Billy Joel is back with his 5th LIVE album and 3rd in the last 10 years! That's a lot of live albums for a single artist. So what's the occasion this time? Recorded live over 2 nights in July of 2008, "Live at Shea Stadium: The Concert" were the last performances ever to play the historic Shea Stadium before it was demolished.
With just 2 shows, Joel performed to over 110,000 fans and welcomed such special guests as: Roger Daltrey, Steven Tyler & Sir Paul McCartney just to name a few.
So is this CD/DVD release worth your time and money? If you already own any of the other 4 LIVE albums I would probably steer clear of this one. Sure the hits are all here but how many live versions of "Allentown" do you really need?
Joel's band is definitely in top form but the piano man himself is a little road weary. At times he sounds tough and in charge but on other tracks you can tell he's just barely got enough energy to finish.
The album also includes a DVD of the shows. Do yourself a favor and skip that all together because you'll end up asking yourself, "What the hell happened to my favorite Rock'n'Roll heroes?"
Well, the answer is simple. They've aged, but not gracefully! Steven Tyler takes the stage to sing "Walk This Way" and looks like your great aunt who just got dressed at a rummage sale. Mellencamp's bad dye job and crazy pompadour makes him look like a pudgy leprechaun and Joel himself is an overweight sweating mess who doesn't need to be shot in profile at this stage of his life. The only performer who can still hold his own is The Who's Roger Daltrey who takes the stage slowly but hits it out of the park with a rousing rendition of "My Generation."
To wrap it up… I love Billy Joel but this release just didn't do it for me. Still, if you were one of the 110,000 fans in attendance then pick up "Live at Shea Stadium: The Concert" and you'll definitely have yourself a nice souvenir. The rest of us can just pull out "Songs In The Attic" and remember the good ole days!
Drumroll please… 5 out of 10 drumsticks!
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