Cyndi Lauper "True Colors"

True Colors is the second studio album by American singer Cyndi Lauper, released on September 16, 1986, by Portrait Records. The album spawned several commercially successful singles as "True Colors", "Change of Heart", and "What's Going On" reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, with the first two charting within the top five. The album was produced by Lauper herself together with Lennie Petze.

Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics. The album earned Lauper several awards and accolades, including two nominations at the 29th Annual Grammy Awards. True Colors peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 chart. The album is Lauper's second best-selling release with around seven million copies worldwide.

By the end of 1985, Lauper was established as one of the best-selling artists in the world. Her first studio album was certified 4 times platinum by RIAA and received a diamond certification in Canada for sales in excess of 1 million copies, making her the first singer to achieve such a feat at that time. According to Billboard magazine the music industry was eyeing the singer's next steps anxious to know if she could maintain the success of her debut.

In her autobiography, the singer says that she initially planned that Rick Chertoff, who produced She's So Unusual, would produce what would become her second album, however, the experience with him was problematic and she changed her mind, likewise she refused to produce the album with Rob Hyman since he was affiliated with Chertoff. The album was then produced by her and Lennie Petze. Lauper said that the songs of the album are a way to say: "Have the courage of your convictions and love yourself a little", and "not to be so hard on yourself". In addition to composing most of the songs on the album, the singer also produced it.

The title song, written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, has been covered by many other artists, and was used as the theme song for the 1988 Summer Olympics, the 2003 Rugby World Cup and for Kodak cameras and film.

In 2010, the song was also featured on the soundtrack of Sex and the City 2. True Colors was reissued in a Japanese exclusive limited edition box set 11-track digitally remastered CD album.

In the United States, True Colors has been certified double platinum by the RIAA and peaked at number four on the Billboard 200. It topped the Australian chart for four weeks and, in Japan, outsold She's So Unusual, although that was not the case in most countries. The album produced the singles "True Colors" (No. 1 Billboard Hot 100), "Change of Heart" (No. 3), "What's Going On" (No. 12), and "Boy Blue" (No. 71). Each single had a music video although the video for "Boy Blue" was just a live performance from her Zenith concert in Paris. According to Lauper's official website, the album was certified 4× Platinum in Australia and Platinum in Italy. The album sold around 7 million copies worldwide.

Track listing

1. "Change of Heart" Essra Mohawk/Cyndi Lauper (additional lyrics)  4:22
2. "Maybe He'll Know"    Lauper/John Turi   4:25 
3. "Boy Blue"  Lauper/Stephen Broughton Lunt/Jeff Bova   4:46
4. "True Colors"   Tom Kelly/Billy Steinberg   3:46
5. "Calm Inside the Storm"   Lauper/Rick Derringer   3:54
6. "What's Going On"  Renaldo Benson/Alfred Cleveland/Marvin Gaye  4:39
7. "Iko Iko" Rosa Lee Hawkins/Barbara Anne Hawkins/Joan Marie Johnson/Sharon Jones/Marilyn Jones/Boogaloo Joe Jones/Jesse Thomas   2:08
8. The Faraway Nearby" Lauper/Tom Gray  3:00
9. "911" Lauper/Lunt   3:16
10. "One Track Mind" Lauper/Jimmy Bralower/Lennie PetzeBova 3:41

Total length: 37:57

Billy Joel "The Ultimate Collection"

The Ultimate Collection is a double-disc compilation album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel. It was first released by Sony Music Entertainment Japan in December 2000, and subsequently issued in the most of European and Oceanian countries with slightly different track listings (replacing Japanese top-3 charting hit "The Stranger" with live version of "You're My Home").

This career-spanning compilation features some of Joel's early notable compositions and hit singles which were disregarded on his Greatest Hits series, although several hits and fan favorites like "Only the Good Die Young", "Captain Jack", "Vienna", "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", "Pressure" and "Big Shot" were excluded alternatively. It became a smash hit worldwide, entering top-5 on the charts in many countries, including United Kingdom.

