Detailed item info | Track listing | DISC 1:
1. My Journey's End - (with The Lost Souls)
2. Time and Time Again - (with The Lost Souls)
3. Every Step I Take (Every Move I Make) - (with The Hassles)
4. You've Got Me Hummin' - (with The Hassles)
5. Amplifier Fire - (with Atilla)
6. Only a Man - (demo)
7. She's Got a Way
8. Oyster Bay - (demo)
9. Piano Man - (demo)
10. Siegfried Line, The
11. New Mexico (demo - became "Worse Comes To Worse")
12. Cross to Bear - (demo)
13. Miami 2017 - (demo)
14. These Rhinestone Days (demo - became "I Love These Days")
15. Everybody Has a Dream
16. Only the Good Die Young - (alternate version)
17. Until the Night
18. Zanzibar - (demo)
19. It's Still Rock and Roll to Me
DISC 2:
1. Captain Jack - (live)
2. End of the World, The (demo - became "Elvis Presley Blvd")
3. Prime of Your Life, The (demo - became "For The Longest Time")
4. She's Right On
5. Elvis Presley Boulevard
6. Nobody Knows But Me
7. Innocent Man, An - (demo)
8. Christie Lee - (demo)
9. Easy Money
10. And So It Goes - (demo)
11. I'll Cry Instead - (live)
12. Keeping the Faith - (12" dance remix)
13. Modern Woman
14. Baby Grand - (featuring Ray Charles)
15. Getting Closer - (alternate version, featuring Steve Winwood)
16. House of Blue Light
17. Money or Love - (demo)
18. Times They Are a Changin', The - (live)
DISC 3:
1. Downeaster "Alexa", The
2. I Go to Extremes - (live)
3. Shout
4. All Shook Up
5. Heartbreak Hotel
6. When You Wish Upon a Star
7. In a Sentimental Mood
8. Motorcycle Song (demo - became "All About Soul")
9. You Picked a Real Bad Time
10. River of Dreams, The - (alternate version)
11. Hard Day's Night, A - (live)
12. Light as the Breeze
13. To Make You Feel My Love - (alternate version)
14. Hey Girl
15. Why Should I Worry
16. Where Were You (On Our Wedding Day?)
17. Highway 61revisited - (demo)
DISC 4:
1. Movin' Out
2. You May Be Right - (live, featuring Elton John)
3. Big Shot
4. Don't Worry Baby
5. Goodnight Saigon - (live, Vets version)
6. Los Angelenos
7. New York State of Mind
8. Opus 1. Soliloquy (On a Separation)
9. Opus 8. Suite For a Piano (Star Crossed): I. Innamorato / II. Sorbetto / III. Delusion
10. Elegy: The Great Peconic - (with London Symphony Orchestra)
| | Details | | Contributing artists: | Elton John, Ray Charles, Steve Winwood | | Producer: | Artie Ripp, B. A. Robertson, Billy Joel, Danny Kortchmar, David Levine, David Thonner, Don DeVito, Irwin Mazur, Jim Boyer, Joe Nicolo, Justin Neibank, Lucy Simon, Mick Jones, Peter Asher, Phil Ramone, Rick Chertoff, Steve Lindsey, Steven Epstein, Tony Brown, Tony Michaels, Vinny Gormann | | Distributor: | Sony Music Distribution ( | | Recording type: | Studio | | Recording mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
| | Album notes | Personnel: Billy Joel (vocals, accordion, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, harpsichord, Clavinet, organ, keyboards, bass guitar); Probyn Gregory (vocals, guitar, trumpet, flugelhorn, French horn); Jeffrey Foskett (vocals, guitar, sleigh bell); Nick Walusko (vocals, guitar); Darian Sahanaja, Scott Bennett (vocals, piano, organ, vibraphone, glockenspiel); Dave Brown, Elton John, Brian Wilson (vocals, piano); John Dizek (vocals, percussion); Taylor Mills, Zhournalist (vocals); Dann Huff, Don Evans, John McCurry, Russell Javors, Jim Bosse, Tommy Byrnes, Ken Recher, Richard McKenner, Sal DeTroia (guitar); Steve Khan (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Mac McAnally (acoustic guitar); Eric Gale (electric guitar); Sneaky Pete (steel guitar); Paul Franklin (pedal steel guitar); Hugh McCracken (nylon-string guitar); World Famous Incognito Violinist (fiddle); Paul Mertens (flute, harmonica, saxophone); Clint Black (harmonica); Dominic Cortese (accordion); Mark Rivera (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); David Sanborn (alto saxophone); Ronnie Cuber (baritone saxophone); Jon Faddis, Bo Winiker, Joe Shepley (trumpet); Jim Hoke, Jim Horn, Paul Litteral, Charles Rose (horns); Matt Rollings (piano); Richard Tee, Richie Cannata, Steve Nathan (organ); Leon Pendarvis, Steve Winwood (Hammond b-3 organ); Jeff Jacobs (synthesizer); Emory Gordy, Larry Knechtel, Neil Jason, Randy Jackson , T Bone Wolk, Will Lee, Joe Osborn, Schuyler Deale, Doug Stegmeyer, Bob Lizik, Howard Blauvelt (bass guitar); Jim Hines, Jonathan Small, Willie Weeks, Charlie Morgan, Sean Pelton, Rhys Clark, Liberty Devitto, Bill Zampino, David Baglioli, Denny Siewell (drums); Anton Fig (snare drum); David Friedman (percussion, chimes); Kim Fleming, Bob Bailey, Yvonne Hodges (background vocals); Mike D'Amico, Brian Ruggles.
Recording information: Abbey Road, London, England; Sparks Saloon, Huntington, Long Island (1965 - 2005).
Arranger: Robert Freedman.
Something of a companion piece to Billy Joel's greatest hits collections, this exhaustive box set comprises four CDs (and a bonus DVD) of rarities, B-sides, demos, covers, and recordings that have fallen between the cracks in Joel's discography. Those looking for the studio versions of "My Life," "Just the Way You Are," and "Uptown Girl" won't find them here; this collection is a different animal altogether. With an eye toward representing Joel as an adventurous craftsman and tireless reviser, MY LIVES is packed with one-off concert performances and intimate, unreleased demos (which often differ radically from the well-known final versions) that paint an interesting portrait of Joel's creative process.
Disc one stretches back to Joel's pre-solo career, including songs by his garage-pop band the Hassles and his snicker-inducing heavy metal project Atilla. But it is with Joel's PIANO MAN demos that one can hear the artist finding his feet ("Oyster Bay" is one of the set's highlights). While discs three and four may contain too many covers (do we really need to hear Joel's rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star?"), there are some interesting selections of his classical work from the 2000s. Despite its shortcomings, MY LIVES provides valuable insight into Joel's evolution as a songwriter and performer, which makes it intriguing for casual fans, and essential for devotees.
| | Editorial reviews | ...If you love him, you need this... - Grade: B+
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