Overall I'm happy with my purchase but in the end all I got was a very expensive dvd that wasn't even remastered in Dolby Digital and a partial live show from Carnegie Hall. Lets start the review off with the remaster of the original album. It's one of the worst remasters ever and I'm very disappointed. I find myself constantly twitching in anticipation of having to continually turn the volume down because the audio hits saturation on a continual basis. It's almost as if the engineer either forgot to compress the soundwave before adding amplitude or this was someones first attempt at remastering a cd. Either way I'm very happy that I own the SACD as it is simply perfection. Next up is the Carnegie Hall concert. This show is very good especially since it has the mini orchestra which adds a uniqueness to owning it and The sound is also very good, but the downfall lies in the fact that they cut about 10 songs from the original show, probably because they didn't want to make the box set larger than it already is. Next they have the audacity to include 5 songs from the Nassau 77 show (purchased at best buy) when in fact the masters for the entire 24 song show is available and has been in circulation as a bootleg for many years. Even if you add the four tracks from Nassau that aren't on the Carnegie Hall show the concert is still not complete. Any Serious Billy Joel fan already owns a high quality bootleg of the Nassau 77 show, so only mastering 5 tracks adds insult to injury. Finally I get to the DVD. Surely they couldn't screw this up. Wrong!! No Dobly Digital??? Just Stereo??? It's still a great DVD but it would have been awesome in 5.1. Take a listen to the Springsteen '75 show that was released in 5.1 several years ago and you will know exactly what is lacking in this stereo only show. How would I done it differently if I was Columbia Records? 1. The remastered album should have been offered as a hybrid SACD or DVD audio that would play on both a conventional CD player or in 5.1 on a SACD\DVD player and packaged as a mini LP with all the original artwork. 2. The Carnegie Hall show should have been the complete show which would have been 2 discs and packaged as a mini LP. Who wants to store their discs in the plastic sleeve of the long box? 3. The DVD should have been mastered in Dolby Digital 5.1. It's 2008 for christ's sake. They should have included the 5 tracks from Nassau 1977 in all the boxes and then offered the remaining tracks from the full show as a download for an additional $8-$10. Other than the replica of Billy Joel's lyric book there was absolutely no creativity or imagination put into this box which is a real shame. Maybe the record labels should ask what the fans would like to see in an anniversary box, similar to what Ford did when they reissued the Mustang. In that case everyone was a winner. In the case of the 30th Anniversary of the Stranger most people will walk away knowing they could have had more but got less.

OK, first things first: The Stranger is the album that made Billy Joel a household name throughout the world (though not because it was a breakthrough album in terms of content; the earlier "Turnstiles" is at least as good). It is a very well recorded album with many of Joel's best loved songs. It has been reissued multiple times in the digital era (the original CD, the remastered CD, the SACD version, etc.). It is hard to imagine anyone interested in this expensive expansive edition doesn't already own AT LEAST one other digital version of the album, so the inclusion of the album on this package is a money grab.

Unfortunately, it's worse than that: The remaster of The Stranger included here is far-and-away the WORST remaster of the album to ever appear. It is extremely compressed and maximized, which means it sound nice and LOUD, but it sacrifices all sorts of subtleties of the music itself. If you are only interested in The Stranger, go and buy yourself any other edition. Or if you already own The Stranger in some other digital edition, keep that if you buy this: The version here is just plain junk.

Now, on to the bonus features which, honestly, are the lure of this package. On the second CD (there is no "third" CD, regardless of how Amazon describes this package) you get a TRUNCATED version of the shows that Billy Joel played in New York City in Summer 1977. This was Joel and his band at the height of their powers, and with a trunkload of great material (from the Stranger and earlier albums) to draw upon. To any fan of Billy Joel, this is essential, terrific stuff. UNFORTUNATELY, you don't get an entire show (neither a real entire show, nor a cut-and-paste from separate performances to simulate an entire show). This is a real travesty and begs the question "Why?" The source material to offer a full show is available. Someone made the decision to offer the abridged version here, and, given the relatively high cost of this package and that fact that a full show from era of Joel's career is not legitimately available anywhere is just criminal. What's here is excellent, but it's just not enough.

As for the DVD: You get an hour long show originally recorded for the UK's Old Grey Whistle Test. Again, it's excellent, but does not represent a full show of the era (even if an hour is all that Joel and his band recorded for that fixed format show). There's also a documentary and a bit of other ephemera that's nice, but won't merit repeat viewings in most households.

In all, this is an opportunity missed. A poor remaster of the original album coupled with a tantalizing but unsatisfying abbreviated version of a classic era show. Bad decisions were made here and--sadly--I'd guess there won't be a another physical media attempt to correct them in the future.

Hardcore Joel fans will buy this, as well they should (what legitimate alternatives are there for the live material?) But anyone on the fence should think hard before jumping.

This is a very nice boxed set and an excellently thorough and generous treatment for a "classic" album in many senses of the term. The latest remastering of the original album may be very good. I didn't notice much difference myself. (Actually I think you have to be an audiophile to possess the trained ears to hear such things.) My focus is on all of the bounteous bonus material. The Carnegie Hall concert was a high quality recording of a spirited and superb performance by both Mr. Joel and his band. I had a nice nostalgic experience listening to that previously unreleased recording, as I saw Joel in a marvelous Pittsburgh concert about a year later. The rest of the bonus stuff has been well described by reviewer Chapman in his good review. The lyrics workbook replica is cool and fun to look through. I especially appreciated the interesting (though short) DVD featurette about the making of The Stranger. It sheds a lot of new light on the creation of the album! Overall, I'm very grateful to get my hands (and ears & eyes) on this Anniversary set!

Billy Joel's was the first music that was really 'mine'. I discovered him all on my own, he wasn't someone my parents listened to and then introduced me to. I have always felt a very strong connection to his music because of this. The Stranger is his watershed moment, it was his make or break album and it garnered him world wide attention. And with darned good reason. The album is just phenomenal and this remaster is a true delight. The disc of the concert at Carnegie Hall is great too, it affords a chance to listen to some of the chances the band takes live and the fun they have together on stage. The DVD of the Old Grey Whistle Test is what really makes the set for me. I had only ever seen this in its entirety once before getting this set on PBS. I had seen clips from it over the years as well, again on PBS. And to be able to sit down and watch this any ole time I feel like is just heaven to a Billy Joel fan. If you love Billy like I do, get this, you won't regret it.

Simply a masterpiece! It was a heralded vinyl in 1977 and is now simply a classic 30 years later! I purchased the legacy addition to get an exclusive 5 song DVD attachment and while that purchase was a joy it does not compare to the deluxe edition!!! The 30 minute documentary is priceless when you have the opportunity to get the inside stuff from Billy and the genius of Phil Ramone! The Old Grey Whistle Test concert on DVD is still giving me chills. I thought I had experienced most of what was on video and this is a must have!!!!!The graphics alone and the boxed set packaging rival the My Life boxed set. I recommend this purchase with two very BIG THUMBS UP!!!! I look forward to "The last play at shea" Doumentary scheduled for 2009 release. Remember Only the Good Die Young and get this before its too late!