Billy Joel / MSG 1982 New Years Eve / 2CDR

“THE NYLON CURTAIN TOUR 1982” created a special mood due to accidents and private troubles in the golden age of big hits. It is the appearance of the best live album.

Included in this work is “December 31, 1982 Madison Square Garden (hereinafter” MSG “) performance”. Speaking of “MSG”, it goes without saying that it will be the home of Billy, but this day was the only MSG performance in the “THE NYLON CURTAIN” era, and it was a highlight performance that was also the New Year’s Eve live on the last day of the tour.

This concert has been known for recording for a long time, and has been popular as a masterpiece along with the Rosemont performance as a record of the precious “THE NYLON CURTAIN TOUR”. This work is neither a copy nor a remaster. It is a new master that was suddenly discovered recently, and it is a completely different recording. It is a superb product that has been digitized directly from the original cassette that directly sucked the atmosphere of the site.

In fact, the sound is amazingly beautiful. The enthusiasm of the scene must be an audience recording that feels real, but the musical tone and singing voice are extremely clear, and the enthusiasm is suppressed and it arrives straight. Moreover, while the slight air feeling creates the spectacle of MSG, it is transparent and the details are vivid. Even the piano that rolls well can be transmitted beautifully to the touch. The conventional recording also had a heavy sound, but the level was “good for that time”. This work is a beautiful recording that does not require excuses for the times.

The recording itself is amazing, but the master freshness that jumped over 35 years is also abnormal. No distortion or deterioration is seen in every corner of the musical tone or performance, and Billy’s singing voice, which is endlessly stretchy, does not fluctuate until the moment it disappears. As expected, Master Direct ……… It’s so fresh that you might think, “Maybe it hasn’t been played for 35 years !?”.

The world of “THE NYLON CURTAIN TOUR” drawn with that sound is exactly the brilliance of the highlight. The brilliant representative songs of the golden age are lined up in a row, and they perform evenly from “PIANO MAN” to the latest work “THE NYLON CURTAIN”. Meanwhile, rare numbers such as “Souvenir” and “Scandinavian Skies” unique to that time are also mixed. The best part is the Beatles cover “I’ll Cry Instead”. It was also shown at the 1981 performance in Japan, but it was a very rare number, “Did you play other than that !?” You can enjoy it with a beautiful sound.

Billy who plays such a set is also wonderful. The singing voice was full of youthfulness at the age of 33, and the fact that it was more than eight months after the motorcycle accident even on the piano was incredibly delicate and eloquent. Moreover, there is plenty of motivation and special feeling for the tour Chiakiraku, MSG, and New Year’s Eve live. Especially special is the area near the latter half of the set (around tracks 1-5 of disc 2). While introducing the band members, suddenly singing “Communication Breakdown” of LED ZEPPELIN! Of course, it was a play that wasn’t complete, but the whole venue was boiling. From there, the snow fell into the New Year’s Eve countdown, and at the beginning of the year, “Auld Lang Syne” was sung moistly and lightly (“Communication Breakdown” was timed). MSG, whose gear went up all at once, heats up fiercely toward the end of the blockbuster song rush. It’s a “highlight” show.

A piano man who always delivers wonderful songs and singing voices. It is a masterpiece of a live album that shines with highlights full of special feeling in his career. Not only good sound, good song, good performance, but also a beautiful new excavation audience recording that gives happiness to be present on “this day” and “on the spot”. Please fully enjoy the miracle that has jumped over 35 years.