C
olumbia Records and Legacy Recordings Set to Release A MATTER OF TRUST--THE BRIDGE TO RUSSIA,
Billy Joel's Historic 1987 Russian Tour Revisited on DVD/Blu-ray Concert Film, 2CD Live Album and Deluxe Box
Set Deluxe Edition includes First DVD/Blu-ray Release of Billy Joel's 1987 Leningrad and Moscow Concerts,
2CD Expanded Russian Concert Album and SHOWTIME® Documentary Film, directed by Four-Time EmmyWinner Jim Brown. Available Tuesday, May 20, 2014
A MATTER OF TRUST--THE
BRIDGE TO RUSSIA will be available
in a Deluxe Edition boxed set containing a full-length concert film (The Concert) on DVD or Blu-ray; a 2CD album
(The Music) featuring previously unreleased tracks and bonus material; and,
as an exclusive, the SHOWTIME®documentary film chronicling Billy's 1987
Soviet Tour, directed by four-time Emmy-winner Jim Brown ("Pete Seeger:
The Power of Song," "American Roots
Music," "An Evening with Henry Belafonte").
In addition, the Deluxe Edition comes
with a book containing rare photos
and new liner notes including firsthand accounts from writers and journalists who were there, among them
Gary Graff, Michael Jensen, Neal Preston, Rona Elliot and Wayne Robins.
The Concert contains newly restored
and remastered material from Live In
Leningrad, 1987, a full-length concert
film that has been unseen since its VHS
release. For its DVD and Blu-ray debut, The Concert has been remastered
from the original 35millimeter negative and expanded to include 12 previously unreleased performances, more
than doubling the running time of the
original release. The Music (2CD) is
available digitally on iTunes (http://
smarturl.it/bj_russia_itunes). Earlier
this year, Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings announced that all of
the artist's studio albums had been
newly Mastered For iTunes (itunes.
com/BillyJoel) and would be available
individually or as part of Billy Joel The Complete Albums Collection, a
specially priced bundle which includes
a bonus anthology of 17 rarities.
By the late 80s, The Cold War between
the USSR and the West had begun to
thaw in the light of Russian head-ofstate Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of
Glasnost and Perestroika, designed
to bring openness and transparency
to the Soviet Union while promoting
political reform and cross-cultural exchanges.
When the Kremlin invited Billy Joel
to perform in the Soviet Union, he
jumped at the chance to realize a longtime dream of performing for the Russian people. As America's pop rock
musical ambassador, Billy Joel brought
the Soviets their first fully staged high
energy rock show. Seen and heard now,
more than a quarter century later,
Billy Joel's Russian concert tour performances stand out among the most
electrifying and moving of his career.
On December 8, 2013, Billy Joel was
awarded the Kennedy Center Honors,
given to members of the performing
arts community for lifetime contributions to American culture.
The Music (2CD) is available digitally
on iTunes (http://smarturl.it/bj_russia_itunes). Earlier this year, Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings
announced that all of the artist’s studio albums had been newly Mastered
For iTunes (itunes.com/BillyJoel) and
would be available individually or as
part of Billy Joel - The Complete Albums Collection, a specially priced
bundle which includes a bonus anthology of 17 rarities.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Billy
Joel was building a catalog of timeless
songs while enjoying a string of consecutive hit albums and singles. Though
selling out concerts around the world,
Billy and his music were, like much of
western pop culture and rock ‘n’ roll itself, unheard behind the Iron Curtain
(except for black market bootlegs and
faint shortwave radio).
along with musicians, staff, and a huge
press entourage spent their days interacting with the Russian people, forging
true bonds of friendship wherever they
went. The tour been seen as a major
cultural turning point in the course of
US and Soviet relations.
Seen and heard now, more than a
quarter century later, Billy Joel’s Russian concert tour performances stand
out among the most electrifying and
moving of his career. A MATTER OF
TRUST--THE BRIDGE TO RUSSIA
bears witness to the timeless revolutionary power of rock & roll.
By the late 80s, The Cold War between
the USSR and the West had begun to
thaw in the light of Russian head-ofstate Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies of
Glasnost and Perestroika, designed
to bring openness and transparency
to the Soviet Union while promoting
political reform and cross-cultural ex- Having sold more that 150 million
changes.
albums worldwide, Billy Joel is one
of America’s most popular recording
When the Kremlin invited Billy Joel artists and respected entertainers. A
to perform in the Soviet Union, he MATTER OF TRUST--BRIDGE TO
jumped at the chance to realize a long- RUSSIA arrives during a surge of actime dream of performing for the Rus- tivity for the artist, who’s nearing his
sian people. As America’s pop rock 50th anniversary as a professional mumusical ambassador, Billy Joel brought sician. His enduring song catalog was
the Soviets their first fully staged high featured in a tribute episode of “Glee”
energy rock show. The tour began with last November before the unprecea small acoustic concert in Tbilisi, fol- dented announcement, in December,
lowed by three electrifying stadium that Madison Square Garden would
shows in Moscow and three shows in be making Billy Joel the venue’s “first
Leningrad.
music franchise,” giving New York audiences an opportunity to catch a local
Billy Joel’s historic visit to Russia be- hero and American musical legend
came a worldwide news event, with performing an ongoing artistic resijournalists and writers covering the dency at the Garden.
tour, its progress, and the effect Billy, On December 8, 2013, Billy Joel was
his band and his family were having on awarded the Kennedy Center Honors,
the Russian people. The entire tour was given to members of the performing
professionally filmed and the concerts arts community for lifetime contribuwere simulcast on radio worldwide.
tions to American culture.
SOURCE Legacy Recordings
During their stay, Billy and his family,