Really? We've never discussed/rated this one? That's almost a travesty!
I do own the Q8 with a huge chunk of tape cut out of it. *sigh* But, thanks to JonUrban and ArmyofQuad, I finally got to hear the album in it's entirety! (Thanks Again, Guys!) Obviously, mixed at a Columbia studio. Very four-corner discrete. I think because the tape was released on Family Productions, it didn't get passed through Dolby, and as such, the tape version is quite hissy with low saturation. Not quite Liberty/UA tape low levels, but low enough that the hiss gets annoying when you turn up the tunes.
Anywho, the mix. Yes, the mix. Well, as I said, it's a major four-corner job. Billy's piano is up front. Drums are in the rear for some of the songs. To my ears, the songs with the drums in the front sound better. But because of the sparse instrumentation of songs like Piano Man, they had to spread things out somehow. Not exactly the way I would have, but c'est la vie. It is however one of those instances where the mix and the music don't jive. For this kind of stuff, it could stand to be less discrete. Kind of like how the Neil Diamond Q8 is less discrete, yet it works. I think this album could've benefited from a tighter mix and given you that "in the studio" feel, rather than what amounts to listening to a bunch of overdubs in the corners. "Piano Man" is probably one of the better mixes on the tape. Drums in the rear, piano & Billy up front with the harmonica blasts up front and the concertina in the right rear. Almost makes you think you're sitting in the middle of a barroom band. (I did play with the mix in Audition and artificially narrowed the mix and it still sounds really good - better than the SQ)
Content-wise, it's Billy Joel when he was starving. People/Groups generally are more creative or ambitious when they really want to break-out - early Aerosmith is another good example. It's creative, it's bouncy and it's varied. There's something here for everyone.
Mix? A product of it's time. Hardly Earth-shattering, but better than double stereo.
However, I will add the one caveat..... if you do find this one on eBay, don't just jump at it because it's uber rare. Wait for a good one or at least.... one that's been play-tested.