Not many
rock artists had been allowed to visit the U.S.S.R., so
Billy Joel's 1987 tour was a big deal.
Joel took his task very seriously, embracing his role as musical and cultural ambassador from the West and acting solemnly throughout the tour. Besides the temper tantrum where he pushed his piano off stage, of course, but even that could be seen as a
rock & roller taking his message to the people. If you're charitable, that is. That defining moment of the tour is captured at the end of
Kohuept (sadly, it was trimmed for a subsequent CD reissue), a live double-album (single-disc) document of the Russian tour. At the time, it may have been a big event, and personally, it was a turning point for
Joel, but musically, it wasn't much of anything. Supported by an augmented version of his touring band,
Joel runs through a predictable selection of hits, drawing heavily from
The Bridge, but making sure to hit such favorites as
"Angry Young Man," "Stiletto," "Big Shot," and
"Sometimes a Fantasy." For topicality's sake, he adds
"Back in the U.S.S.R." and
"The Times They Are A-Changin'" to his repertoire. All of it is professionally performed, but none of it makes much of an impression, especially since there's little of the energy that is commonplace to live albums; it all sounds like slicker versions of the original studio takes. Perhaps die-hard fans would want this as a souvenir of a show they were never able to see, perhaps casual fans would want to use this as a de facto greatest-hits collection, but they're both likely to be disappointed by this tepid affair. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