The Ultimate Collection was not issued in the United States, however Legacy Recordings released another similar compilation The Essential in October 2001.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Billy Joel

Disc one

1. "Just the Way You Are" The Stranger, 1977 4:50
2. "My Life" 52nd Street, 1978 4:43
3. "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" Glass Houses, 1980 2:57
4. "An Innocent Man" An Innocent Man, 1983 5:18
5. "Piano Man" Piano Man, 1973 5:37
6. "You're My Home" Piano Man 3:12
7. "Everybody Loves You Now" (Live version) Songs in the Attic, 1981 3:11
8. "The Entertainer" Streetlife Serenade, 1974 3:40
9. "Streetlife Serenader" Streetlife Serenade 5:16
10. "New York State of Mind" Turnstiles, 1976 6:03
11. "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" Turnstiles 4:38
12. "She's Got a Way" (Live version) Songs in the Attic 3:00
13. "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" The Stranger 3:29
14. "She's Always a Woman" The Stranger 3:20
15. "Honesty" 52nd Street 3:49
16. "You May Be Right" Glass Houses 4:12
17. "Don't Ask Me Why" Glass Houses 2:57
18. "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" (Live version) Songs in the Attic 5:09

Disc two

1. "Uptown Girl" An Innocent Man 3:16
2. "Tell Her About It" An Innocent Man 3:50
3. "The River of Dreams" River of Dreams, 1993 4:07
4. "The Longest Time" An Innocent Man 3:37
5. "We Didn't Start the Fire" Storm Front, 1989 4:47
6. "Goodnight Saigon" The Nylon Curtain, 1982 7:02
7. "Allentown" The Nylon Curtain 3:49
8. "All for Leyna" Glass Houses 4:12
9. "This Is the Time" The Bridge, 1986 4:59
10. "Leave a Tender Moment Alone" An Innocent Man 3:53
11. "A Matter of Trust" The Bridge 4:08
12. "Modern Woman" The Bridge 3:50
13. "Baby Grand" (Duet with Ray Charles) The Bridge 4:04
14. "I Go to Extremes" Storm Front 4:21
15. "Leningrad" Storm Front 4:03
16. "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" Storm Front 3:43
17. "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" Greatest Hits Volume II, 1985 4:48
18. "All About Soul" (Remix) Greatest Hits Volume III, 1997 5:58

Billy Joel "Storm Front"

Storm Front is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on October 17, 1989. It was Joel's third album to reach No. 1 in the U.S. and features "We Didn't Start the Fire", a fast-paced song that cataloged a list of historical events, trends, and cultural icons from 1949 (when Joel was born) until 1989, which was Joel's third Billboard No. 1 hit.

"I Go to Extremes", a song describing the ups and downs of his emotional life, placed at No. 6. Other songs that placed in the top 100 were "And So It Goes" (No. 37), "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" (No. 57), and "That's Not Her Style" (No. 77). The album was also nominated for five Grammy Awards. The album's cover depicts the maritime storm warning flag indicating wind forces 10–12, the highest intensity on the Beaufort scale. Joel has stated in recent Sirius XM segments that he was inspired by Peter Gabriel's 1986 track "Sledgehammer", as an inspiration for the "driving rhythm section" when he was writing the title track.

In 1991, Garth Brooks recorded "Shameless" on his album Ropin' the Wind. Brooks' cover version was also released as a single and reached the top of the US country charts, and also entered the UK Singles Chart.

Storm Front marked a radical change in Joel's backing band. Since his last studio album (The Bridge), both Russell Javors and Doug Stegmeyer, long-time members of Joel's band, were discharged from their respective duties as rhythm guitarist and bass guitarist. Javors was replaced with Joey Hunting for the record and by Tommy Byrnes on tour while Stegmeyer was replaced by Schuyler Deale. Band regulars Liberty DeVitto, David Brown and Mark Rivera were retained. Joel also hired the percussionist and multi-instrumentalist Crystal Taliefero beginning with this album.

Track listing

All songs written by Billy Joel.

