Joel, Billy
Glass Houses
Rare & Collectible Vinyl Records

Sealed 1980 Original (FC Prefix). "The Back-to-back Success Of The Stranger And 52nd Street May Have Brought Billy Joel Fame And Fortune, Even A Certain Amount Of Self-satisfaction, But It Didn't Bring Him Critical Respect, And It Didn't Dull His Anger. If Anything, Being Classified As A Mainstream Rocker -- A Soft Rocker -- Infuriated Him, Especially Since A Generation Of Punks And New Wave Kids Were Getting The Praise That Eluded Him. He Didn't Take This Lying Down -- He Recorded Glass Houses. Comparatively A Harder-rocking Album Than Either Of Its Predecessors, With A Distinctly Bitter Edge, Glass Houses Still Displays The Hallmarks Of Billy Joel The Pop Craftsman And Phil Ramone The World-class Hitmaker. Even Its Hardest Songs -- The Terrifically Paranoid "Sometimes A Fantasy," "Sleepin' With The Television On," "Close To The Borderline," The Hit "You May Be Right" -- Have Bold, Direct Melodies And Clean Arrangements, Ideal For Radio Play. Instead Of Turning Out To Be A Fiery Rebuttal To His Detractors, The Album Is A Remarkable Catalog Of Contemporary Pop Styles, From Mccartney-esque Whimsy ("Don't Ask Me Why") And Arena Rock ("All For Leyna") To Soft Rock ("C'etait Toi [you Were The One]") And Stylish New Wave Pop ("It's Still Rock And Roll To Me," Which Ironically Is Closer To New Wave Pop Than Rock). That's Not A Detriment; That's The Album's Strength. The Stranger And 52nd Street Were Fine Albums In Their Own Right, But It's Nice To Hear Joel Scale Back His Showman Tendencies And Deliver A Solid Pop/rock Record. It May Not Be Punk -- Then Again, It May Be His Concept Of Punk -- But Glass Houses Is The Closest Joel Ever Got To A Pure Rock Album." AMG - Stephen Thomas Erlewine