The Complete Hits Collection 1973-1997

Product Description:

Personnel includes: Billy Joel (vocals, guitar, harmonica, accordion, piano, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B-3 organ, melodica, keyboards); T-Bone Wolk (vocals, bass); Ray Charles (vocals, piano); Crystal Taliefero (vocals, percussion); Larry Carlton, Hiram Bullock, Steve Kahn, David Brown, Danny Kortchmar, Dann Huff (guitar); Paul Franklin (pedal steel guitar); Richie Cannata (flute, clarinet, saxophone, organ); Clint Black (harmonica); Mark Rivera (alto & tenor saxophones, synthesizer, percussion); Phil Woods (alto saxophone); Richard Tee, Matt Rollings (piano); Wilton Felder, Neil Stubenhaus, Will Lee (bass); Willie Weeks, Sean Pelton, Liberty DeVitto, Ron Tutt, Zachary Alford (drums); Peter Cetera, Trisha Yearwood, Color Me Badd (background vocals).

Producers include: Billy Joel, Phil Ramone, Mick Jones, Danny Kortchmar, Peter Asher.

Includes liner notes by Timothy White.

This beautifully packaged four-cd boxed set, complete with extensive liner notes, biographical information, and comprehensive lyric sheets, is an essential collection for any Billy Joel fan. The chronologically arranged material on THE COMPLETE HITS unfolds like a historical survey of the past 25 years, underscoring Joel's acute social awareness, which is especially evident on songs like "Leningrad" and "Allentown:" "Every child had a pretty good shot/To get at least as far as their old man got/But something happened on the way to that place/They threw an American flag in our face." Also prevalent are Joel's matchless romantic ballads, including "She's Got a Way" and "She's Always a Woman," and his unshakable pop hits like "Uptown Girl," and "Keeping the Faith." Billy Joel's songs are so consistently familiar that it's easy to forget how groundbreaking and distinctive his dynamic, piano-led arrangements were when he began his career; this collection accentuates the timeless, lasting nature of Joel's accomplishments.