanny

...If you read the music press these days, you would be forgiven for believing that tofu-eating popsters Coldplay invented the piano. They did not: the piano has been around since olden times, and was actually invented by Jesus, probably. Or someone called John Piano. But I digress - the piano was a common tool of the trade for many of the wealth of singer-songwriters who cropped up in the seventies, of which Billy Joel was one. Famous mainly for 1983's wedding disco favourite Uptown Girl, Billy finds himself in the unfortunate position of being thought a bit crap by a good many people. But those people are just silly, and I'm going to tell you why. A BIT ABOUT BILLY The son of classically trained musicians, Billy had piano lessons forced upon him from the age of 4. He may not have liked this at the time, but when he grew up... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Great Songs
Disadvantages: Some songs are quite weak

...each other song make up for this and is great. It was released on the 10/07/2006. Billy Joel is the piano Man.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful