List Price: $39.98 Our Price: $22.89 You Save: $17.09 (43%)

Product Description

The three volumes of Billy Joel's Greatest Hits albums make up the bulk of this catch-up set; a fourth disc features some live versions and discussion of the artist's composing methods. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews:

• A box-set filled with great music...
  This 4-CD box-set is the only Billy Joel that I own, and I love it. Like any greatest hits collection, the die-hard fans are going to nit-pick that certain lesser-known masterpieces aren't included. And I'm sure that such is the case with this collection. However, for someone who is simply a casual fan of Billy Joel, this collection is perfect.
  
  The first three discs walk through most of his career, including all of the big hits. My favorite tracks on Disc 1 are "Piano Man, "The Entertainer," and "She's Always a Woman." My favorite tracks on Disc 2 are "She's Got a Way," and "The Longest Time." And the best disc is the third, which includes "Leningrad," "And So It Goes," "The Downeaster 'Alexa'," "Lullabye," and "To Make You Feel My Love."
  
  The fourth disc, "An Evening of Questions & Answers & A Little Music," is somewhat erratic. There are some great songs and unique arrangements or performances. It's funny to listen to Joel immitating the Beatles and describing the process whereby they composed music from "Abbey Road." And he has an engaging persona on stage.
  
  However, I was disappointed with the rather constant profanity throughout this disc. Though Joel would never want to portray a choir-boy image, I thought that the inclusion of so much vulgar language soured this box-set experience. It certainly makes me less than thrilled to recommend it to others.
  
  Poor production choices notwithstanding, there is some phenomenal music contained on these discs. If you're looking for a greatest hits album from Billy Joel spanning the most well-known and wonderful songs from throughout his career, this is the perfect box-set for you!!...more info
• I was lucky to find this album
  Three months ago I was just fooling around an important music store here in Lima, Peru. Suddenly my eyes were iluminated when I look "the album". I bought it and that night at home I listen the 4 CD's until 3.00 or 4.00 in the morning. The album is excellent, it covers all the talent and visions about life from Billy. It's just fantastic. I just sorry the album does not include the song "Honesty", that is one of my favorites too. Excuse my poor english....more info
• The Hits And More
  If you are looking for the hits of Billy Joel, this is the place. All of his major hits are here and in one place. There are no live cuts, no alternate takes, just song after song from one of the best musicians of the last 30 years.
  
  If you have some of his other CDs, you may quibble about some of the choices on the set. For example, I have a soft spot for "Leave A Tender Moment Alone" and that is not here. But that is minor.
  
  The 4th CD in this set is a gem, from his talks on the "business" of music, how records actually do get made. You get a feel for Joel as a person as he talks about growing up as he explains how and why he wrote songs such as Scenes, Vienna and Piano Man....more info
• Place Joel in the Pantheon of American Composers
  Like only Gershwin and Berlin before him, Joel has given us a body of work that is unparalleled in excellence and taste. That critics and rock aficionadoes alike continue to lambaste him invoke comparisons to other misunderstood geniuses like Van Gogh and Conrad. One only needs to hear a few lines of "We Didn't Start The Fire" to appreciate the depth and wisdom of Joel's poetry. The metaphysical testimonies of "Piano Man" and "Captain Jack" only strengthen with time--perhaps they are the "Paradise Lost" or "Inferno" of our age. Joel's philosophical contributions to rock and roll would have left him on firm ground alone, but he fearlessly breaks new ground on issues of Catholicism ("Only The Good Die Young"), trends in style ("It's Only Rock and Roll to Me") and proleterian lust ("Uptown Girl"). This album is imperitive to understanding mankind....more info
• All the classics... and then some.
  Billy Joel has had a long, storied career as a solo performer. And this set throws together all of his best hit singles. This is a repackaging of the three Greatest Hits CDs, but the real fun is the fourth disc. It includes live versions both hits ("Piano Man", "We Didn't Start the Fire") and a cover of "Hard Days Night" interspersed with Joel lecturing a class about his insprations.

  Since Billy seems to have given up performing and writing in this genre, this makes for a great keepsake....more info

• Awesome Collection of Billy Joel's Hits
  Whether or not you are a Die Hard Billy Joel fan, Billy Joel has written/sang awesome songs from the early 70's to the late 90's; owning just his greatest hits volume 1 & 2, you would be missing out on volume 3 & volume 4, PLUS pay a much higher fee, if you purchase them individually. Buying the 4-cd PACK was a logical choice for me, since all of his best songs - including "Piano Man", "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant", "My Life", "Still Rock & Roll to me", "We Didn't Start The Fire", "River of Dreams" - just to name a few, are in this cd set and you cannot beat the price....more info
• If you want the BEST of Billy Joel look no further!!
  This Box Set collection is worth penny. Yes it has 4 CD's but my goodness what a complete collection they didn't leave one song out. Definately a worthy purchase. I was completing my "Greatest Hits" collection (see my listmania list) and one of my pet peeves with a lot of the Greatest Hits CD's they some how manage not to put all of the Hits on it.

  I also recommend in addition to this one Paul McCartneys "All the Best" CD that is another one packed with all of your favorites.

  Respectfully Reviewed...more info

• There's nobody more entertaining than Billy Joel!
  This box set is awesome. If you are a devoted fan like myself you probably already have all the C.D.'s, including the Evening of Questions and Answers from another box set, but the enlcosed booklet makes it well worth paying for it all again! Billy really opens himself up in this and shows a very personal side of himself, rather than putting all his energy into being The Entertainer, like he usually does. I highly recommend it to anyone else who really loves Billy Joel!...more info
• ONLY FOR AVID BILLY JOEL FANS
  Unless you are a die hard Billy Joel fan, this boxed set is not for you. It does not even live up to its name "Complete Hits Collection" because some of his hits have not been included notably "Sometimes A Fantasy" which was a top 40 hit and cannot as far as I know be found on any one of the numerous collections of Billy Joel retrospectives that have been issued over the years. For those of you who like his songs and would prefer a more handy and reasonably comprehensive collection I would recommend acquiring "Billy Joel The Ultimate Collection" which has 36 tracks including most of his hits. What's more, the lyrics for all the 36 songs are also provided and the sound quality is good too. ...more info
• amazing
  This is as complete a billy joel album as you can get. all of the CDs are great and i especially liked the 4th disc how he explained how he came up with the lyrics to some of his songs....more info
• A great compilation
  Billy Joel has had a long and storied career as a singer. His style has morphed as his life has. This compilation of his hits spanning over 2 decades is both a tribute to his longevity and style of music. Listening to these songs gives you a great appreciation of how this style changed. From the catchy lyrics to the soulful ballads, this collection has it all. It's easy to just put a CD in the changer and get lost in the melodies that you grew up listening to. The quality of the sound from this collection is first-rate. If you are looking to follow along as a singer/songwriter matures, this is a great way to do it....more info
• The Best Billy Joel Collection Available.
  This four cd collection (three discs of his greatest hits and a bonus fourth disc) is the finest collection of Billy Joel's work availble. Billy Joel is quite possibly the finest interpreter of popular music of the last 30 years, and this boxed set shows why - Billy's excellent skills as a pianist, a vocalist and songwriter are on full display.
  
  Disc 1 covers 1973 to 1977. This is just when Billy started to grow as a musician, and features early classics like the timeless signature tune "Piano Man", "Captain Jack", "New York State Of Mind" and the brilliant opus "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant". I often wondered why Billy wasn't well respected by critics, because the songs here are on par with the legendary works of The Beatles and Bob Dylan, possessing the same excellent songwriting skills and top class 17 musicianship.
  
  Disc 2 covers 1978 to 1985, when Billy began to take off. Classics like "My Life", "You May Be Right" and "It's Still Rock And Roll To Me" made Billy a superstar, while lesser heard numbers like "She's Got A Way" and "Pressure" showed he would not surrender to commercial success and abandon his artistic skills. This is Billy in his true prime.
  
  Disc 3 covers 1986 to 1997. Not quite a force as he once was, Billy still has some good stuff from around this timn. "We Didn't Start The Fire" and "River Of Dreams" were huge hits, while "This Is The Time", "A Matter Of Trust" are some of his best recordings. Of the new recordings, Leonard Cohen's "Light As The Breeze" is seductive and beautiful.
  
  The 4th disc, a Q & A session with Billy and his fans, is a great treat. Billy is funny, down to Earth and open with the crowd, and the performances are great. This is an excellent collection all music fans should pick up....more info
• Nearly perfect... just one song missing!!!!!!!!
  If you are a huge Billy Joel fan than you definetly need to pick up this collection. Its has all but one HIT he ever recorded on this CD. So I would highly advise picking up this Box Set from the piano man. It also contains some hidden gems on Disc 4 that is a pleasure and a joy to listen to. This was a very nice bonus to have been included as well.
  So with all the high priase I give this album, why is this not a 5 star album by my standards? Becauase to me, 5 stars means "perfect", and this box set clearly has one of Billy's greatest hits EVER missing. Billy recorded a song for the 80's Disney animated film "Oliver and Company" called "Why Should I Worry?" which has some of his best vocals on there. I'm very dissapointed that this ONE HUGE hit is missing to make this Box set fall short from a perfect status. I don't know if there was a problem with the distribution with Disney, or the fact that Billy didn't write it, but in all honesty this needed to be on Disc 4, and I would have gladly given this Box set five stars. For those of you who haven't heard the song before, listen to it, and you'll think the same thing, "Why on God's green earth was this omitted from the final tracklisting"?...more info
• Buy this Boxset!
  Being a Joisey gurl i have loved Billy Joel since the early days of WNEW-FM. This compile is an absolute must for anyone interested in what he has to say and feel how only he can say it. if you want to feel his passion, feel his concern, feel his love & desire for raw life, treat yourself to many hours of enjoyment, and on the fourth disc laughter, with his woven stories....more info
• Billy Joel IS the Piano Man..Rock and Soul
  Billy Joel's Greatest Hits 1973-1997

  I have been a Billy Joel fan since my senior year at South Miami High, and even though my collection of his music was pitifully small - still is, too - I did have a few of his 1980s vintage albums on audiocassettes. Included in this small batch of tapes was his first "Greatest Hits" collection, which covered the years 1973-1985. I played the cassette to death in my college years, even taking it with me to Sevilla (Seville), Spain, during a study-abroad stint.

  I was glad when the first CD re-release of Volumes One and Two became available in the early 1990s. By then I had gone through two cassettes and was not looking forward to buying a third. I was looking forward to hearing "Piano Man," "She's Always a Woman," "Good Night Saigon," and "Don't Ask Me Why" in the new-to-me compact disc format.

  I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that the CD version was a marked improvement over the cassette. Not only did it sound better, but "Just the Way You Are" was presented in its entirety; in the cassette it had been abridged to fit the running time allowed on the tape. I also heard several new songs not included in the tape for space purposes, including "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" and "She's Got a Way." This 2-disc set soon became my favorite non-classical, non-movie soundtrack music, and I loved to sing along to my much loved songs with the aid of the booklet of lyrics.

  I held off on buying Volume Three as a result of a bad review in the Miami Herald, but when I saw this boxed set in 1998, I could not resist the temptation. Sure, I already had half of the four CDs in this collection, but I just had to have it! And naturally I played Disc Three first...and I regretted having paid attention to the Herald's music critic.

  First, because Volume Three takes up where Volume Two left off (with songs from 1983's An Innocent Man), I was ecstatic when I heard "An Innocent Man" and "Keeping the Faith," which I would have preferred on the 1973-85 collection. Second, I also discovered such songs as "Leningrad," "River of Dreams," and the elegiac ode to doomed love, "And So It Goes." I fell in love with the Celtic backbeat of "The Downeaster Alexa," the neo-classical "Lullabye (Good Night My Angel)," and the smoldering sensuality of "Shameless." As he did in Volume Two, Joel adds several new songs to supplement his older material, including covers of "Hey, Girl," "Light as a Breeze," and Bob Dylan's "To Make You Feel My Love," which Joel's friend Garth Brooks also covered in his own Greatest Hits boxed set.

  The fourth disc is very interesting, even if it contains songs we heard in the other discs of this set. It contains several live lectures with musical interludes. These were recorded at several colleges on different dates, but are seamlessly spliced so that it sounds like one single performance. Here Joel gives us a glimpse of the creative and business aspects of his musical career, and he does so with humor, intelligence, and charm.

  All in all, if you are a Joel fan and can't afford all his albums, I recommend this boxed set. (A Caveat: 2001's The Essential Billy Joel 2-disc set does cover much of the same ground, but has a few variations of content.)...more info

• The Entertainer
  This album puts together some of the best known music of one of America's best known singers Billy Joel : A quarter century of his feel-good music .It is a must for any fan of great music
  My personal favourites include the classic folksy Piano Man (1973) , the contemplation of purposeless lives Captain Jack (1973) and Scenes From An Italian Restaurant (1977), the American rock n roll Moving Out (Anthony's Song (1977) , the beautiful love song She's Always A Woman (1977), well-known dance music of My Life (1978), Big Shot (1979) , You May Be Right (1980)and It's Still Rock n Roll To Me (1980) , the indictment of modern life Pressure (1982) , the story of life in an industrial town Allentown (1982) and the old style rock n roll Uptown Girl (1983).
  The 4 disc album carries on with, among othyer fantastic songs:
  An Innocent Man (1983): A tender anthem about the hurt contained in the broken promises of love, and contains a promise that the writer is different.
  
  A Matter Of Trust (1986): A more upbeat rendition of a similar theme . A great fell-good song.
  
  Baby Grand (1983): A superb duo with Ray Charles.
  
  This Is The Time: (1983): One of my favourite, favourites. I keep playing it again and again. Here Billy Joel displays the incredible power of the voice at it's best.
  
  Leningrad (1989): A powerful ballad about the Cold War, focuses on a Russian friend of Billy Joel, living in the then Leningrad (now thank the Lord, St Petersburg), as well as the lives of Joel's generation in the USA. It never fails to bring tears to my eyes when I hear the lines - `The greatest happiness he ever found
  Was making Russian children glad
  And children living in Leningrad'
  
  Here we are examining the tragedy the tragedy of the hell on earth that was the enormous prison called the Soviet Union. And we are reminded that children lived there! What about the children who needed what all children need?
  
  We Didn't Start The Fire (1989): A fantastic `makes you wanno dance' song tracing the heady years of 1949-1989, from the perspective of the Baby boomer generation.
  `We didn't start the fire'
  No we didn't light it
  But we trying to fight it'
  
  The haunting love song `And So It Goes' (1983) and the exquisite Lullaby (Goodnight My Angel) (1993) which also makes my eyes moist.
  
  And of course the dreamlike `River of Dreams' (1993) and the gorgeous The Downeaster 'Alexa' (1989).
  