1. "That's Not Her Style" – 5:10
2. "We Didn't Start the Fire" – 4:50
3. "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" – 3:44
4. "I Go to Extremes" – 4:23
5. "Shameless" – 4:26
6. "Storm Front" – 5:17
7. "Leningrad" – 4:06
8. "State of Grace" – 4:30
9. "When in Rome" – 4:44
10. "And So It Goes" – 3:38

Produced by Billy Joel and Mick Jones

Mixed by Tom Lord-Alge (tracks 1–3) and Jay Healy (tracks 3–10).

Engineered by Jay Healy

Assistant engineers – Dana Becker, Tim Crich, David Dorn, Suzanne Hollander, Joe Pirrera and Gary Solomon.

Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).

Art direction – Chris Austopchuk

Back photo – Timothy White

Front photo – Frank Ockenfels

Billy Joel "Storm Front (Vinyl)"

Storm Front is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on October 17, 1989. It was Joel's third album to reach No. 1 in the U.S. and features "We Didn't Start the Fire", a fast-paced song that cataloged a list of historical events, trends, and cultural icons from 1949 (when Joel was born) until 1989, which was Joel's third Billboard No. 1 hit.

"I Go to Extremes", a song describing the ups and downs of his emotional life, placed at No. 6. Other songs that placed in the top 100 were "And So It Goes" (No. 37), "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" (No. 57), and "That's Not Her Style" (No. 77). The album was also nominated for five Grammy Awards. The album's cover depicts the maritime storm warning flag indicating wind forces 10–12, the highest intensity on the Beaufort scale. Joel has stated in recent Sirius XM segments that he was inspired by Peter Gabriel's 1986 track "Sledgehammer", as an inspiration for the "driving rhythm section" when he was writing the title track.

In 1991, Garth Brooks recorded "Shameless" on his album Ropin' the Wind. Brooks' cover version was also released as a single and reached the top of the US country charts, and also entered the UK Singles Chart.

Storm Front marked a radical change in Joel's backing band. Since his last studio album (The Bridge), both Russell Javors and Doug Stegmeyer, long-time members of Joel's band, were discharged from their respective duties as rhythm guitarist and bass guitarist. Javors was replaced with Joey Hunting for the record and by Tommy Byrnes on tour while Stegmeyer was replaced by Schuyler Deale. Band regulars Liberty DeVitto, David Brown and Mark Rivera were retained. Joel also hired the percussionist and multi-instrumentalist Crystal Taliefero beginning with this album.

Track listing

All songs written by Billy Joel.

Side one

1. "That's Not Her Style" – 5:10
2. "We Didn't Start the Fire" – 4:50
3. "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" – 3:44
4. "I Go to Extremes" – 4:23
5. "Shameless" – 4:26

Side two

1. "Storm Front" – 5:17
2. "Leningrad" – 4:06
3. "State of Grace" – 4:30
4. "When in Rome" – 4:44
5. "And So It Goes" – 3:38

Produced by Billy Joel and Mick Jones

Mixed by Tom Lord-Alge (tracks 1–3) and Jay Healy (tracks 3–10).

Engineered by Jay Healy

Assistant engineers – Dana Becker, Tim Crich, David Dorn, Suzanne Hollander, Joe Pirrera and Gary Solomon.

Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).

Art direction – Chris Austopchuk

Back photo – Timothy White

Front photo – Frank Ockenfels

Billy Joel "Концерт (Japan, CBS/Sony, 35DP-888)"

Kontsert (/kɒntˈsɛərt/; Russian: Концерт, [kɐnˈt͡sɛrt]; commonly read as Kohuept or Kohliept, English: Concert) is the second live album by Billy Joel, released in 1987. The album was recorded during the Soviet leg of Joel's 1987 The Bridge tour. This album was co-produced by Jim Boyer and Brian Ruggles, and mixed by Jim Boyer.

In 1986 Billy Joel was invited to perform in the Soviet Union the following year, 1987. Joel took advantage of this opportunity to be a musical ambassador. He was seen as a "nice, safe, first attempt at bringing in an American 'pop star.'"

The tour of the Soviet Union consisted of six shows, three in Moscow and three in Leningrad. Joel brought his family with him to show the Russians that he felt safe and trusted the Russian people. During the show Joel gave new meanings to songs such as "Honesty". Each time the song was performed, he dedicated the song to Vladimir Vysotsky because he was an inspirational Russian man who "spoke the truth."

