Here are some reviews on the CD release of 2000 YEARS THE MILLENNIUM CONCERT FROM BILLBOARD ON-LINE.
BILLY JOEL
2000 Years: The Millennium Concert
Producer(s): Don DeVito, Brian Ruggles
Columbia 63792
Genre: POP
ALBUM SPOTLIGHT REVIEW
Originally reviewed for week ending 5/6/00 Just in case you still have a tiny bit of millennium fever left, Columbia offers a fix via this two-CD recording of Joel's New Year's Eve concert at Madison Square Garden in New York. Moving beyond the somewhat hackneyed millennium celebrations, "2000 Years" provides Joel die-hards with an essential souvenir of the evening -- not to mention a reminder of the famed artist's often extraordinary stage presence. This collection offers a nice smattering of classics from the 1994 Billboard Century Award winner's career, including "Big Shot," "The Ballad Of Billy The Kid," "New York State Of Mind," "My Life," and "It's Still Rock And Roll To Me," among others. He also delivers playful covers of the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women" and Sly & the Family Stone's "Dance To The Music." Perhaps the most entertaining aspect of "2000 Years" is the inclusion of Joel's amusing stage patter, during which he dons his everyman demeanor in criticizing the high price of concert tickets, as well as his future classical music compositions. While Joel is to be applauded for striving to broaden his musical horizons, "2000 Years" illustrates that he will perhaps always be best known as a top-notch singer and piano man -- and that's a pretty darn good thing.
THIS ONE IS FROM AMAZON Much has been made of Billy Joel's plans to ditch his career as a rock & roller and age gracefully into the supposedly sanguine world of classical music. Maybe it's the right thing to do if, as it seems, he's run out of gas as a pop songwriter. Recent years have seen no new material, only box sets and reissues of his old albums. Now comes the capper, a live album from his Millennium Concert recorded at New York's Madison Square Garden on New Year's Eve. Certainly there's still some mileage left in Joel's catalog, particularly ballads like "Summer Highland Falls" and "I've Loved These Days," and, considering the nexus of the occasion and Joel's career plans, his version of "My Life." And he also turns in sharp performances of signature pieces like "Angry Young Man," "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant," and "You May Be Right." But his between-song patter may grow tiresome over repeated listenings. Joel is known to be pretty full of himself, but after hearing him rattle on about high ticket prices and his classical ambitions, you may have had your fill of him, too. --Daniel Durchholz
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