Billy Joel/PA, USA 2.13.1984

As mentioned in Billy Joel’s superb audience album “MADISON SQUARE GARDEN 1984”, a wonderful audience recording was discovered from the 1984 “FROM A PIANO MAN TO AN INNOCENT MAN” tour about four years ago. It had been. That was the Philadelphia performance on February 13th. The sound quality here is also really excellent recording quality. The sound image balance of the performance is excellent, and in terms of the closeness of Billy’s singing voice, isn’t it better than this MSG? Despite its astonishing quality, it was a tragic sound source that was buried without attracting the attention of enthusiasts around the world. In fact, with this release, you may be surprised to find out that such a recording was buried. If there is one point that is inferior to MSG, it is the freshness of the sound source. While that was a recording with a synergistic effect of outstanding freshness and clearness that greatly improved, this one has a slightly muddy sound quality. For that reason, it can be said that the sound quality is analog-tic and rounded, which is not as good as the overly superior MSG, but I think there are many enthusiasts who prefer this sound quality. Besides, it is also valuable in that it captures the early stages of the “FROM A PIANO MAN TO AN INNOCENT MAN” tour with stunning sound quality. Since MSG was part of a hugely successful tour, there was a lot of playfulness in the musical arrangements and between songs. However, since it was the beginning of the tour in Philadelphia, the arrangements had not escalated, and it was interesting to see that they were playing strictly according to the format that had been decided upon at the beginning of the tour. In particular, in “An Innocent Man” and “The Longest Time”, it is rather refreshing that Billy’s MC plays honestly without showing the oldies number that makes the singing start short. What’s more, “Captain Jack” is a rare song that was only played at the beginning of the tour, and of course was not played at MSG. In this regard, “Stranger” is the same, and at the subsequent performance in Japan, the song was played specially because it was a country where it is extremely popular, but it was played regularly on the American tour. Only the beginning of. And it is also rare that “Leave A Tender Moment Alone”, which was a song included in the big hit album and became a solid repertoire from the middle of the tour, was not played. This is simply because Toots Thielmans, who was playing the harmonica on the same song, was not participating in the tour at this time. The BBC’s Wembley footage makes us keenly aware of his presence, and conveys the fact that it was not performed at first due to his absence. Originally, the “FROM A PIANO MAN TO AN INNOCENT MAN” tour had extremely few items, but the situation has completely changed to the joy of enthusiasts as two titles will be released at once this week. I can assure you that this is a great audience album that everyone can enjoy. Now you can enjoy the evolution of the tour, such as Philadelphia at the beginning of the tour, “INNOCENT NIGHTS” in the middle of the tour, and Chiakiraku’s MSG! Live at the Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA, USA 13th February 1984 TRULY PERFECT SOUND Disc 1(62:34) 1. Mexican Connection 2. Angry Young Man 3. My Life 4. The Stranger 5. Piano Man 6. Don’t Ask Me Why 7. Allentown 8. Goodnight Saigon 9. Pressure 10. Just The Way You Are 11. Band Introduction 12. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant Disc 2(69:14) 1. Introduction of Glenn Stulpin, Bob Livingood, Larry Etkin 2 . An Innocent Man 3. The Longest Time 4. Stiletto 5. Sometimes A Fantasy 6. It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me 7. Uptown Girl 8. Big Shot 9. Tell Her About It 10. You May Be Right 11. Captain Jack 12. Only The Good Die Young 13. Outro