  ...more info
• Great Selections from all his greatest hits volumes!
  I'm sure you're going to love this complete Box Set collection taken of all Billy Joel's greatest hits volumes from 1973-1993 with three previously unreleased material. These songs are wonderfully fabulous because i've got these tunes on both cd's I have already. Expect for the third disc where it includes a college lecture interview which you could find it boring sometimes or interesting to listen often!...more info
• He writes the songs that make the whole world a better place
  How many times have you heard a Billy Joel song and just had to thank the good lord for giving him to us? I know I find myself doing this at least 3 times a week, almost as often as I give thanks for the Rev. Billy Graham. If not for this amazing artist, I daresay the greatest American Artist of all time, and perhaps the greatest artist to ever share the same air we mere mortals breathe, I surely would never have been able to pull myself out the the sewer of drugs and alchohol into which I had descended. I would do anything, to anyone, just to get the money I needed for a fix, but the Piano Man called out to me, and I was lucky enough to hear him. His etheral melodies led me to God, and between the 2 of them, they were able to save me. It truly was devine intervention that led me to Joel, for God new that only Joel could evoke in me the desire to save myself. Keeping the faith indeed. Glory be to God and his favorite son, Billy Joel. We would be in a cold and desolite place without them....more info
• everything it should be
  I'm a Billy Joel fan, but it was my dad's music - so I don't know everything. This collection has everything you've heard before if you're like me. It has plenty of other songs that you haven't heard too, that are great. I'd recommend this to both avid Billy Joel fans, and people who just enjoy his music....more info
• Disc Four Makes It All Worthwhile
  If you're a Billy Joel fan, this collection has all your favorites. But the delightful fourth disc, a composite of intimate conversations with the audience about Joel's motivation and influences, followed by dramatic live recordings of the songs he talks about, is golden. Besides giving a glimpse at the personality and humor of this gifted artist, its live versions of "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant, "We Didn't Start the Fire" and "Piano Man" (with thousands singing along,) are extraordinary....more info
• All of his hits, and something more
  This collection is really a work of art. It showcases his ability to keep on kickin' out some great music. It would be futile to list all of the tracks on this 4 disc compilation, but they are organized by there date. Disc 4 is something special, where you get to here him in concert. He answers questions and plays live versions of the songs. He is actually quite funny! Go Billy Go!...more info
• Definitely Worth it!
  For the 8 years I've known Billy Joel I've relied solely on some CDs my brother owned (2 in all) but the main thing I wore out was the Greatest Hits 1 and 2 tape. On the tape version they cut down the songs and they leave out "she's got a way" "...italian restaurant" "captain jack" "the entertainer" and some noticable verses in "Just the Way You are" and "Pressure". My Christmas shopping online consisting of catching up with CDs I've always meant to get but always put off. I was going to get the 2 albums..Greatest Hits 1&2 and 3 but I noticed the box set and the 4th w/ Q&A is only 2 dollars more than if you bought the 2 albums insteead of the set. Well when's the last time you got a Cd for 2 dollars? Neway the whole Set is amazing! Not only have the 4 CDs not left my Cd player BUT the 2 dollars seems to be well spent as the 4th is a great Q&A thing and plus the booklet w/ ALL THE LYRICS and the Story of the Man Behind the Piano...Defintely worthy...if you're thinking about getting the Greatest Hits Albums, don't! GET THE BOX SET FOR A LITTLE MORE....money well spent...more info
• A Billy Joel Must
  No doubt the best collection of Billy Joel tracks. A must for any real fan's collection....more info
• A Few misses, more hits
  I'll keep this short and sweet for other casual music fans (with good taste of course!). Yes there's a few good ones missing, (shame, since there's plenty of room between disc 1 and 2) but all the same its mostly good ol' Billy Joel. If your wondering if investing in the Greatest Hits Vol. 3, I say it most definatly is. "Its too slow, its boring"-- whatever! Yes the pace is overall slower, and yes gets a tad uninteresting, but so does the early stuff, except then I'm getting tired of boring FAST songs, so big deal. Sounds like a nice progression from the youthful spunk of "Only the Good Die Young" to "River of Dreams" and beyond. One of the bit boring song on disc one?-- "Scenes." Yep, overrated (well, in my opinoin anyway). On the 4th disc-- its pretty good for what it is, but not much of a difference either way. Billy's gems a spread pretty evenly over his career, and most of the rest is still good listening, so buy it....more info
• Only Billy
  Billy is simply the best. New York State of Mind and Piano Man are absolutely 2 of my all time favorites....more info
• Excellent overview of a great body of work
  Having grown up with an older brother and a cousin who are rabid Billy Joel fans, I grew up listening to his music on a daily basis. What has always amazed me about Joel is the ease with which he can jump styles. He can rock out ("Big Shot", "A Matter Of Trust"), be tender ("She's Always A Woman", "She's Got A Way"), even do a little gospel ("River Of Dreams"). True, I like some of his songs better than others, but overall you have to appreciate his solid musicianship, both in performing and writing. It's also amazing how he can span generations--both my 66-year-old father and my 11-year-old niece are fans (in fact, "The Stranger" was the only rock album Dad would let us play in the car on family trips!). In this age of sampling being called songwriting, it's great to hear an artist who can truly write great songs, truly sing, and truly play. This set literally covers Joel's career beginning to end, and the third disk, which is a combination of a talk he gave to college students and live tracks (including a great cover of "Back In The USSR" and, of course, the awesome singalong that is "Piano Man") gives a fascinating glimpse into how some of his greatest hits came into being. A must for any Joel fan, even if you're just a casual one, because this set has everything and more....more info
• If my mom loves it, then that's all I care about :)
  I purchased this for my mom who is a huge Billy Joel fan! She has seen him in concert so many times throughout her life (I've seen him a few times along with her). I know that every one of Billy's albums are her favorite, but I wanted to buy her a cd with most of his greatest hits so she could keep them in her car. She is very happy with this set. She loves the information in the booklet/sleeve. Her only complaint was that her all-time favorite song was missing from this collection..."You're My Home". But, luckily she has that song on another cd. :) I plan on buying this set for myself in the near future. ...more info
• Wonderful music and interactives
  Music, insight and lyrics. What else do you want from any artist.
  