During the second of the three concerts performed in Moscow at the Olympic Sports Complex, Joel flipped his electric keyboard, and broke his microphone stand on his grand piano. While performing "Sometimes a Fantasy", the audience kept getting attention from spotlights, which angered Joel as he felt it was making it harder to connect with them:

The Soviet crowd, raised by decades of Iron Curtain austerity, stopped dancing and froze like deer in headlights when they were lit up, petrified that the security guards would crack down on them. Then the lights would go out again and they'd resume dancing. Lights off, dancing. Lights on, frozen stiff. This went on and on like a game of red light, green light, one-two-three. With each flick of the lights, the perfectionist Joel saw his hard earned connection fading away.

He yelled, "Stop lighting the audience!" He then trashed his instruments, overturning his piano and breaking his mic stand. He later claimed that, "People like their privacy. They go to a concert to get that, to be in the dark and do their own thing."

Joel brought his daughter Alexa Ray Joel and his wife Christie Brinkley on tour with the band. He also crowd-surfed during his performances. While in Leningrad, Billy dove into the crowd during the performance of "The Longest Time". This was another way for him to show that he trusted the Russian people.

Joel had played a tour in Europe prior to the tour in the Soviet Union, and was being interviewed during the day. As a result, his voice became hoarse. Joel himself stated that he was disappointed by the album, and believes his vocals were not up to par during its production. Despite his opinion, Columbia Records released the album, claiming it was a "historic event". Joel and his band jokingly refer to the album as Kaput.

Prior to this show, rock music was barely gaining ground in the Soviet Union. The implementation of Gorbachev's glasnost allowed people of the Soviet Union to witness Western Rock. As a result, the government had to learn how to put on concerts, while the people of Russia had to learn how to participate in them. Joel's Russian tour was the first live rock radio broadcast in Soviet history. Joel and his band were one of the first western rock groups to perform in Russia, along with John Denver, Elton John, James Taylor, and Santana.

While in Russia, Billy Joel and his daughter Alexa met and became friends with a clown named Viktor. The song "Leningrad" would eventually be written about him. This song was released on the 1989 Storm Front album.

Joel went on to say:

The trip to Russia was probably the biggest highlight for me as a performer. I met these people and they weren't the enemy. I also hoped that the people in America could see what we did. What happens when your kid says to you 'what did you do in the Cold War, Daddy?' And now we have something to say.

Tracklist:

All tracks are written by Billy Joel, except where noted. Joel's cover of The Beatles' "Back in the U.S.S.R." became the first single released by him that was written by someone other than himself. The B-side was "The Times They Are A-Changin'", Joel's live cover of Bob Dylan's song. Sides 1-4 are Tracks 1-16 on CD.

1. "Odoya" (Performed by Zhournalist) Traditional 1:17
2. "Prelude/Angry Young Man" 5:24
3. "Honesty" 3:58
4. "Goodnight Saigon" 7:21
5. "Stiletto" 5:09
6. "Big Man on Mulberry Street" 7:17
7. "Baby Grand" 6:09
8. "An Innocent Man" 6:09
9. "Allentown" 4:23
10. "A Matter of Trust" 5:08
11. "Only the Good Die Young" 3:33
12. "Sometimes a Fantasy" 3:38
13. "Uptown Girl" 3:09
14. "Big Shot" 4:44
15. "Back in the U.S.S.R." Lennon–McCartney 2:45
16. "The Times They Are A-Changin'" Bob Dylan 2:58

Total length: 1:12:58

Billy Joel "The Bridge (1998 Japan Remaster, Blu Spec CD, SICP-20133)"

The Bridge is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on July 9, 1986. It was Joel's last studio album produced by Phil Ramone as well as the last to feature Joel's long-time bassist Doug Stegmeyer and rhythm guitarist Russell Javors. The album yielded several successful singles, including "A Matter of Trust" (peaking at No. 10), "Modern Woman" (which also appeared on the Ruthless People soundtrack, peaking at No. 10), and "This Is the Time" (peaking at No. 18).

