The set features two bonus discs featuring rare and previously unreleased material

Billy Joel is scheduled to perform at the Tokyo Dome for the first time in 16 years on Wednesday, January 24th for one night only. Sony Music Japan is celebrating the occasion with the release of Piano Man: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition on February 28th, a 2 CD/DVD set that’s exclusive to Japan.

The new three-disc collection features a dual-layer SACD multi-hybrid edition with a new 2023 stereo remaster and the album’s original 1974 four-channel quadrophonic mix.

The second disc is a high-quality Blu-Spec CD 2 that includes mostly previously released material including demos from the 2005 My Lives box set and two live shows. Five songs make their debut on the CD for the first time anywhere, including tracks from Live at The Great American Music Hall 1975, a rare collection of seven songs that were released as a Record Store Day vinyl edition last year.

The set is rounded out with a DVD containing footage related to the album. Eight of the 11 songs make their DVD debut including a “Piano Man” music video that was shot in 1974 and four songs from Billy Joel Tonight, Joel’s first home video released on VHS in 1977. The DVD also includes a bonus recording of the earliest and rare “Everybody Loves You Now,” filmed in 1971 during the Family Production era.

Piano Man was released on November 9, 1973, and was an important breakthrough work that was a greeting and symbol of Joel’s playing style and became synonymous with it. A world of lyrics that intricately, delicately, and at the same time depict personal feelings about the world around them, with plenty of wit and humor, a keyboard that rhythmically spins the melody, a singing voice that can play in a variety of ways, and a gorgeous musician who supports it.

Piano Man: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition follows the December release of Billy the Best: Live! ｜Live Through The Years – Japan Edition. The 2 CD set comprises 32 songs great performances of hit songs, representative songs, and hidden masterpieces from four decades from the 1970s to the 2000s. Thirteen of the tracks made their global CD debut while six are new to the format in Japan.

CD 1: Piano Man

1. Wanderer’s Prayer
2. Piano Man
3. Not Bad
4. My Hometown
5. Wandering Billy the Kid
6. Merry Wanderer
7. Nevada Connection
8. Entrust to Your Loving Words
9. Light Rain in Paris
10. Captain Jack

CD 2: Rare Tracks (Live & Demo)

1. Piano Man (Single Edit)
2. Wanderer’s Prayer (Live – 1972)
3. Wandering Billy the Kid (Live – 1972)
4. Captain Jack (Live – 1972)
5. Josephine (Demo – 1972) [Previously Unreleased on CD]
6. Oyster Bay (Demo – 1973)
7. Piano Man (Demo – 1973)
8. The Siegfried Line (Demo – 1973)
9. New Mexico (Demo – 1973)
10. Cross to Bear (Demo – 1974)
11. Goodbye, Pastor Ike [Previously Unreleased on CD]
12. Light Rain in Paris (Live – 1975) [Previously Unreleased on CD]
13. My Hometown (Live – 1975) [Previously Unreleased on CD]
14. Wanderer’s Prayer (Live – 1975) [Previously Unreleased on CD]
15. Wandering Billy the Kid (Live – 1975) [Previously Unreleased on CD]
16. It’s Not Bad (Live – 1975) [Previously Unreleased on CD]

DVD:

1. Piano Man (1973 Promo Video) [Previously Unreleased on DVD]
2. Piano Man (1985 Promo Video)
3. Piano Man (Live at Palmer Auditorium, Connecticut College, New London, CT – 12/5/1976) [Previously Unreleased on DVD]
4. You’re My Home (Live at Palmer Auditorium, Connecticut College, New London, CT – 12/5/1976) [Previously Unreleased on DVD]
5. The Ballad of Billy The Kid (Live at Palmer Auditorium, Connecticut College, New London, CT – 12/5/1976) [Previously Unreleased on DVD]
6. Captain Jack (Live at Palmer Auditorium, Connecticut College, New London, CT – 12/5/1976) [Previously Unreleased on DVD]
7. Ain’t No Crime (Live on The Old Grey Whistle Test – 3/13/1978)
8. You’re My Home (Live at Sparks, Huntington, NY – July 1981) [Previously Unreleased on DVD]
9. Piano Man (Live at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY – 12/29/1982) [Previously Unreleased on DVD]
10. The Ballad of Billy The Kid (Live at Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany – 6/18/1994)
11. Everybody Loves You Now (Promo Video) [Previously Unreleased on DVD]