- Album Title: Billy Joel – Vinyl Collection Vol. 2 – BoxSet
- Date Purchased: 30th May 2026
- Purchase Location: Boiler Room Records
- Price Paid: £225
- Cover Condition: Mint
- Sleeve Condition: Mint
- Record Condition: Mint (ish)
The Vinyl Collection, Vol. 2, an 11-LP boxset to follow 2021’s Vol. 1, which includes the remainder of Billy’s catalogue: Glass Houses, The Nylon Curtain, An Innocent Man, The Bridge, Storm Front, River of Dreams. It exclusively features Fantasies and Delusions and Live from Long Island on vinyl for the first time. The boxset includes a 60+ page booklet that highlights the era through photos, quotes, and an essay by Rob Tannenbaum. All albums remastered from original sources at Sterling Sound.
Billy Joel is an artist I have not listened to for years (over 10 at least) and this box set was part of me finally reaching 100 LP’s in my collection (I count box sets as a single album for counting purposes). The boxset came sealed and very nicely presented and I was looking forward to listening to the entire set over the course of a couple of days. Probably because I had just finished a 4 hour power metal stint and wanted a change of musical direction. Before I get into the overall opinion on this boxset I have to say I was extremely disappointed in the state on the vinyl records themselves. This was a brand new and sealed box set, and while the records all play perfectly with almost zero noise, they came covered in marks from the packaging. The records were all filthy and needed a god clean before I even entertained playing them. I have bought 40 year old used vinyl for a couple of quid that has been cleaner than any of the records were in this set. Such a shame and a sign of poor care in the presentation of the product.
Album opinion: The boxset consists of the following
Tracklist:
Side A
1. You May Be Right
2. Sometimes a Fantasy
3. Don’t Ask Me Why
4. It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me
5. All for Leyna
Side B
1. I Don’t Want to Be Alone
2. Sleeping with the Television On
3 .C’etait Toi (You Were the One)
4. Close to the Borderline
5. Through the Long Night
The Nylon Curtain (1982)
Side A
1. Allentown
2. Laura
3. Pressure
4. Goodnight Saigon
Side B
1. She’s Right on Time
2. A Room of Our Own
3. Surprises
4. Scandinavian Skies
5. Where’s the Orchestra
An Innocent Man (1983)
Side A
1. Easy Money
2 .An Innocent Man
3. The Longest Time
4. This Night
5. Tell Her About It
Side B
1. Uptown Girl
2. Careless Talk
3. Christie Lee
4. Leave a Tender Moment Alone
5. Keeping the Faith
The Bridge (1986)
Side A
1. Running on Ice
2. This Is the Time
3. Modern Woman
4. Baby Grand (duet with Ray Charles)
Side B
1 .Big Man on Mulberry Street
2. Temptation
3. Code of Silence
4. Getting Closer
Storm Front (1989)
Side A
1. That’s Not Her Style
2. We Didn’t Start The Fire
3. The Downeaster ‘Alexa’
4. I Go to Extremes
5. Shameless
Side B
1. Storm Front
2. Leningrad
3. State of Grace
4. When in Rome
5. And So It Goes
River Of Dreams (1993)
Side A
1. No Man’s Land
2. The Great Wall of China
3. Blonde Over Blue
4. A Minor Variation
5. Shades of Grey
Side B
1. All About Soul
2. Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)
3. The River of Dreams
4. Two Thousand Years
5. Famous Last Words
Fantasies & Delusions (2001)
Side A
1. Reverie (“Villa d’Este”)
2. Waltz #1 (“Nunley’s Carousel”)
Side B
1. Aria (“Grand Canal”)
2. Invention in C Minor
3. Soliloquy (“On a Separation”)
Side C
1. Suite for Piano (“Star-Crossed”): I. Innamorato
2. Suite for Piano (“Star-Crossed”): II. Sorbetto
3. Suite for Piano (“Star-Crossed”): III. Delusion
Side D
1. Opus 5. Waltz #2 (“Steinway Hall”)
2. Opus 9. Waltz #3 (“For Lola”)
3. Opus 4. Fantasy (“Film Noir”)
4. Opus 10. Air (“Dublinesque”)
Live From Long Island (1982)
Side A
1. Allentown
2. My Life
3. Prelude/Angry Young Man
Side B
1. Piano Man
2. Don’t Ask Me Why
3. The Stranger
Side C
1. Scandinavian Skies
2. Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)
3. She’s Always A Woman
4. Pressure
Side D
1. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant
2. Just The Way You Are
3. Goodnight Saigon
Side E
1. Stilleto
2. Band Intro
3. Until The Night
4. It’s Still Rock N Roll To Me
Side F
1. Sometimes A Fantasy
2. Big Shot
3. You May Be Right
4. Only The Good Die Young
5. Souvenir
Listening to the collection was a joy. When trying to wade through this much content from a single artist, it can feel a little laborious but not in this case. Billy is quite broad in his song styles and the albums are all very well put together. An Innocent Man is my standout but this also contains the tracks that carry the most memories for me.
I am not a fan of live albums but these are excellent quality and also put together very well.
Overall the boxset is very well paced and I might search out some of the albums as individual releases to add into my main listening collection. It has certainly ignored me to put together a lot of FLAC files on my media server so I can listen to more Billy Joel when I am away from my listening room. It certainly won’t be another decade before I listen to this great artist again.
Conclusion – a fantastic addition to the library even if the records need a good clean first.
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