Billy Joel – Piano Man (Ultra Analog, Half-speed Mastering, non scellé)
RARITY - Unsealed
Billy Joel – vocals, acoustic and electric pianos, organ, harmonica [click here to see more vinyl featuring Billy Joel]
Michael Omartian – accordion
Richard Bennett – guitars
Larry Carlton – guitars
Dean Parks – guitars
Eric Weissberg – banjo, pedal steel guitar
Fred Heilbrun – banjo
Wilton Felder – bass guitar
Emory Gordy Jr. – bass guitar
Ron Tutt – drums (A1 to B4)
Rhys Clark – drums (B5)
Billy Armstrong – violin
Laura Creamer – backing vocals
Mark Creamer – backing vocals
Susan Steward – backing vocals
Arranged by Michael Omartian (A1-4, B1-5), Jimmie Haskell (A5)
All songs written by Billy Joel
1 LP, gatefold jacket
Limited numbered edition
Original analog Master tape : YES
Half-speed Mastering
Gain 2™ Ultra Analog
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : RTI
Label : MOFI
Original Label : Columbia
Recorded September 1973 at Devonshire Sound Studios, Los Angeles, California
Engineered by Ron Malo
Produced by Michael Stewart
Mastered by Rob LoVerde
Originally released in November 1973
Reissued in November 2011
Tracks:
Side A:
- Travelin' Prayer
- Piano Man
- Ain't No Crime
- You're My Home
- The Ballad of Billy the Kid
Side B:
- Worse Comes to Worst
- Stop in Nevada
- If I Only Had the Words (To Tell You)
- Somewhere Along the Line
- Captain Jack
Awards:
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time - Ranked 429/500
Reviews :
“Embittered by legal disputes with his label and an endless tour to support a debut that was dead in the water, Billy Joel hunkered down in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles, spending six months as a lounge singer at a club. He didn't abandon his dreams -- he continued to write songs, including "Piano Man," a fictionalized account of his weeks as a lounge singer. Through a combination of touring and constant hustling, he landed a contract with Columbia and recorded his second album in 1973. Clearly inspired by Elton John's Tumbleweed Connection, not only musically but lyrically, as well as James Taylor, Joel expands the vision and sound of Cold Spring Harbor, abandoning introspective numbers (apart from "You're My Home," a love letter to his wife) for character sketches and epics. Even the title track, a breakthrough hit based on his weeks as a saloon singer, focuses on the colorful patrons, not the singer. If his narratives are occasionally awkward or incomplete, he compensates with music that gives the songs a sweeping sense of purpose -- they feel complete, thanks to his indelible melodies and savvy stylistic repurposing. He may have borrowed his basic blueprint from Tumbleweed Connection, particularly with its Western imagery and bluesy gospel flourishes, but he makes it his own, largely due to his melodic flair, which is in greater evidence than on Cold Spring Harbor. Piano Man is where he suggests his potential as a musical craftsman. He may have weaknesses as a lyricist -- such mishaps as the "instant pleasuredome" line in "You're My Home" illustrate that he doesn't have an ear for words -- but Piano Man makes it clear that his skills as a melodicist can dazzle.” AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Ultra Analog™ : The GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ Series stems from the use of the Gain 2 system, mastered at half speed from the original master tapes where possible, capturing and uncovering as before undiscovered sonic information.
Half-speed mastering. In half-speed mastering, the whole process is slowed down to half of the original speed. A typical 33 1/3 rpm record is cut at 16 2/3 rpm. The source material is also slowed down (reducing the pitch in the process) meaning the final record will still sound normal when played back. Slowing the whole process down allows more time, which means the end result sounds better and is more efficient — allowing engineering to minimize the effects of inherent limitations within the vinyl format. The result is a more accurate and more open high-frequency response in the half speed vinyl when compared with a normal speed recording.
Ratings :
AllMusic : 4 / 5 ; Discogs : 4.58 / 5