Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums. As his breakthrough album, The Stranger kicked off a long string of successful albums for Joel, continuing up through 1993's River of Dreams. George Martin, who had initially declined to produce The Stranger using Joel's band, reportedly wrote Joel a letter following the album's massive success, in which he congratulated Joel and reflected that he was wrong about the band. Phil Ramone would continue to serve as Joel's producer for a number of years, working with him on each of his albums up through 1986's The Bridge. "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" went on to lend its name to a 2002 jukebox musical, featuring several of Joel's songs alongside narrative choreography by Twyla Tharp. The play ran successfully on Broadway for three years, holding its final performance on December 15, 2005 after a total of 1,303 performances. In 2017, to celebrate the album's 40th anniversary, a picture-disc vinyl rerelease of The Stranger with newly remastered audio was released by Brookville Records on October 20. Many of the songs from the album went on to become staples in Joel's repertoire. Though never released as a single, "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" is a staple of his live set, named by Rolling Stones Rob Sheffield as Joel's equivalent to Bruce Springsteen's "Jungleland". Joel stated in an interview that "I don't think I could do a show without performing that song." "Vienna" has also become a popular part of his live set; when Joel lets the audience choose between it and "Just the Way You Are", "Vienna" is most often the winning contender. The song was featured in an episode of the TV series Taxi, and was prominently showcased later on in the 2004 teenage comedy film 13 Going on 30. Joel has cited "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" and "Vienna" as his favorite and 5th-favorite songs that he has written, respectively. Track listing Original release All songs written and composed by Billy Joel. On the LP and cassette release, track 5 includes a reprise of "The Stranger"; the 8-track does not. 8-track tape running order "The Stranger" – "Just the Way You Are" "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" – "Vienna" – "She's Always a Woman" "Only the Good Die Young" – "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant (Part 1)" "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant (Conclusion)" - "Get It Right the First Time" – "Everyone Has a Dream" 30th Anniversary