Track Listing

1. Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
2. Stranger
3. Just the Way You Are
4. Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
5. Vienna
6. Only the Good Die Young
7. She's Always a Woman
8. Get It Right the First Time
9. Everybody Has a Dream

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #102218 in Music
• Released on: 2001-07-31
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Enhanced, Original recording remastered, Super Audio CD - DSD
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Customer Reviews

An Excellent Early Multichannel SACD
It took what seemed like forever, but Sony Music has started to release 5.1-channel SACDs. Billy Joel's "The Stranger" is one of the first. The multichannel version has catalog number CS 69384.

The disc is presented in 5.1 channel packed DSD sound as well as stereo DSD. There is no CD layer, so the SACD is only playable in an SACD player. Multichannel requires a multichannel SACD player such as the Sony SCD-CE775.

Unlike early DVD-Audio discs, the mixes and mastering process on this early multichannel SACD are all excellent. The vocals are extremely clear and the disc is easy to use. Unlike a DVD-Audio disc, which acts like a glorified DVD-Video disc, a multichannel SACD acts like a CD. Press 'play' - it plays. Track skipping is easy. As a bonus, the name of each track appears on the player's built-in display - no video display required.

Standout tracks are "Moving Out" where the vocals are full and extremely clean sounding. The low bass on "Just the Way you Are" is excellent and warm. There are no use of instruments that "fly" throughout the channels, just a very good mix.

I'm on my fifth play now of this disc. An excellent start to the world of multichannel SACD. May there be many more discs like this.

Note : Earlier SACD versions of "The Stranger" were stereo-only.

I Love the Album and I love the 5.1 mix
Billy Joel needs no introduction to anyone who's followed pop music in the past 25 years. He's simply one of the most talented singer-songwriters of the past quarter century. With The Stranger, he reached the top of the charts and created one of his most enduring works at the same time. This Grammy award winning album contains "Just the Way You Are," one of the most honest and beautiful love songs of all time, but it also contains classics like "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" and "Only the Good Die Young." Joel surrounds himself with talented, but unpretentious musicians who wonderfully interpret his music. And Phil Ramone's original production gave this material a thoughtful, clean mix that accentuated the songs and the musicians.

This is one of the original single-layer Sony SACDs, which pale in comparison to new hybrids that are starting to find their way into the market. For one thing, we've come to expect an upgrade in packaging, not the redbook CD booklet with 1 or 2 lines crediting the remastering team. It ships in a traditional jewel case, and is otherwise indistinguishable from a traditional CD; however, once you pop this baby into your SACD player, you'll find yourself dazzled by the sonics, in either stereo or 5.1.

I won't spend much time on the stereo mix, except to say that a friend loaned me the remastered redbook CD and, while this is definitely a step up, there's nothing jaw-droppingly better about the stereo mix. It sounds marginally better, but not enough of a leap in quality to suggest you should replace your redbook edition.

However, if you are 5.1-capable, you should really consider buying this CD. The multichannel mix is outstanding. The lead vocals stand out clearly at the top of the mix from the center channel, and the instruments are spread generously around the 4 front and surround speakers, with the piano positioned FL. The LFE is given a lot of data, and produces a strong amount of well-defined low-end. Also, the instrument placement around the mix seems logical, giving the overall band an authentic "live in the studio" feel, with a strong, but not overpowering amount of ambient echo from the surrounds.

Where this mix really shines, though, is in the small moments that you might otherwise miss. Take "Only the Good Die Young," for example. What I never REALLY noticed on that song before is Liberty DeVitto's terrific work on the brushes, but this mix gives you a great chance to hear every swipe of the drumskin. Another example is "Just Like A Woman," which has a terrific arpeggio line by the acoustic guitars of Hugh McCracken and Steve Burgh. On the multichannel mix they sing through the mix to give the song a brighter tone. There are many other examples I could site, but I think you get the idea.

Bottom line? If you are a fan of this album and you are set up for 5.1, you absolutely need to buy this SACD. You won't be sorry.

A great SACD demo disc
On the strength of the reviews I read in Amazon.com, I purchased The Stranger on SACD. I have not been disappointed. All of the songs are mixed well, but I am especially impressed with the mix on some of the mellower songs like "Just the Way You Are" and "She's Always a Woman." The first of these is a song that I've been sick of for a long time, but the 5.1 channel version actually puts new life into it.

I only have two gripes, which have to do not with what is ON the disc, but what is NOT on it. First, it does not contain a CD layer. Why Sony refuses to release its SACDs as hybrids is beyond my comprehension. It is a stupid and greedy policy. Second, it does not contain any extras, neither on the disc itself nor in the packaging. For what it costs, an SACD should be a DELUXE edition of an album, with some bonus tracks and/or an expanded booklet. DVD Audio discs haven't been much better in this respect, but at least they throw us a few small bones.

All things considered, this is a worthwhile purchase that brings out some of the best of what multichannel SACD has to offer.