The Complete Hits Collection: 1973–1997

The Complete Hits Collection: 1973–1997
The Complete Hits Collection: 1973–1997
Greatest hits album by Billy Joel
Released	October 13, 1997
Recorded	1973–1997
Genre	Rock, interview
Length	4:28:15
Label	Columbia
Producer	Billy Joel
Billy Joel chronology

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Uncut	^[1]

The Complete Hits Collection: 1973–1997 is a 4-disc greatest hits album by American musician Billy Joel. It was released on October 14, 1997, a boxed set was released that included all three Greatest Hits volumes as well as a fourth disc (entitled An Evening of Questions & Answers... & A Little Music) that contains live tracks and a Q&A with Joel. Originally available in a long box format, the box set is also available in a compact box format.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Billy Joel, except where noted

*Greatest Hits I* (1985)
No.	Title	Original album	Length
1.	"Piano Man"	Piano Man, 1973	5:37
2.	"Captain Jack"	Piano Man	6:57
3.	"The Entertainer"	Streetlife Serenade, 1974	3:40
4.	"Say Goodbye to Hollywood"	Turnstiles, 1976	4:39
5.	"New York State of Mind"	Turnstiles	6:05
6.	"The Stranger"	The Stranger, 1977	5:10
7.	"Scenes from an Italian Restaurant"	The Stranger	7:36
8.	"Just the Way You Are"	The Stranger	4:51
9.	"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"	The Stranger	3:30
10.	"Only the Good Die Young"	The Stranger	3:55
11.	"She's Always a Woman"	The Stranger	3:20
Total length:			55:20

*Greatest Hits II* (1985)
No.	Title	Original album	Length
1.	"My Life"	52nd Street, 1978	4:43
2.	"Big Shot"	52nd Street	4:02
3.	"You May Be Right"	Glass Houses, 1980	4:12
4.	"It's Still Rock and Roll to Me"	Glass Houses	2:58
5.	"Don't Ask Me Why"	Glass Houses	2:59
6.	"She's Got a Way" (Live version)	Songs in the Attic, 1981; originally from Cold Spring Harbor, 1971	3:03
7.	"Pressure"	The Nylon Curtain, 1982	4:37
8.	"Allentown"	The Nylon Curtain	3:49
9.	"Goodnight Saigon"	The Nylon Curtain	7:02
10.	"Tell Her About It"	An Innocent Man, 1983	3:50
11.	"Uptown Girl"	An Innocent Man	3:16
12.	"The Longest Time"	An Innocent Man	3:39
13.	"You're Only Human (Second Wind)"	Previously unreleased	4:49
14.	"The Night Is Still Young"	Previously unreleased	5:26
Total length:			58:25

*Greatest Hits Volume III* (1997)
No.	Title	Original album	Length
1.	"Keeping the Faith"	An Innocent Man, 1983	4:38
2.	"An Innocent Man"	An Innocent Man	5:19
3.	"A Matter of Trust"	The Bridge, 1986	4:12
4.	"Baby Grand" (Duet with Ray Charles)	The Bridge	4:05
5.	"This Is the Time"	The Bridge	5:00
6.	"Leningrad"	Storm Front, 1989	4:04
7.	"We Didn't Start the Fire"	Storm Front	4:48
8.	"I Go to Extremes"	Storm Front	4:24
9.	"And So It Goes"	Storm Front	3:38
10.	"The Downeaster 'Alexa'"	Storm Front	3:44
11.	"Shameless"	Storm Front	4:27
12.	"All About Soul" (Remix)	Exclusive to the "All About Soul" single, 1993; originally from River of Dreams, 1993	6:01
13.	"Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)"	River of Dreams	3:35
14.	"The River of Dreams"	River of Dreams	4:11
15.	"To Make You Feel My Love" (Bob Dylan)	Previously unreleased	3:53
16.	"Hey Girl" (Gerry Goffin, Carole King)	Previously unreleased	3:57
17.	"Light as the Breeze" (Leonard Cohen)	Tower of Song, 1995	6:12
Total length:			76:08

*An Evening of Questions & Answers... & A Little Music*
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Billy Joel Spoken Intro/Music Concepts" (Live and mostly spoken)	10:18
2.	"Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" (Unreleased live version)	7:50
3.	"Beatles Influence" (Live and mostly spoken)	5:18
4.	"A Hard Day's Night" (Lennon–McCartney) (Unreleased live version)	2:53
5.	"Why Vienna?" (Live and mostly spoken)	9:28
6.	"Vienna" (Unreleased live version)	3:41
7.	"History Through the Music" (Live and mostly spoken)	4:31
8.	"We Didn't Start the Fire" (Unreleased live version)	5:13
9.	"Music Source" (Live and mostly spoken)	9:14
10.	"The River of Dreams" (Unreleased original studio recording)	5:20
11.	"Piano Bar" (Live and mostly spoken)	7:46
12.	"Piano Man" (Unreleased live version)	6:31
Total length:		78:03

Personnel

Remastering - Joseph Palmaccio (CD 1 and CD 2), Ted Jensen (CD 3 and CD 4) at Sterling Sound

Certifications and sales


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)^[2]	Platinum	1,000,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

^ Staunton, Terry (February 1998). "Billy Joel: The Complete Hits Collection: 1973–97". Uncut. No. 9. p. 87.
^ "American album certifications – Billy Joel – The Complete Hits Collection". Recording Industry Association of America.

[1] Staunton, Terry (February 1998). "Billy Joel: The Complete Hits Collection: 1973–97". Uncut. No. 9. p. 87.

[United_StatesBilly_JoelThe_Complete_Hits_CollectionalbumCertRef-2] "American album certifications – Billy Joel – The Complete Hits Collection". Recording Industry Association of America.

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