Bootleg City: Billy Joel, Songs in the Attic Outtakes

Greetings, citizens! It's been an unacceptably long time since we were last authorized to send one of these dispatches from Bootleg City, but it wasn't because we forgot about you — rest assured that each and every one of you has been in our thoughts over these many weeks. It's just that it's been extra difficult to keep Mayor Wardlaw focused on his duties recently, owing to the ongoing renovations that have left half of the mayoral mansion covered in tarps, sawdust, and loose nails. Somehow, it's the half that the staff lives in, even though not a single improvement has been authorized for our living quarters. Amazing!

Anyway, during a brief respite from the constant drone of the many power saws currently being put to work on the mayor's newly expanded bathroom, I thought I'd pop in real quick and share this collection of earlyish Billy Joel live recordings. As we all know, Billy's Songs in the Attic is one of the very few live albums that's actually worth a damn; as many people do not know, it was initially supposed to be quite a bit longer. From the notes that came with these files:

The original concept for the Songs in the Attic album was to be a double live album. Unfortunately, the original project was cost-prohibitive, and was reduced down to just a single LP consisting of "Pre-Stranger Favorites." These tracks are some of the other songs considered for the original double LP release. Many of them start with an audio track telling the title and location of recording. The final track ends with what would have been the ending to the double release: An audio recording spliced together of Billy saying goodnight to all of the cities that were recorded for the album.

It's somewhat difficult to believe that Columbia would have balked at a double live LP from Joel after the multiplatinum success of The Stranger, 52nd Street, and Glass Houses, but no story is too weird for the record industry. Anyway, there's some pretty cool stuff in here, especially if you're one of the millions of Joel fans who didn't get to hear stuff like "Sometimes a Fantasy" or "Stiletto" in a live setting until he really did put out a double live LP in 1987. It's definitely a lot more fun to listen to than those goddamn power saws, I can tell you that much. Does a mayor really need a toilet with a cushioned, heated seat? Let alone one you have to climb a small set of stairs to reach?

Track Listing:
You May Be Right
Don't Ask Me Why
Sleeping with the Television On
Summer, Highland Falls
You're My Home
Only the Good Die Young
The Stranger
Just the Way You Are
It's Still Rock and Roll to Me
I'll Cry Instead
Everybody Loves You Now
Miami 2017 (I've Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)
Streetlife Serenader
Sometimes a Fantasy
Stiletto
Big Shot
Movin' Out
Prelude/Angry Young Man
Piano Man
Zanzibar
The Ballad of Billy the Kid
New York State of Mind