| The Stranger | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Billy Joel | ||||
| Released | September 29, 1977 | |||
| Recorded | A&R Recording, Inc., 799 Seventh Avenue, New York City 1977 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 42:13 | |||
| Label | Family Productions/Columbia | |||
| Producer | Phil Ramone | |||
| Billy Joel chronology | ||||
|
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| Allmusic | (Deluxe Edition) [2] |
| Robert Christgau | (B-) [3] |
| NeuFutur | (Deluxe Edition) [4] |
| Rolling Stone | (Deluxe Edition) [5] |
| Slant Magazine | [6] |
| Uncut | [7] |
The Stranger is the fifth studio album by musician Billy Joel, released in 1977 (see 1977 in music). While his four previous albums had been moderate chart successes, this was his breakthrough album, and is generally regarded by critics as his magnum opus, spending six weeks at #2 in the U.S. album charts. It remains Joel's best-selling non-compilation album to date and was ranked number 67 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Contents |
The Stranger contained nine songs; "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)," "She's Always a Woman," "Just The Way You Are," "Everybody Has A Dream," and "Only The Good Die Young" were all written prior to recording, while "Vienna," "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant," "The Stranger," and "Get It Right The First Time" all came from short tunes or fragments of songs that Joel finished in the studio. Each song had stories attached to it. The seven-and-a-half-minute epic "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" began as the shorter "Ballad of Brenda and Eddie," a section that now forms the third part of the song. Joel came up with the signature whistle line for the title track, which he whistled to producer Phil Ramone, claiming that he needed to find an instrument to play it. Ramone replied: "No, you don't. That's 'The Stranger,' the whistling."
Four singles from the LP charted on the Billboard Hot 100: "Just The Way You Are," (#3), "Movin' Out" (#17), "She's Always a Woman," (#17), and "Only The Good Die Young" (#24). Many of the songs on the album are now staples on classic rock FM radio stations.
Much of the album's success is attributed to Joel's collaboration with producer Phil Ramone, whose innovative production methods complemented Joel's songs. This fruitful collaboration would continue for a decade. Singles released from the album include "Just the Way You Are" (which won the Grammy for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year), the acoustic ballad "She's Always A Woman," the mildly controversial "Only the Good Die Young," and "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)," which later lent its title to Movin' Out, an acclaimed hit Broadway musical based on Billy Joel's songs. This album overtook Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water album to become the best-selling album on the Columbia Records imprint at the time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 67 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
In July 2008, a special 30th Anniversary Edition of The Stranger was unleashed. It contains two special editions - a 2 CD Legacy Edition and a Deluxe Limited Edition including 2 CDs plus a bonus DVD. The limited deluxe edition of The Stranger includes a CD of the original album, in its entirety, remastered by producer Phil Ramone; a CD of a previously unreleased concert featuring Billy and his band, Live At Carnegie Hall 1977, recorded at the historic Manhattan venue on June 3, 1977, one month prior to the sessions for The Stranger album and newly restored for the new editions of The Stranger; and a DVD showcasing two live promotional videos from The Stranger and the long-awaited release of Joel's appearance on the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test, a seldom-seen sixty minute cavalcade from 1978 that has aired only once on the UK's BBC2. Also included in this box set is a facsimile poster from the 1977 Carnegie Hall concert, and a facsimile notebook that contains copies of rough draft lyrics for many of the songs that appeared on The Stranger. The remastered version is much louder than the original and has much less dynamic range.
All songs written and composed by Billy Joel.
(packaged with both the 2CD Legacy and 2CD/1DVD 30th Anniversary Edition)
(packaged with the 2CD Legacy Edition)
| Year | Country | Chart | Position | Weeks | Certification (if any) | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Australia | Kent Music Report | 2 | |||
| 1978 | Holland | Dutch Albums Chart | 36 | 10 | ||
| 1978 | Japan | Oricon Weekly LP Chart (Top 100) | 3 | 75 | 370,000+[8] | |
| 1978 | New Zealand | New Zealand Albums Chart | 2 | 67 | ||
| 1978 | United Kingdom | UK Albums Chart | 24 | 40 | Gold | 100,000+ |
| 1978 | United States | The Billboard Pop Albums | 2 | 137 | Diamond[9] | 10,000,000+ |
| Year | Country | Chart | Position | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Japan | Oricon Weekly Albums Chart (Top 100) | 28 | 6,000+[10] |
| Year | Country | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | North America | "Just the Way You Are" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 3 |
| 1978 | North America | "Just the Way You Are" | Billboard AC | 1 |
| 1978 | United Kingdom | "Just the Way You Are" | UK Singles Chart | 19 |
| 1978 | North America | "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 17 |
| 1978 | North America | "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" | Billboard AC | 40 |
| 1978 | United Kingdom | "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" | UK Singles Chart | 35 |
| 1978 | North America | "Only the Good Die Young" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 24 |
| 1978 | North America | "She's Always a Woman To Me" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 17 |
| 1978 | Japan | "The Stranger" | Oricon Weekly | 2 |
| Year | Winner | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Just the Way You Are | Record of the Year |
| 1978 | Just the Way You Are | Song of the Year |
| Media | Release Date | Publisher | Catalog Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vinyl LP | 09/1977 | Columbia | JC 34987 |
| Vinyl LP
Australian release |
1977 | Columbia
(CBS Inc.) |
SBP 237057 |
| CD 1st Issue Japan | 06/03/1982 | CBS/Sony | 35-DP-2 |
| 2CD/DVD 30th Anniversary Edition | 07/08/08 | Columbia/Legacy | 88697 30801 2 |
| Cassette | 1990 | Columbia | JCT 34987 |
| CD | 1990 | Columbia | CK-34987 |
| CD Remastered | 10/20/1998 | Columbia | CK 69384 |
| Super Audio CD | 07/31/2001 | Sony | CS 69384 |
| 2CD Legacy Edition | 07/08/08 | Columbia/Legacy | 88697 22581 2 |
| 2CD/DVD 30th Anniversary Edition | 07/08/08 | Columbia/Legacy | 88697 30801 2 |