Piano Man's odyssey
It was the 1970s, the decade of rock and raging guitar solos.
In the middle of it all, at first barely noticed above the cacophonous din, emerged an artist who railed against the zeitgeist - Billy Joel.
It was 1973's Piano Man that introduced the Italian-American singer-songwriter to the world. During the next three decades or so, millions of people from almost every corner of the world would have their favourite Joel song, no doubt linked to some memorable phase in their life. His 27 years as a recording artist have produced 15 albums including The Stranger, which shifted nine-million units, 52nd Street (seven million), Glass Houses, An Innocent Man and River of Dreams.
The album sales total more than 90 million worldwide and he has won several Grammy awards, making it look all so easy. A freakishly consistent outpouring of creativity.
The albums stopped with 1993's River of Dreams, though there have been plenty of quality singles since then.
Now there is finally some new Joel product on the market - Greatest Hits Vol. III - which reminds us how significant his output was during the late 1980s.
Since Greatest Hits Vol. II, he has churned out enough best-selling singles to warrant another hits package.
This latest set includes classic Joel compositions Keeping the Faith, An Innocent Man, A Matter of Trust, Baby Grand (a duet with Ray Charles), This is the Time, Leningrad, We Didn't Start the Fire, I Go To Extremes, And So It Goes, Shameless, All About Soul (remix), Lullaby (Goodnight, My Angel) and River of Dreams.
An extra treat are Joel's interpretations of tracks by songwriters like Bob Dylan, Carole King and Leonard Cohen.
In 1995, he was approached to cover a Cohen composition for Tower of Song: The Songs of Leonard Cohen. His sublime interpretation of Light as the Breeze is included on the latest hits collection.
Dylan's To Make You Feel My Love is the first single from Joel's new album, climbing to No 50 in the American charts. And his cover of Hey Girl, written by Carole King and Jerry Goffin, may be lifted later as a second single.
Joel fanatics may want to pick up a copy of the limited- edition package which includes Vol. 1, Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 plus a disc of previously unreleased live and studio material and a 44-page booklet.
It captures all the twists and turns of his epic journey.
