Click to Download (Encoded at 192kbps, 44.1khz via iTunes)

Click to Download (Encoded at 192kbps, 44.1khz via iTunes)

Click to Download (Encoded at 192kbps, 44.1khz via iTunes)

2009-07-08 - Stadio San Siro: Click to Download (Encoded at 192kbps, 44.1khz via iTunes)
2005-11-02 - Staples Center: Click to Download (Encoded at 192kbps, 44.1khz via iTunes)
1997-09-06 - Parc des Princes: Click to Download (Encoded at 192kbps, 44.1khz via iTunes)
1997-07-19 - Feyenoord Stadium: Click to Download (Encoded at 192kbps, 44.1khz via iTunes)

Set list and more information can be found here:
u2gigs.com: 2009-07-08 | 2005-11-02 | 1997-09-06 | 2009-07-19

Billy Joel is not a great musician, to begin with.

Some of his works are sloppy and pander to the pop-music of the time. With the exception of “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” everything after 1986’s “The Bridge” can be forgotten. But in 1973, Billy released this album, “Piano Man”: two sides of vintage Joel that showcases why he actually deserves to live on in our pop culture memory.

It’s surprising, when you listen to these vintage tracks in context of the album as opposed to the Greatest Hits collection (which, shut up, that’s how almost everyone knows them), how the title track is not the shining star. Yes, we all love “Piano Man;” Yes we all raise our drinks when it’s on at the pub; yes, we all sang it on the bus rides back from whatever school event we were at.

Side A (labeled “One Side”) kicks off with “Travellin’ Prayer,” an upbeat, down-home tune that shows off the fiddle and banjo far more than the piano, Joel’s signature instrument. And that’s not a problem; in fact, it seems to sandwich the album nicely, with the album’s final track “Captain Jack.” But we’ll get there.

Side A finishes off with “The Ballad of Billy the Kid,” a 50’s-western-movie-feeling tune that, not really biographically, follows the life of, yes, Billy the Kid. Pop music is rarely truly accurate, and we accept this, provided what we’re listening to is good. And, I won’t lie, it really is.

Side B (aka - “Another Side”), is largely tunes that have gone unheard, in this day and age of greatest hits packages. “Worst Come to Worst” manages sound very generic-pop, in terms of the time frame, and does little to impress or move. “Stop In Nevada,” on the other hand, does what I expect of earlier Billy Joel tunes: it’s up and down, showcases Joel’s quieter sound with his raucous pseudo-rock’n'roll sound.

The album is finished off with one of my favourite, lesser-heard Billy Joel tunes: “Captain Jack.” It’s a longer tune, painting a vivid picture of these directionless people helping to made happier by Captain Jack. He’ll “get you high tonight, and take you to your special island.” Really, this may be superficial, but the entire tune is made worth it for me with the lyric referring to your “New English Clothes.”

In the end: This is Billy Joel. This is Billy’s first major label release (Cold Spring Harbor got a re-issue in 1984 on Columbia), and it shows why we allow Billy Joel to tour around every other year, with no new material. He wrote everything he needed to along time ago. He is the “Entertainer,” after all. If you’ve not listened to this, front to back, then your missing out on why we, as a people, love this guy.

Click to Download (Encoded at 192kbps, 44.1khz via iTunes)

Set list and more information can be found here:
u2gigs.com: 2009-07-11

Pearl Jam set: Click to Download (Encoded at 192kbps, 44.1khz via iTunes)
U2 set: Click to Download (Encoded at 192kbps, 44.1khz via iTunes)

Set list and more information can be found here:
u2gigs.com: 2006-12-09

V1: Click to Download (Encoded at 192kbps, 44.1khz via iTunes)
V2: Click to Download (Encoded at 192kbps, 44.1khz via iTunes)

Set list and more information can be found here:
u2gigs.com: 2009-07-07

V1: Click to Download (Encoded at 192kbps, 44.1khz via iTunes)

Set list and more information can be found here:
u2gigs.com: 2009-07-02

V1: Click to Download (Encoded at 192kbps, 44.1khz via iTunes)
V2: Click to Download (Encoded at 192kbps, 44.1khz via iTunes)

Set list and more information can be found here:
u2gigs.com: 2009-06-30