Joel began work on the album—on which two of his major influences (Ray Charles and Steve Winwood) made guest appearances—in 1985. Charles sang a duet with Joel on the song "Baby Grand", and Winwood played Hammond organ on the song "Getting Closer"; Charles and Winwood later covered "Baby Grand" and "Getting Closer" respectively in concert. Other notable musicians who made guest appearances on the album include jazz musicians Ron Carter and Michael Brecker, who both played on the jazzy track "Big Man on Mulberry Street".

The album also had some New wave influences. For instance, the first song, "Running on Ice", is heavily influenced by the music of the Police, and "Modern Woman" borrows heavily from the styles of Huey Lewis and the News. The final song recorded for the album, "Code of Silence", featured Cyndi Lauper who contributed backing vocals and received co-writing credit for the lyrics; she later covered that song herself in concert. Joel would return the favor by contributing backing vocals on Lauper's song "Maybe He'll Know" for her 1986 album True Colors.

The Bridge was Joel's last album to carry the "Family Productions" logo which had appeared on all of Joel's albums up to that time as part of a deal that Columbia Records made to get Joel out of his first recording contract with Artie Ripp's Family Productions. In the closing song of the album—"Getting Closer"—Joel makes several of what are clearly attacks and observations on the iron-clad contract with Ripp, with references to "my stolen youth", "all the conmen and their acrobats who stomped me in the ground", and "I must live up to contracts".

Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s (1990), Robert Christgau said: "Maybe [Joel's] youthful lyricism, meaning his knack for the tearjerker, is abandoning him. … Here he's best when he's brassy and literal: failed wise guy in 'Big Man on Mulberry Street,' Ray Charles's coequal on 'Baby Grand.' And even at his most rockin' he's seventy-five years retro whether he likes it or not—whenever he doesn't hit it just right you want to quarantine him for life in Atlantic City."

In a retrospective interview, Joel said: "Not a happy album. I wasn’t simpatico with the musicians, some of whom I’d been working with a long time. I don’t think the material was good; I was pressured by management to put it out too fast. By the end, I sort of gave up caring, which for me was unusual. I remember reading bad reviews and agreeing with them."

Billy later admitted to Rolling Stone that at the time of the album's writing and recording, he was in no mood to be in the studio, saying "Christie and I had just had Alexa, and I'd have much rather have been home with the baby..." This angst over leaving his wife and daughter at home was poured into the album track "Temptation".

Track listing

All songs composed by Billy Joel, except "Code of Silence" written by Joel and Cyndi Lauper.

1. "Running on Ice" – 3:15
2. "This Is the Time" – 4:59
3. "A Matter of Trust" – 4:09
4. "Modern Woman" – 3:48
5. "Baby Grand" (duet with Ray Charles) – 4:02
6. "Big Man on Mulberry Street" – 5:26
7. "Temptation" – 4:12
8. "Code of Silence" (backing vocals by Cyndi Lauper) – 5:15
9. "Getting Closer" – 5:00

Producer – Phil Ramone

Production coordinator – Joseph D'Ambrosio

Engineer – Jim Boyer

Associate engineers – Steve Boyer, David Dickson, Bradshaw Leigh and Fred Tenny.

Technical support – Ricki Begin, Peter Bergren, Mark Betts, Steve Buller, Cary Butler, Gary Ciuzio, Ed Evans, Bruce Howell, Joe Lopes, Frank Rodriguez, Billy Rothschild, Joe Salvatto, Audrey Tanaka and Phil Vachon.

Support system – Barry Bongiovi, Jim Flynn and The Power Station staff.

Digitally recorded at The Power Station, Chelsea Sound and RCA Recording Studios (New York, NY); Evergreen Studios (Burbank, CA).

Mixed at The Power Station (New York, NY).

Mastering by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).

Acoustic piano supplied by Yamaha.

Design – Mark Larson

Cover painting – Brad Holland

Photography – Patrick Demarchelier

Sleeve photos – Larry Busacca, Phil Ramone and Charles Reilly.