Poll: 'The Stranger' (1977) album by Billy Joel in your collection?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by AdamCalifornia, Mar 8, 2018.

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  1. Maseman66

    Maseman66 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Westchester, NY
    I have none of his music. My wife used to have a few of his LPs. I actually did like one that she had; "52nd Street".
     
  2. Rick H.

    Rick H. Raised on AM Radio

    Billy Joel lp’s from The Stranger up to Innocent Man.
     
  3. Pseudonym

    Pseudonym Senior Member

    Location:
    Detroit, MI
    The least cringeworthy thing Billy Joel ever did:

    [​IMG]
     
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  4. maui jim

    maui jim Forum Resident

    Location:
    West of LA
    Vinyl since 76. SACD and legacy edition for live disc.
     
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  5. Hey Vinyl Man

    Hey Vinyl Man Another bloody Yank down under...

    Big fan here, and this was the second of his albums I bought (after An Innocent Man). The copy I bought secondhand in 1988 is still the only copy I have. It sounds great, no need to change that.
     
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  6. JoeF.

    JoeF. Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    Good album. I played the hell out of it when it came out. But I haven't listened to it in years. Why should I when Classic Rock Radio still has three or four key tracks still in constant rotation? If I never hear "Movin' Out" or "Italian Restaurant" again, it would be fine by me.
    I was never a huge fan; I consider Billy Joel a craftsman more than an inspired artist and he's always borrowed liberally from others --Elton John, McCartney, Harry Chapin, etc. Still, he's good at what he does ( or did, rather) and I also owned 52nd St.
    Love "Captain Jack" too.
     
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  7. Doug_B

    Doug_B Time Traveler

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Hard to avoid Billy Joel while growing up in NYC in the 70's. I'm a casual fan. I purchased The Stranger back then, generally liked it, but I didn't pursue other catalog entries at that time, though I was familiar with other songs on the radio, naturally, like Piano Man and Captain Jack. Eventually purchased Piano Man CD, now I have Piano Man, Turnstiles, and The Stranger (2x) on SACD.

    I've been tempted to get 52nd St on SACD but always back off. Similar sentiment as The Panda above - too much radio play / commercialism (though The Stranger sure did get its share as well).

    Doug
     
  8. Isamet

    Isamet Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    Original Columbia Vinyl
    MOFI SACD
    5.1 SACD
     
  9. Mike Reynolds

    Mike Reynolds Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    I always liked this song (and video on MTV). I never thought of Joel as any kind of ladies man, but this chick-a-dee sure was a hotsie totsie.

     
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  10. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    I have all his studio albums from Piano Man to River Of Dreams. Obviously The Stranger is up there with the best of them. Totally classic album. I bought it in 1978 on the recommendation of a friend. Despite not being especially familiar with Billy Joel, I took a chance on the LP. It was one of those albums that hit me on first play. It didn’t need to ‘grow’, it was just there.

    I’ve bought it many times since then. The last being the MFSL SACD about 3 years ago. Still, the album still conjures up happy memories of the summer of 1978 when I first got the LP.
     
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  11. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    “The Stranger” and some of his other music. I certainly recognize his talent and acknowledge that he produced some quality mor/pop music in the 1970’s, but sometimes his work and vocal performances are extremely annoying, particularly from the 1980’s period.
     
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  12. quattroatl

    quattroatl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    I have a few copies of The Stranger on vinyl, but I usually listen to the SACD 5.1 mix. That's the definitive mix for me.
     
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  13. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    i guess that's why i haven't listened to the radio in ten or fifteen years
     
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  14. Siegmund

    Siegmund Vinyl Sceptic

    Location:
    Britain, Europe
    I read once that The Stranger's timing was uncannily perfect, as its release coincided with the first of Elon John's retirement announcement. Here was another Elton, radio-ready, with the hooks and the tunes.

    It deserved to be successful: Billy had been grafting for the best part of ten years.
     
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  15. mrbobdobalina

    mrbobdobalina Forum Resident

    Location:
    Not here
    Well, if I was going to have a Billy Joel album in my collection, it would be "The Stranger". But I'm not going to have one in my collection.
     
  16. spsimmons

    spsimmons Forum Resident

    Location:
    Peoria Illinois
    Have The Stranger plus Piano Man, An Innocent Man, Kohliept, Storm Front, Greatest Hits 1, 2, & 3, 12 Gardens Live, and the Essential Billy Joel.
     
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  17. Chris Schoen

    Chris Schoen Rock 'n Roll !!!

    Location:
    Maryland, U.S.A.
    I have a nice promo copy of this album. RL cut, Sterling pressing, I believe.
     
  18. OptimisticGoat

    OptimisticGoat Everybody's escapegoat....

    In reading the various perspectives in this thread it seems to me that Billy Joel gets more kudos as an artist from those outside the U.S. than those within. For me he had at least 10 years as one of the pre-eminent pop and rock artists internationally in terms of sales and profile. Really strong song-writing and performance - and yes he did chase chart success a bit with some genre jumping to stay "relevant" - but he was still a respected artist. If you had asked me in 1985 I would have said he was an artist with an amazing catalogue of strong songs and up there with Springsteen, Prince, Sting and Madonna in terms of profile. Then you have the Koehuept thing in Moscow etc. etc. It seems the very thing that gave him an edge overseas (that homage to US pop/retro thing) was a turn off in the U.S. when it was the opposite in my neck of the woods.
     
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  19. gudnoyez

    gudnoyez Forum Resident

    Location:
    Iowa
    The Stranger and a lot of his other music. I think I wore out a few LP's of this one, I currently own a CD of it.
     
  20. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    i find all the hate bizarre ... the dude made songs, i don't recall him pooping on the flag or anything .... maybe him marrying christie brinkley made a few folks jealous lol
     
  21. OptimisticGoat

    OptimisticGoat Everybody's escapegoat....

    That might be it. Perhaps there is an element of punching above his weight both there and musically. I agree with the craftsman over innovator tag but there is a lot to admire in his craftsmanship. As I said in an earlier post - as a performer he gave terrific live shows.
     
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  22. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    I took my dad to see him in the 80's. Dad reckoned he didnt really like him. Left the show thinking it was awesome lol
     
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  23. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    i tend to agree with you in that regard (craftsman over innovator).
    some people are semi-innovators (because it's all been done before - i always find the "years ahead of their time" phrase quite humorous in 99% of the cases it's used) and some people are good songwriters, some people are good showmen, some people are good instrumentalists etc etc ... it's rare someone is all of those things. i reckon joel was a good piano player that wrote good songs, sometimes some really good songs (goodnight saigon, scenes from an italian restaurant, miami 2017, downeaster alexa ...) and was a good performer/showman
     
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  24. Ristifer

    Ristifer Forum Resident

    I have four copies of it and I own his entire discography. Not even a little bit ashamed of that. The man is awesome.
     
  25. JayB

    JayB Senior Member

    Location:
    CT
    Not a fan...growing up radio stations on the east coast/NY area overplayed him to death.

    I sold what albums I had of him years ago (I'm sure The Stranger was one of them) and can't ever recall wanting to listen to him since.

    YMMV of course.
     
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