  Billy Joel delivers all that in this collection.
  
  Skip the individual albums and get this definitive volume.
  
  Very cool....more info
• The best of Box sets
  an amazing and inspiring collection of Billy Joel hits. The fourth question and answer CD and the inserted book are worth the price that you pay by themselves. A must have for any fan.. or anybody who appreciates good music....more info
• Good compilation, but it always misses greatest hits!
  Billy Joel is one of those composers/musicians whose music is always good, DAMN good! So, the problem with making a "Complete Hits Collection", is that one way or the other, it will always MISS GOOD SONGS!... Some of those missing in this one: "Rosalinda's Eyes" (52nd Street), "C'Etait Toi (You Were The One)" (Glass Houses), "Leave A Tender Moment Alone" (An Innocent Man)... In such case, there's no other way but getting his whole album collection... Surely a big expense, but consider that almost all of his albums have been reissued in "Enhanced" versions. ...more info
• All of his classics... and then some.
  Billy Joel has had a long, storied career as a solo performer. And this set throws together all of his best hit singles. This is a repackaging of the three Greatest Hits CDs, but the real fun is the fourth disc. It includes live versions both hits ("Piano Man", "We Didn't Start the Fire") and a cover of "Hard Days Night" interspersed with Joel lecturing a class about his insprations.

  Since Billy seems to have given up performing and writing in this genre, this makes for a great keepsake....more info

• Not Always Through Extremes
  It is just so unbelievable these days we often forget our heroes in muusic. But, also we overlook them in boxed sets too. As for Billy Joel, it is just a shame that he said that he retired from the music industry in the category of Pop music. Personally, I think he should try to make a comeback into the mainstream, rather than classical. But, that also could be said the exact same way for Greatest Hits collections, and thensome. For nearly 30 years, he has been the reigning Piano Man from the U.S.A. that has never arose within scandal, but arose with heartbreak and pain, and the music shows it.

  The Complete Hits Collection 1973-1997, is a collection of Billy Joel's assertive music success from his career in Pop. There are over 40 songs that are shown on this album including his classics, Piano Man, The River Of Dreams, and Uptown Girl. However, this collection might be considered as somewhat a miss to some people who are concerned about boxed sets. Largely because the first 3 discs are mainly just reworked versions from Billy Joel's previous Greatest Hits records Volumes I, II, and III. Considering it might be a flawback to the whole packaging. Although the music is great for what it is, there just could've been tracks like Leave A Tender Moment Alone, Honesty, and a few other great songs that should've been added.

  It does seem like a good assembled collection for Billy Joel, but a little bit of a shallow, foolish mistake. Unless you don't have any of the three Greatest Hits records Billy Joel released within his career, than you should get this record. Let's just hope Billy Joel can keep that faith going again soon. The world is lonely without him....more info

• Not 100% but close!
  Fortunately for me, I already had 'Piano Man' & '52nd Street' on disc or else I'd be ticked off. How could any decent compilation of this guys' stuff exclude 'Honesty',' Zanzibar', 'Stiletto', 'The Ballad of Billy The Kid', or 'Worse Comes To Worse'? To complete the missing tunes that I didn't already have, I simply went to i-Tunes and found 'Angry Young Man' & 'Get It Right The First Time'. But, overall, a pretty nice collection Billy's best stuff. ...more info
• A must.
  What a performer. What a great body of work. What energy and passion in his songs. Even without the "bonus" fourth disc, which provides some interesting insights, this is a great set of music.

