Billy Joel - Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II (1985/2015) FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time - 114:32 minutes | 2,51 GB Studio Master, Official Digital Download | Artwork: Front cover

Billy Joel had so many hits between 1973 and 1985 that this collection, first released on two CDs, couldn't include them all. The goal wasn't just to collect Joel's charting hits; otherwise "Honesty" (which was added to one version of this collection) and "Sometimes a Fantasy," for starters, would have been included. Instead, it aimed to provide a coherent narrative of exactly what Joel accomplished during this period. No serious fan of his could begrudge the inclusion of the concert classic "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" alongside well-known hits like "Piano Man," "Just the Way You Are," "My Life," and "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me." The album's compilers even included two then-new tracks to this established list of tunes. "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" and "The Night Is Still Young" both emerged as hits themselves. For a time, this was Joel's only hits collection. Its outrageous sales figures—with more than 11.5 million copies of the double album sold—reflected the demand for a comprehensive one-stop shop of Joel's radio favorites.

Although it's missing a few important (not to mention big) hits, Greatest Hits, Vols. 1 & 2 is an excellent retrospective of the first half of Billy Joel's career. Beginning with "Piano Man," the first disc runs through a number of early songs before arriving at the hit-making days of the late '70s; some of these songs, including "Captain Jack" and "New York State of Mind," weren't strictly hits, but were popular numbers within his stage show and became radio hits. Once the songs from The Stranger arrive halfway through the first disc, there's no stopping the hits (although "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant," an album track from The Stranger, manages its way onto the collection). In fact, over the next disc and a half, there's so many hits, it's inevitable that some are left off -- to be specific, "Honesty," "Sometimes a Fantasy," "An Innocent Man," "Leave a Tender Moment," and "Keeping the Faith" aren't included. But all the other hits -- including "Just the Way You Are," "Only the Good Die Young," "My Life," "You May Be Right," "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me," "Don't Ask Me Why," "Allentown," "Tell Her About It" and "Uptown Girl," among many others -- are present and accounted for, as are two new songs ("You're Only Human (Second Wind)," "The Night Is Still Young") that became hits as well. In short, Greatest Hits, Vols. 1 & 2 does its job perfectly, encapsulating exactly why Billy Joel was one of the most popular singer/songwriters of the late '70s and early '80s.

Tracklist:

CD1 #01 - Piano Man CD1 #02 - Captain Jack CD1 #03 - The Entertainer CD1 #04 - Say Goodbye to Hollywood CD1 #05 - New York State of Mind CD1 #06 - The Stranger ** CD1 #07 - Scenes from an Italian Restaurant ** CD1 #08 - Just the Way You Are ** CD1 #09 - Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) ** CD1 #10 - Only the Good Die Young ** CD1 #11 - She Always a Woman **

** - These tracks presented in 24bit/88,2kHz resolution.

CD2 #01 - My Life CD2 #02 - Big Shot CD2 #03 - You May Be Right CD2 #04 - It's Still Rock and Roll to Me CD2 #05 - Don't Ask Me Why CD2 #06 - She's Got a Way CD2 #07 - Pressure CD2 #08 - Allentown CD2 #09 - Goodnight Saigon CD2 #10 - Tell Her About It CD2 #11 - Uptown Girl CD2 #12 - The Longest Time CD2 #13 - You're Only Human (Second Wind) ** CD2 #14 - The Night Is Still Young **

** - These tracks presented in 24bit/88,2kHz resolution