Music Review: Billy Joel - "The Hits"

Like Elton John, The Rolling Stones and even Madonna, Billy Joel is cursed!

But, cursed in a good way because as a recording artist he's just got too many great songs.

So when Columbia Records decides to release a "single disc" greatest hits package by "The Piano Man" it can't possibly please everyone. Billy Joel's "The Hits" lands in stores November 16th and, though it includes 19 of his best loved recordings, there are some odd omissions. Songs like "Just The Way You Are" and "Uptown Girl" have been left off in favor of

non-charting songs like "Everybody Loves You Now" and "New York State Of Mind." Although those songs are great… they aren't "hits."

Consumers might be scratching their heads as to why this release even exists given the fact that Joel already has 4 greatest hits packages on the market: "Greatest Hits Vol. I & II," "Greatest Hits Vol. III," "The Complete Hits Collection: 1973 - 1997" & "The Essential Billy Joel." So here's the reason: it's a promotional tool only released to make people aware that Joel's entire CD catalogue will be re-released in 2011.

Does that make this CD bad? Certainly not. "The Hits" contains at least 1 song from every Billy Joel CD and if you don't own anything by Joel then this would be a good introduction to this legendary singer-songwriter.

Almost every style of music is represented here: Piano Ballads, Rock, Punk, Pseudo-Rap even Doo-Wop. Each one of Joel's albums sounded different from the one before and yet still somehow sounded like a Billy Joel album. That was his gift.

Plus, like Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel wrote albums. Not just singles, but whole pieces of work that you could listen to without just skipping to the good songs. Albums like "Piano Man," "The Stranger," "Glass Houses," and "The Nylon Curtain" are classics that should be heard from start to finish.

"The Hits" is not the most complete representation of Joel's entire career, but for the uninitiated, this is a good place to start.

Drumroll please… 9 out of 10 drumsticks!!!