Billy Joel – The Vinyl Collection Vol. 2 Due Out November 3rd

11-LP box set includes first-ever audio release of Live from Long Island

September 15, 2023 Ron Hart 0 Comments 2023, An Innocent Man, Billy Joel, Box Set, Columbia Records, Fantasies & Delusions, Glass Houses, Legacy Recordings, Live from Long Island, River of Dreams, Storm Front, The Bridge, The Nylon Curtain, The Vinyl Collection Vol. 2, Vinyl

Billy Joel 1986 press photo (Image: Columbia Records)

This upcoming November 9th marks the 50th Anniversary of when Billy Joel released his signature second album Piano Man (more soon).

And in continuance of their ongoing celebration of the Long Island icon’s career, Legacy Recordings is marking the occasion by unveiling the second volume of Billy Joel – The Vinyl Collection on November 3rd, which coincidentally falls one day after the 50th anniversary of when the song “Piano Man” was released as a single.

Yet while Piano Man does not appear on this box set (you can find it on 2021’s 9-LP precursor The Vinyl Collection, Vol. 1), what you’ll be getting on this second volume is the remaining six studio LPs in Joel’s pop catalog, including Glass Houses (1980), The Nylon Curtain (1982), An Innocent Man (1983), The Bridge (1986), Storm Front (1989) and River of Dreams (1993), which Rock & Roll Globe recently celebrated for turning 30. There’s also the vinyl debut of 2001’s Fantasies & Delusions, Joel’s first foray into classical piano music where his compositions were performed by longtime friend, British-Korean pianist Richard Hyung-ki Joo.

Billy Joel The Vinyl Collection Vol. 2, Columbia Records / Legacy Recordings 2023

Now chances are if you’re a Billy Joel fan you have all this stuff already on CD or vintage wax. Well, the hook to convince you to reinvest in these records again is the inclusion of the three-LP concert album – Live from Long Island – culled from a celebratory homecoming concert/party Billy and his band threw for fans at the Nassau Coliseum on December 29, 1982 during the Nylon Curtain tour. A broadcast cut of the show originally aired on Home Box Office in 1983, and a longer edit was available on VHS. This new audio edition of Live from Long Island, however, gives us the concert in its entirety. It’s also one of the few Billy shows from back then to be professionally filmed and recorded.

All titles in The Vinyl Collection, Vol.2 have been sourced from the original album masters (analog and digital) and carefully prepared for this release by Ted Jensen with lacquers cut by Joe Nino Hernes at the legendary Sterling Sound in Nashville, Tennessee. The box set includes a 60+ page booklet featuring Billy’s revelatory personal observations and insights about each album, an informative essay by our pal Rob Tannenbaum, rare photos and memorabilia from the era and all the trimmings.

A new digital edition of the Billy Joel – Live from Long Island concert film is also available for pre-order over at Apple TV+ and iTunes.

As Billy Joel enjoys his 30th year without a pop album to promote, the best we can do is enjoy his existing catalog in the finest fidelity currently available to us.