Billy Joel/NY,USA 1982

“THE NYLON CURTAIN TOUR 1982” was a golden age of big hits, but it also had a special atmosphere due to accidents and private troubles. This is the appearance of the best live album. This work contains the performance at Madison Square Garden (hereinafter “MSG”) on December 31, 1982. Speaking of “MSG”, it goes without saying that it is Billy’s home base, but this day was the only MSG performance during the “THE NYLON CURTAIN” era, and it was also a highlight performance on the last day of the tour, the New Year’s Eve live. This concert has been known for its recording for a long time, and it has been loved as a masterpiece along with the Rosemont performance as a valuable record of “THE NYLON CURTAIN TOUR”. This work is neither a copy nor a remaster. It is a new master that was suddenly unearthed recently, and it is a completely different recording. It is an extremely elegant product that was directly digitized from the original cassette that directly breathed the air at the scene. In fact, the sound is phenomenally beautiful. It’s definitely an audience recording that makes the enthusiasm of the venue feel real, but the musical tones and singing voices are extremely clear, and they reach straight through the enthusiasm. Moreover, while the slight airiness creates the spectacle of MSG, it is transparent and vivid to the details. The rolling piano is also beautifully conveyed to the touch. The conventional recordings were also solid sounds, but at the level of “it was good for the time”. This work is completely different and is a beautiful recording that does not require any excuses for the era. The recording itself is amazing, but the master freshness that has jumped over 35 years is also abnormal. There is no distortion or deterioration in every corner of the musical tones and performances, and Billy’s singing voice, which is endlessly relaxed, does not fluctuate even in the slightest until the moment it disappears. As expected from Master Direct… or rather, it is so fresh that you might think, “Maybe it has never been played once in 35 years!?” The world of “THE NYLON CURTAIN TOUR” depicted by that sound is truly a highlight. The set features a lineup of the most brilliant songs from the golden age, from “PIANO MAN” to the latest work “THE NYLON CURTAIN”. Among them, rare numbers such as “Souvenir” and “Scandinavian Skies” that were only available at that time are mixed in. The highlight is the Beatles cover “I’ll Cry Instead”. It is a very rare number that was performed at the 1981 Japan tour, but “did they play anything else besides that!?” You can enjoy it with beautiful, flowing sound. Billy, who plays such a set, is also wonderful. His singing voice is full of the youthfulness of the 33-year-old at the time, and even the piano is delicate and eloquent, which is hard to believe that it was only 8 months after his motorcycle accident. Moreover, the enthusiasm and special feeling of the final tour, MSG, and New Year’s Eve live show are also full of special feeling. The second half of the set is especially special (around tracks 1-5 on disc 2). While introducing the band members, he suddenly sings LED ZEPPELIN’s “Communication Breakdown” with passion! Of course, it was just a play, not a complete performance, but the whole venue was in a frenzy. From there, they started counting down the New Year, and the moment the new year began, they sang “Auld Lang Syne” softly and lightly (“Communication Breakdown” was just to set the time). MSG stepped up a gear here and heated up fiercely towards the end of the hit song rush… It was truly a “highlight” show. A piano man who always delivers great songs and singing voices. This is a masterpiece of a live album that shines as a special highlight in his career. Not only is it a good sound, good songs, and good performance, but it is also a beautiful newly excavated audience recording that gives you the happiness of being present on “this day” and “in that place”. Madison Square Garden, New York, NY. USA 31st December 1982 TRULY AMAZING/PERFECT SOUND Disc 1(76:09) 1. Allentown 2. My Life 3. Prelude/Angry Young Man 4. Piano Man 5. Don’t Ask Me Why 6. The Stranger 7. Scandinavian Skies 8. Movin’ Out 9. New York State Of Mind 10. Pressure 11. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant 12. Just The Way You Are 13. Goodnight Saigon Disc 2(60:47) 1. Stiletto 2. Band Introduction 3. Communication Breakdown 4. Auld Lang Syne 5. It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me 6. Sometimes A Fantasy 7. Big Shot 8. You May Be Right 9. Only The Good Die Young 10. Miami 2017 11. I’ll Cry Instead 12. Souvenir 13. Outro