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The Stranger was Billy Joel's fifth album, but in some ways, it felt like his debut because it’s the album that catapulted him to superstardom. Before its release, he’d had a radio hit with Piano Man, but his genius was hampered by a string of overly slick producers who didn’t connect with his musical vision and a contract that he couldn't get out of. But all that started to change leading up to The Stranger. With no hits to his name, his own wife as a manager, and a refusal to work with big-name producers, Joel finally had a chance to make an album on his own terms. After self-producing Turnstiles and touring with the same band, he was in perfect sync with his touring band and he had already started to work on songs for his fifth album. Then came a performance at Carnegie Hall, and a meeting with Phil Ramone the producer that finally understood what Billy was trying to do. And, thus, The Stranger finally began falling into place.

On Episode 1 of The Opus: Billy Joel's the Stranger, host Adam Unze takes a look at the groundwork for what was to come, going through the history of his first four records to his landmark performances at Carnegie Hall, meeting Phil Ramone, and finally finding a recording process that gave creative freedom and ability to capture the magic of his live band. Joining Adam are Billy Joel, mega-producer Phil Ramone, and Billy Joel's long-time drummer Liberty Devitto,

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