The Stranger

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The Stranger
Studio album by Billy Joel
Released	September, 1977
Recorded	A & R Recording, Inc., New York City
Genre	Rock
Length	42:13
Label	Family Productions/Columbia
Producer	Phil Ramone
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Allmusic (Deluxe Edition) link NeuFutur (Deluxe Edition) link Rolling Stone (Deluxe Edition) link Slant Magazine link
Billy Joel chronology
Turnstiles (1976) The Stranger (1977) 52nd Street (1978)

The Stranger is the fifth studio album by musician Billy Joel, released in 1977 (see 1977 in music). While his four previous albums had been moderate chart successes, this was his breakthrough album, spending 6 weeks at #2 in the U.S. album charts. It remains Joel's best-selling non-compilation album to date.

History

Songs

The Stranger contained nine songs, many of which are now considered "classic Joel." "Movin' Out," "She's Always a Woman," "Just The Way You Are," "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant," "Everybody Has A Dream," and "Only The Good Die Young" were all written prior to recording, while "Vienna," "The Stranger," and "Get It Right The First Time" all came from short tunes or fragments of songs that Joel finished in the studio. Each song had stories attached to it. The seven-and-a-half-minute epic "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" began as the shorter "Ballad of Brenda and Eddie," a section that now forms the third part of the song. "The Stranger" was inspired by Joel's step-son's experimentation with an Echoplex. Joel came up with the signature whistle line which he whistled to producer Phil Ramone, claiming that he needed to find an instrument to play it. Ramone replied: "No, you don't. That's 'The Stranger,' the whistling."

Four singles from the LP charted on the Billboard Hot 100: "Just The Way You Are," (#3), "Movin' Out" (#17), "She's Always a Woman," (#17), and "Only The Good Die Young" (#24).

Release and Reaction

Much of the album's success is attributed to Joel's collaboration with producer Phil Ramone, whose innovative production methods complemented Joel's songs. This fruitful collaboration would continue for a decade. Singles released from the album include "Just the Way You Are" (which won the Grammy for Record of the Year), the acoustic ballad "She's Always A Woman," the mildly controversial "Only the Good Die Young," and "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)," which later lent its title to Movin' Out, an acclaimed hit Broadway musical based on Billy Joel's songs. This album overtook Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water album to become the best-selling album on the Columbia Records imprint at the time. Generally regarded as Joel's finest work, in 2003, the album was ranked number 67 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Legacy & 30th Anniversary Editions

In July 2008, a special 30th Anniversary Edition of the Stranger was released. It contains two special editions - a 2 CD Legacy Edition and a Deluxe Limited Edition including 2 CDs plus a bonus DVD. The limited deluxe edition of "The Stranger" includes a CD of the original album, in its entirety, remastered by producer Phil Ramone; a CD of a previously unreleased concert featuring Billy and his band, "Live At Carnegie Hall 1977," recorded at the historic Manhattan venue on June 3, 1977, one month prior to the sessions for "The Stranger" album and newly restored for the new editions of "The Stranger"; and a DVD showcasing two live promotional videos from "The Stranger" and the long-awaited release of Billy's fabled appearance on the BBC's "Old Grey Whistle Test," a seldom-seen sixty minute cavalcade from 1978 that has aired only once on the UK's BBC2. Also included in this box set is a facsimile poster from the 1977 Carnegie Hall concert, and a facsimile notebook that contains copies of rough draft lyrics for many of the songs that appeared on The Stranger.

Track listing

All songs by Billy Joel.

