Not worth it
This live version of "Sometimes a Fantasy" just absolutely rocks; it's energetic and lewd and everything I'm sure Billy Joel intended it to be. Joel's cover of "Back in the U.S.S.R." is powerful, too. Beyond that, there's no reason to buy this lifeless, monotonous CD. Certainly some of the blame needs to be laid on the recording technology; I don't know if this was originally a bootlegged performance that Columbia subsequently released or what, but the whole thing sounds muffled and the sounds aren't very distinct. The real problem, though, is that Joel sings almost every song without any real power or passion; as several people have noted, it's like he doesn't really care. This CD sounds like Billy Joel's hour-long race to get offstage. That's a shame, because it contains the only live recordings of some of these songs--but it's just not worth it when the performances are so sloppy. Bottom line: When I'd rather listen to the studio versions of songs than the live versions (which is almost invariably the case with this CD), I know something's wrong. If you want to hear Billy Joel live, pick up his "Songs in the Attic" CD, which is the polar opposite of Kohuept: energetic, virtuosic and incredibly engaging. The "Millennium Concert" set suffers a little from Joel's onstage talking between songs, but those are some hard-rockin', soulful performances too. Whichever of those two you choose, though, avoid "Kohuept" at all costs.
Joel Behind The Iron Curtain
Kohuept is culled from Billy Joel's historic tour of the former Soviet Union. The album has a great energy and is practically dripping with feelings of Glasnosting. Mr. Joel performs a nice array of material, eschewing such obvious numbers as "Just The Way You Are" and "It's Still Rock 'N' Roll To Me" for lesser known songs like the excellent "Stiletto" and the tender "Honesty". He does a nice job on the obligatory "Back In The USSR" and sings "The Times They Are-A-Changin'" with real feeling. Mr. Joel is a first-rate live performer and Kohuept is a nice document of his skills as well as the famous tour.
Kohuept looks at a changin' times as Joel goes to the USSR
At the tail end of the Cold War, two years after Mikhail Gorbachev began to liberalize the Soviet Union with his "glasnost" (openness) and "perestroika" (restructuring), Billy Joel became one of the first (if not THE first) American pop-rock superstar to play a series of gigs in the Communist heartland. Kohuept (Russian for "in concert") is an over-70-minute album recorded live in Leningrad (now called St. Petersburg) and, with the exception of "Odoya," (a Georgian choral piece), the Beatles' "Back in the USSR" and Bob Dylan's enigmatic (yet prophetic) "The Times They Are A Changin', " most of the 16 tracks are songs from such Joel albums as "52nd Street," "The Nylon Curtain," "An Innocent Man" and his then-current "The Bridge."
In comparison to the Piano Man's studio albums, the sound has a less-polished yet more honest quality to it. For instance, in his tribute to his friends who fought in Vietnam, "Goodnight Saigon," his voice doesn't go into the high notes one hears when listening to the more "polished" version on his "Greatest Hits" compilation. His covers of Lennon-McCartney's "Back in the USSR" and Dylan's classic "Times Are A Changin' " are full of energy and enthusiasm...Joel even sounds like Dylan as he performs the song some have said embodies the spirit of the 1960s. Given Joel's fascination for history and listening to Konuept from a 21st Century perspective, it's almost as if Joel could sense that the changes that would lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall two years later and the end of the Soviet Union in December of 1991 were, to borrow from another Dylan song, "blowin' in the wind."
The Curtain Goes Up
As part of the eased tensions between the United States and Russia, singer Billy Joel, took his act on the road to Leningrad. Kohuept represents a "live" cultural exchange.
The "concert" features some of the singer's best work sung in front of an enthusiastic crowd. If you already own a lot of his music than this CD may seem a bit redundant-but to hear the connection between artist and audience is still pretty amazing. Mr. Joel puts on a great show for the crowd. His energy and the way he plays to the folks, lucky enough to be there, leaps off the CD. The "live" aspect-It's what makes the CD worth your while. Short of being there, there's nothing like hearing the audience reaction. To open the show is a Russian tune called "Odoya", as a lead in to "The Angry Young Man" The singer wraps things up with "Back In The USSR" and "The Times They Are A Changin'" , rather appropriate.
The CD has 16 tracks, a running time of 73:02 and is really only a "must" if you want the live experience. Still--it's a solid release.
For Joel completists only
I remember expecting this live set to be a powerhouse after Joel's U.S.S.R. tour, and it was a big disappointment. A Russian choir performs "Odoya," which is a lead-in to "Angry Young Man." The LP "The Bridge" was a hot item back then, so several tracks are included from it. The highlights are a poignant cover of Dylan's "The Times They Are A Changin'," and there's some fire in his version of the Beatles' "Back in the U.S.S.R." But I've seen Billy Joel in concert, and he's the consummate concert performer when he's on his game. And sadly, this live set catches him just going through the motions. That's too bad, because there are several songs going back over the years which can't be found in live versions anywhere else. But that's just as well, since the studio versions are generally superior. The live "Songs In The Attic" from 1981 is recommended ahead of this one, as is the concert recorded on the eve of the new millenium. As other reviewers have stated, that CD is marred by endless between-song banter, but at least there's some life to the performance. There isn't on this one.
