Record Numbers

The last time we saw my vinyl collection, it had expanded to around 9 Billy Joel records. Since then this has almost doubled. I got the albums The Bridge and Storm Front through Trade Me. Then on another trip to Real Groovy, I spotted The Nylon Curtain (not one of my favourites) in the $2 sales bin. Couldn't resist!! At the same time I also bought Enya's Watermark on sale; I used to listen to this album when I was little, especially Orinocco Flow, and getting it on vinyl was pretty cool!

New Additions!

A few weeks later I went back for more. I bought Billy Joel's КОНЦЕРТ which means 'Concert' in Russian. This is a live double album from his tour of Russia, and is, quite aptly, bright red. I also picked up a record of Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell, because it's just so awesome! Since then, Trade Me has been my main source of records. I managed to get my hands on several 7" singles, including 'It's Still Rock And Roll To Me' with it's original cover. 

But I didn't just limit myself to vinyl; I spotted an amazingly cheap auction for the ultimate Billy Joel collection, My Lives, and I couldn't resist. At less than half the price, and including 4 CDs and a DVD, it was a steal. The CDs contain demos, unreleased songs and a whole lot of other bits and pieces. The DVD is a whole concert from his River Of Dreams Tour. I also bought his Greatest Hits: Volume III DVD, which has interviews and includes, for the first time, a few covers. Next came his double CD '12 Gardens,' from a 2006 concert in New York. I also picked up a cheap CD of some of his earlier material.

Look What Came In The Mail!

I'll say at this point that, although this sounds like quite a lot, I always make sure I'm getting a good deal. Some of these I bought for $2 or $4, often with postage costing more than the product! I picked up a CD of River Of Dreams- since I can't find it on Vinyl- but it soon turned out that I would have 3 of these. One day I came across a Trade Me listing for 18 Billy Joel CDs, with a reserve price of $15. Naturally, I bid straight away, thinking it was the deal of a lifetime. It was, but unfortunately I didn't get it that cheaply. Some nice people waited until the final hour of the auction to place their bids, including one with an auto-bid. So I kept going until I outbid them- at $51. I figured this was still getting them for around $2.50 a CD, which was a fantastic deal.

The Contents!

So yesterday a package arrived in the mail for me, with all 18 CDs. It was very well packed and the postage was cheap! It included almost every one of his albums- only 52nd Street and the Stranger missing- as well as some other ones- another early years CD and his 3-CD 'Journey Down the River of Dreams' pack. This included a live tour album, a Q&A night and copy of River of Dreams; so along with another in the main pack, this meant I had 3 now. So I'm willing to give one away to a deserving home (I gave one to my Mum, also a fan!). Right now I'm still getting through all of them, but I can't complain!




Q.E.D.