  Unless you have just about all of his early great albums (Piano Man through The Bridge), this is a worthwhile purchase. All of his hits, and the other tunes from those albums we love, like "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", "The Longest Time" and the wonderfully biographical "Keeping the Faith." I was delighted to find "She's Got a Way" included also. His collaboration with Ray Charles on "Baby Grand" is a classic, and like they say: "sounds good to me......"

  Damn sure does!...more info

• I Think 5 Stars is an underating, I give 10!
  This mix of Billy's greatest hit is great plus you get an interestingperspective of him through his interaction on the Cd with some college kids....more info
• Piano Man fans
  We love these CD's. They truly are a complete collection of his best work....more info
• Greatest hits, and MORE
  Instead of being a "Greatest Hits" album, this is more like a compilation of ALL of Billy Joel's songs. True, it has all the works I wanted to hear but also has many more that I never even heard before. It also has a section from a live concert where Billy Joel is answering questions from the audience. Will I ever want to listen to that again? I don't think so. But all in all, it has all the songs I originally wanted on it....more info
• This is THE Billy Joel Collection to Own
  If you are a Piano Man fan and want to own all of Billy Joel's best music, this is a must own collection. The first 3 CD's span virtually all of his greatest hits in chronological order. The listener is then given an added treat in the 4th CD of Billy Joel doing a live "music business seminar" where he delights his fans with witty dialogue and, of course, brilliant displays of his composing and performance artistry. The set is worth the purchase just to hear him perform "Scenes from an Italian Restaraunt" and his live rendition of the Beatles classic, "Hard Days Night". Additionally this set is attractively packaged with photographs and a written biography of Billy that explains how his personal experiences affected his music. Get this CD and bask in the musical wisdom and genius of the Piano Man. Truly one of the classic greatest hits collections!...more info
• Billy Joel - 1973-97-Complete Hits Collection
  Grew up listening to Billy Joel, but never owned an album. Became re-interested in his music just recently, and this album fits the bill for what I wanted to hear of his work. I know others who are more familiar with his work have posted comments saying song "x" is missing from some of the greatest hits albums, and this may be so, I don't know. All I know is, everything I wanted to hear was on this album....more info
• GREAT BILLY JOEL BOX SET
  I purchased this set on sale the day after Thanksgiving and couldn't wait to play it. I leave it in my car and play it all the time. A few months back I saw Billy Joel with my husband and teenage son at the last play at Shea, the second night when Paul McCartney and others appeared!! It was great, the last time I was at Shea for an outdoor concert was when I saw The Rolling Stones and I was pregnant with my son that went to the Billy Joel concert with me. Billy Joel never disappoints, and I can't wait till he comes out with a DVD of the Last Play at Shea, but until that day, I will continue to enjoy this CD of all my favorite songs by Billy Joel. I also like the one CD that has Billy Joel answering questions regarding his songs and playing his songs in what sounds like an intimate setting. Buy this set if you want to have all of Billy Joel's favorite singles in one set. The sound quality is excellent. The set also comes with the words to the songs which is great. ...more info
• Billy Joel - - - Always Entertaining!
  Everyone should NOT be disappointed with this box set (maybe one of the best there is!) Even if you owned many of his albums or have his greatest hits, you will still want this. Just for the record, this is NOT a complete hit collection because "Honesty", "Sometimes a Fantasy", and "Leave a Tender Moment Alone", all top 40 hits are not here. However, it really doesn't matter since those songs are probably not your favorite Joel tunes. The pictures and liner notes are super!...more info
• Billy Joel Reviewed
  While I'm not a great fan of the "Complete Hits Collection" from any artist, I will say this one is done well.
  While it does have all the standard clasic Joel tunes, the true gem of the collection is disc 4, in which Joel discusses musical influences and how he constructed "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" It's very entertaining....more info