Billy Joel’s Turnstiles was not the album that made him a global superstar. That would happen one year later with The Stranger.
It may, however, be the album where the Billy Joel most people recognize finally showed up.
Released in 1976 after Joel returned to New York from Los Angeles, Turnstiles delivered “New York State of Mind,” “Summer, Highland Falls,” “Say Goodbye to Hollywood,” “Prelude/Angry Young Man,” “I’ve Loved These Days” and “Miami 2017.” It also marked the emergence of the Long Island musicians who would become his core band.
Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings will celebrate the album’s 50th anniversary on December 11, 2026 with a 4CD/Blu-ray box priced at $69.98. And unlike some anniversary sets that require an archaeological dig to locate the new material, this one contains quite a lot of it.
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What Is in the Box?
There are 67 audio tracks, 54 of which have never previously been commercially released, along with 32 video performances, including 24 previously unreleased.
CD1 follows the creation of the album through band demos, piano-and-vocal recordings and abandoned sessions. The biggest discovery is “Oklahoma,” a previously unheard Joel composition presented in both demo and live versions. The disc also includes four recordings from sessions with Elton John rhythm section members Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson, part of an earlier attempt at making the album.
CD2 combines the original eight-song Turnstiles album with alternate versions and a previously unreleased 1976 interview with Philadelphia radio personality Ed Sciaky.
CD3 contains a complete, newly restored June 10, 1976 Bottom Line concert in New York City, while CD4 presents the audio from Billy Joel Tonight, recorded at Connecticut College in December 1976. That includes the official audio debut of “Handball.”
The Blu-ray Is More Than an Atmos Disc
The Blu-ray contains the complete 21-song Billy Joel Tonight concert film, newly transferred, edited, restored and mixed in HD from the original 1976 material. Additional rehearsal footage and production material expands the video portion to 32 performances.
It also includes a new Dolby Atmos mix of the original Turnstiles album, mixed by Bradshaw Leigh and mastered by Ted Jensen and Adam Grover at Sterling Sound. Columbia has not announced a dedicated new 5.1 mix or specified a lossless codec/resolution for the Atmos presentation, so those details should not be assumed until they’re confirmed.
A 40-page hardcover booklet includes previously unseen photographs, archival material, new liner notes from David Fricke and historical notes from Billy Joel Archive Director John Jackson.
Why Is This Edition Unique?
The number 54 is the important one.
Rather than leaning almost entirely on another remaster of an album everyone interested in Billy Joel already owns, the box reconstructs the period in which Turnstiles actually took shape: abandoned recording sessions, demos, alternate arrangements, radio material and two substantial live documents.
The Bottom Line recording captures Joel immediately after the album’s release. Billy Joel Tonight catches the band six months later, before The Stranger transformed him into an arena-level star.
At $69.98, the 4CD/Blu-ray package is also $20 less than the new Talking Heads set despite containing substantially more archival material. Someone at Sony apparently forgot that box sets are supposed to require financing.
Price & Availability
Turnstiles – 50th Anniversary Edition will be released December 11, 2026, for $69.98. The physical package contains four CDs, one Blu-ray and the 40-page hardcover book.
For Billy Joel collectors, the Atmos mix is welcome. The real reason to buy this set, however, is that it documents the brief period when Joel stopped being merely “the Piano Man” and started becoming Billy Joel.
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