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.

[1]

[2]

v t e Billy Joel
Studio albums	Cold Spring Harbor Piano Man Streetlife Serenade Turnstiles The Stranger 52nd Street Glass Houses The Nylon Curtain An Innocent Man The Bridge Storm Front River of Dreams Fantasies & Delusions
Live albums	Songs in the Attic Kontsert 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert 12 Gardens Live Live at Shea Stadium: The Concert
Compilations	Greatest Hits – Volume I & Volume II Souvenir: The Ultimate Collection Greatest Hits Volume III The Complete Hits Collection: 1973–1997 The Ultimate Collection The Essential Billy Joel Piano Man: The Very Best of Billy Joel My Lives The Hits
Singles	"She's Got a Way" / "Everybody Loves You Now" "Piano Man" / "You're My Home" "Worse Comes to Worst" "Travelin' Prayer" "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" "The Entertainer" "I've Loved These Days" / "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" "Just the Way You Are" / "Vienna" "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" "Only the Good Die Young" "She's Always a Woman" "The Stranger" "My Life" "Big Shot" "Honesty" "Until the Night" "All for Leyna" "You May Be Right" "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" "Don't Ask Me Why" "Sometimes a Fantasy" "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" (Live) "She's Got a Way" (Live) "Pressure" "Allentown" "Goodnight Saigon" "Tell Her About It" "Uptown Girl" "An Innocent Man" "The Longest Time" "Leave a Tender Moment Alone" "This Night" "Keeping the Faith" "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" "The Night Is Still Young" "Modern Woman" "A Matter of Trust" "This Is the Time" "Baby Grand" "Back in the U.S.S.R." (Live) "We Didn't Start the Fire" "Leningrad" "I Go to Extremes" "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" "That's Not Her Style" "And So It Goes" "Shameless" "All Shook Up" "The River of Dreams" "No Man's Land" "All About Soul" "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" "To Make You Feel My Love" "All My Life" "Christmas in Fallujah" "Turn the Lights Back On"
Other songs	"Captain Jack" "Tomorrow Is Today" "Los Angelenos" "Root Beer Rag" "New York State of Mind" "Prelude/Angry Young Man" "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" "Zanzibar" "Laura" "Scandinavian Skies" "Big Man on Mulberry Street"
Tours	The Nylon Curtain Tour An Innocent Man Tour The Bridge Tour Storm Front Tour River of Dreams Tour Face to Face Tours 1994 1995 1998 2001 2002 2003 2009 2010 Billy Joel in Concert
Films	Oliver & Company The Last Play at Shea
See also	Discography Movin' Out Billy Joel Band The Hassles Attila Alexa Ray Joel Christie Brinkley Katie Lee "Movin' Out" (Glee episode)
Category

1973–1997

Topic: The Complete Hits Collection

Track listing

Personnel

Certifications and sales

References