A Certain Point of View, Too

Music Album Review: ‘Billy Joel Greatest Hits, Volume III’ (1997)

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by

Alex Diaz-Granados
in , , , , , ,

(C) 1997 Columbia Records

Billy Joel’s Greatest Hits, Volume III: A Late Discovery Worth the Wait

I’ll admit it — I nearly passed this one by.

When Greatest Hits: Volume III dropped in 1997, I hesitated. Joel’s post-An Innocent Man output hadn’t exactly lit up my radar, and with my classical collection growing, I wasn’t keen on spending limited funds on what might be a letdown. A local critic even called it an unremarkable farewell to Joel’s pop/rock career. So I opted for Sir Neville Marriner’s Amadeus soundtrack instead.

Fast forward a year: armed with a $50 gift certificate and browsing one of my favorite music stores, I spotted the Limited Edition 4-disc Billy Joel Greatest Hits Collection. My Volumes I & II were worn from love and overplay, so I figured, why not upgrade and get a bonus?

Instead of starting with the familiar, I dove into Disc 3 — Volume III — the so-called “runt of the litter.” I expected to enjoy the first five tracks, which I already knew from An Innocent Man and The Bridge. But the remaining twelve? Total mystery.

And then came the surprise.

Joel’s “Leningrad” floored me. A Cold War elegy told through the lives of Viktor, a Russian clown, and Joel himself, it’s haunting, heartfelt, and deeply human. The line “He made my daughter laugh / then we embraced; we never knew what friends we had / till we came to Leningrad” still echoes in my mind.

Other standouts? “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” “The Downeaster Alexa,” and the gospel-tinged “The River of Dreams” all hit home. But three tracks truly linger:

  • “And So It Goes” — a minimalist, melancholy meditation on doomed love, stripped to piano and voice.
  • “Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)” — a tender promise to his daughter, born from classical roots and personal upheaval.
  • “To Make You Feel My Love” — Joel channels Dylan with uncanny precision, turning a cover into a quiet revelation.

I ended up embracing Disc 3 so fully that I later bought the standalone release. While the boxed set offers more bang for your buck — four discs, a lyric booklet, and photos — this edition holds its own. It’s not exhaustive (I missed “Honesty” and “Rosalinda’s Eyes”), but it’s a worthy retrospective for fans old and new.

🎶 Track List – Billy Joel Greatest Hits, Volume III

  1. Keeping the Faith
  2. An Innocent Man
  3. A Matter of Trust
  4. Baby Grand (duet with Ray Charles)
  5. This Is the Time
  6. Leningrad
  7. We Didn’t Start the Fire
  8. I Go to Extremes
  9. And So It Goes
  10. The Downeaster “Alexa”
  11. Shameless
  12. All About Soul (Remix)
  13. Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)
  14. The River of Dreams
  15. To Make You Feel My Love (Bob Dylan cover)
  16. Hey Girl (Goffin/King cover)
  17. Light as the Breeze (Leonard Cohen cover)