The Soviet Union of 1988 was like a ripe fruit, ready to be plucked into the basket of democratic reform. Premier Gorbachev was tossing off the shreds of hard-line communism and introducing his policies of glasnost and perestroika. Reform and democracy was in the air, and could be felt in the winds of Moscow. Due to the increased level of openness with the western nations, American culture began to penetrate the iron curtain into Russia.

Billy Joel took the stage in Leningrad and Moscow in a tour of Russia in the late 80's. The result was KOHUEPT, a live album released against Billy's wishes. The public was delighted, finally a live album was released that delivered live performances of Billy's songs that were recorded from THE STRANGER, to THE BRIDGE. Billy's fans now had live recordings of the songs Bill had been performing in recent years.

KOHUEPT is not as good of an album as SONGS IN THE ATTIC, Bill's other live album. This is the case partially because KOHEUPT was recorded abruptly and unknowingly over one night, and consequently has no sense of refinement. SONGS IN THE ATTIC had one whole year of planning. KOHEUPT is really no different than hearing any other Joel concert live, it is just a regular taped live concert. The Russian translations add uniqueness and intrest to the album. It is, on the whole, an excellent, enjoyable live album.

The first Joel song is a powerful performance of "Angry Young Man". He then slows down with a solo piano/vocal of "Honesty", and goes into "Goodnight Saigon". He cruises along with Jazzy and somewhat improvised performances of "Stiletto", "Big man on Mulberry street", and "Baby Grand"

The beef of the concert begins with a haunting and drawn out version of "An Innocent Man", and a moving "Allentown". Bill then gets the crowd riled up with the rocking "A Matter of Trust", "Only the Good die young", and a brilliant "Sometimes a Fantasy", with a fantastic guitar riff at the end. Bill finishes off with "Uptown Girl", which noticeably changes tempo throught the performance, and a tired, weak, lifeless performance of "Big Shot". To add social relevance and meaning to his concert, he ends with the Beatle's "Back in the U.S.S.R", and Bob Dylan's "The times they are a Changin." The Soviets react well to his concert, and enthusiastically respond to Bill's performance. The Russians clearly accepted American music, and the Iron curtain was ripped once more. It was clearly only a matter of time until the Soviet Union fell.

KOHUEPT is one of Joel's lesser recordings, but a must have for any Joel collecter. Joel proves his skill as an execllent on-stage performer, and he delivers. If you are a new Joel fan, do not buy this album first, buy a compilation of his greatest hits instead.

All of these songs are great live. Billy Joel does not dissapoint his fans where ever he goes. His amazing piano solo on Angry Young Man shows just how talented he is.

This album captures the very essence of Billy Joel's concerts.Has some of his best songs including Allentown,Angry Young Man and A Matter of Trust.He does a great job of performing John Lennon and Paul Mc Cartney's Back in the USSR.

Billy Joel's tour of the former Soviet Union was truly historic since he was one of the very first American artists to be allowed to perform in the former USSR. This disc very nicely brings us the highlights of Billy's tour and we get some great tracks to prove that it was very successful!

The track set begins with a Russian piece called "Odoya;" and after that we hear the musical prelude to Billy's concerts. Billy sounds great on "Honesty;" this classic tune about a man who wants his one true love features great piano by Billy. Billy also sings it quite passionately and the crowd loves every minute of it! "Stiletto" makes the crowd go wild; and the horn solo at the very beginning gets it just right! The drums, percussion, guitar and piano carry the melody and Billy sings this with great sensitivity--great! I think you'll enjoy this live track of "Stiletto" very much.

"Big Man On Mulberry Street" really rocks as Billy cries out to make this even more passionate. Billy never misses a note and the drums and chorus enhance "Big Man On Mulberry Street" even more! Listen for some great jamming on "Big Man On Mulberry Street," too. In addition, "Baby Grand" gets the royal treatment from Billy Joel as he delivers this number with panache and sensitivity. The crowd hangs on his every word; Billy's rapport with his audience is excellent. Good percussion and drums, too.

The mood and tempo pick up considerably for a rocking "Only The Good Die Young;" Billy does this to perfection with some really great guitar! "Uptown Girl" features a nice chorus to backup Billy's vocals; and they harmonize very well. The energy is perhaps at his zenith when Billy plays the predictable but wonderful "Back In The U.S.S.R." "Back In The U.S.S.R." features good vocal backup, great drums and percussion, awesome electric guitar as Billy wails this out while playing piano. Excellent!

The last track on this CD sends the message that Billy recognizes the former Soviet Union was beginning to undergo major social changes; we get the Bob Dylan standard "The Times They Are A Changin'." Billy does this flawlessly after telling his audience that he believes the U.S.S.R. under Gorbachev was similar to the social changing times in America during the 1960s.

The liner notes include some great color photos taken of Billy and his band during his U.S.S.R. tour--great!

Billy Joel does indeed display his ability to perform as a socially conscious musician on this album. I wish it were a more complete version of perhaps a single concert; maybe in the future we will get that. All in all, this is still a phenomenal live Billy Joel CD; and I highly recommend it for rock and pop fans everywhere.

Enjoy!

The title of this album is the Russian translation of "in concert". Billy Joel was promoting THE BRIDGE while touring the U.S.S.R. where this album was recorded. This is a sequel to SONGS IN THE ATTIC. Four TURNSTILES tracks were on the first live set. On this set is ANGRY YOUNG MAN. It is so amazing how Billy can repeatedly strike that middle C on the piano so fast. ODOYA is the album's introduction sung a cappella by a male Russian choir. From 52ND STREET are STILETTO,BIG SHOT and HONESTY. On this album's version of HONESTY,the only thing heard besides Billy's voice is his piano,no drums or string emsemble like the studio version. From the NYLON CURTAIN are GOODNIGHT SAIGON and ALLENTOWN. Those two songs are storytelling. From AN INNOCENT MAN are the title track and UPTOWN GIRL. From THE STRANGER is ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG. From GLASS HOUSES is SOMETIMES A FANTASY. From THE BRIDGE are A MATTER OF TRUST,BIG MAN ON MULBERRY STREET and BABY GRAND minus Ray Charles. BACK IN THE U.S.S.R. was quite appropriate for this live set. That Lennon-McCartney composition was first recorded by the Beatles. Bob Dylan's THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN' ends the album. In that song,like HONESTY,it's only Billy voice and only one instrument,this one an acoustic guitar. A concert of this tour,but not this very concert was videotaped for broadcast on Cable TV's Home Box Office.