Side 1

1. "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" – 3:30
2. "The Stranger" – 5:10
3. "Just the Way You Are" – 4:52
4. "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" – 7:37

Side 2

1. "Vienna" – 3:34
2. "Only the Good Die Young" – 3:55
3. "She's Always a Woman" – 3:21
4. "Get It Right the First Time" – 3:57
5. "Everybody Has a Dream" – 6:38

Live At Carnegie Hall, June 3, 1977 CD

1. "Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway)" - 5:11
2. "Prelude/Angry Young Man" - 6:05
3. "New York State of Mind" - 8:20
4. "Just the Way You Are" - 4:56
5. "She's Got a Way" - 3:32
6. "The Entertainer" - 6:09
7. "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" - 7:35
8. "Band Introductions" - 2:02
9. "Captain Jack" - 6:51
10. "I've Loved These Days" - 4:29
11. "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" - 6:45
12. "Souvenir" - 2:09

30th Anniversary Edition DVD

• Live Promotional Videos, 1977

1. "The Stranger"
2. "Just the Way You Are"

• The Old Grey Whistle Test on BBC 1 (First transmitted 14 March 1978)

1. "Intro"
2. "Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway)"
3. "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"
4. "New York State of Mind"
5. "The Entertainer"
6. "She's Always a Woman to Me"
7. "Root Beer Rag"
8. "Just the Way You Are"
9. "Only the Good Die Young"
10. "Souvenir"
11. "Ain't No Crime"

• 30 Minute Making of The Stranger Documentary

Best Buy Exclusive Bonus CD (Live At Nassau Coliseum 12/77)

(packaged with both the 2CD Legacy and 2CD/1DVD 30th Anniversary Edition)

1. "Just the Way You Are"
2. "Vienna"
3. "The Ballad of Billy the Kid"
4. "Get It Right the First Time"
5. "Summer, Highland Falls"

Target Exclusive Bonus DVD

(packaged with the 2CD Legacy Edition)

1. "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" (Live from Long Island)
2. "The Stranger" (Live from Long Island)
3. "Only the Good Die Young" (Live from Leningrad)
4. "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" (Live from Yankee Stadium)
5. "Piano Man" (Live from The River of Dreams Tour)

Online Store Bonus Tracks

1. "Prelude/Angry Young Man" (Live Version) (Version 2) (iTunes Album Only Exclusive Track) - 5:03
2. "She's Got a Way" (Live Version) (Version 2) - (AmazonMP3 Exclusive Track) 3:42

• NOTE: The iTunes and AmazonMP3 Exclusive tracks are different than the ones featured on the "Live At Carnegie Hall, June 3, 1977" bonus disc, hence the "Version 2" distinction.

Personnel

• Billy Joel – acoustic piano, vocals, electric keyboards, synthesizers
• Doug Stegmeyer – bass guitar
• Liberty DeVitto – drums
• Richie Cannata – tenor and soprano saxophones, clarinet, flute, organ
• Steve Khan – six and twelve string electric guitars, acoustic rhythm guitar, high string guitar
• Hiram Bullock – electric guitar
• Patrick Williams – orchestration
• Ralph MacDonald – percussion on "The Stranger", "Just the Way You Are", "Get It Right The First Time" and "Everybody Has A Dream"
• Hugh McCracken – acoustic guitar on "Just the Way You Are", "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", "She's Always A Woman", "Get It Right The First Time" and "Everybody Has A Dream"
• Steve Burgh – acoustic guitar on "Just the Way You Are" and "She's Always A Woman"; electric guitar on "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant"
• Phil Woods – alto saxophone on "Just the Way You Are"
• Dominic Cortese – accordion on "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" and "Vienna"
• Richard Tee – organ on "Everybody Has A Dream"
• Phoebe Snow – background vocals on "Everybody Has A Dream"
• Lani Groves – background vocals on "Everybody Has A Dream"
• Gwen Guthrie – background vocals on "Everybody Has A Dream"
• Patti Austin – background vocals on "Everybody Has A Dream"

Chart positions and certifications

Albums

30th Anniversary Edition

Singles

See also

• List of best-selling albums in the United States

Awards

Grammy Awards

|align="left" bgcolor=ffffdd|1979 |align="left" bgcolor=ffffdd|Just the Way You Are |align="left" bgcolor=ffffdd|Song of the Year

Issues

References