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Glass Houses

 
Album Review: Glass Houses
 

  • Artist: Billy Joel
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1980 03
  • Total Time: 34:35
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album, Enhanced CD-ROM
  • Genre: Rock

Review

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. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
You May Be Right Billy Joel Billy Joel (4:15)
Sometimes a Fantasy Billy Joel Billy Joel (3:40)
Don't Ask Me Why Billy Joel Billy Joel (2:59)
It's Still Rock & Roll to Me Billy Joel Billy Joel (2:57)
All for Leyna Billy Joel Billy Joel (4:15)
I Don't Want to Be Alone Billy Joel Billy Joel (3:57)
Sleeping With the Television On Billy Joel Billy Joel (3:02)
C'Etait Toi (You Were the One) Billy Joel Billy Joel (3:25)
Close to the Borderline Billy Joel Billy Joel (3:47)
Through the Long Night Billy Joel Billy Joel (5:15)

Credits

Billy Joel (Synthesizer), Billy Joel (Harmonica), Billy Joel (Piano), Billy Joel (Accordion), Billy Joel (Composer), Billy Joel (Keyboards), Billy Joel (Vocals), Billy Joel (Producer), Billy Joel (Main Performer), Jim Boyer (Engineer), Richie Cannata (Organ), Richie Cannata (Flute), Richie Cannata (Keyboards), Richie Cannata (Saxophone), Richie Cannata (Wind), Liberty DeVitto (Percussion), Liberty DeVitto (Drums), Russell Javors (Guitar (Acoustic)), Russell Javors (Guitar), Russell Javors (Guitar (Electric)), Ted Jensen (Mastering), Ted Jensen (Remastering), Phil Ramone (Producer), Doug Stegmeyer (Bass), Doug Stegmeyer (Guitar (Bass)), Dave Brown (Guitar (Acoustic)), Dave Brown (Guitar), Dave Brown (Guitar (Electric)), Bradshaw Leigh (Assistant Engineer), Jim Houghton (Photography)
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Wikipedia: Glass Houses
Top
Glass Houses
Glass Houses cover
Studio album by Billy Joel
Released March 1980
Recorded 1979
Genre Rock
Length 35:06
Label Family Productions/Columbia
Producer Phil Ramone
Professional reviews
Billy Joel chronology
52nd Street
(1978)
Glass Houses
(1980)
Songs in the Attic
(1981)

Glass Houses is the seventh album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released in 1980 (see 1980 in music). It features Joel's first song to peak at #1 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart, "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me." The album itself topped the Pop Albums chart for six weeks and was ranked number 4 on Billboard's 1980 year-end album chart.[1]

Opening with the sound of glass shattering, Glass Houses has more of a hard rock feel than Joel's prior albums. Accordingly, the response to this album was quite mixed. Glass Houses alienated many long-time fans, while at the same time, attracted many new fans to his music.

Contents

Background

The album cover consists of Joel poised to throw a rock through the big two story window of his real life modern waterfront glass house in Oyster Bay. He moved into it in 1977, after getting turned down for an apartment at The Dakota.

It was the third collaboration between Joel and producer Phil Ramone, following The Stranger and 52nd Street.

More recently, the group Marmaduke Duke has used a sample of "Sleeping with the Television On" in their song "Rubber Lover".

Track listing

All songs written by Billy Joel.

  1. "You May Be Right" – 4:15
  2. "Sometimes a Fantasy" – 3:40
  3. "Don't Ask Me Why" – 2:59
  4. "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" – 2:57
  5. "All for Leyna" – 4:15
  6. "I Don't Want to Be Alone" – 3:57
  7. "Sleeping With the Television On" – 3:02
  8. "C'Était Toi (You Were the One)" – 3:25
  9. "Close to the Borderline" – 3:47
  10. "Through the Long Night" – 2:43

Personnel

Production

  • Producers: Phil Ramone
  • Engineer: Jim Boyer
  • Assistant engineer: Bradshaw Leigh
  • Mastering: Ted Jensen
  • Photography: Jim Houghton

Chart positions

Album

Year Country Chart Position Weeks Sales/shipments Cetification (if any)
1980 United States The Billboard Pop Albums 1 (x6)[2] 73 7,000,000+ 7x Multi-Platinum[3]
Norway VG-lista Albums Chart (top 40) 2 [4] 31
Japan Oricon Weekly LP Albums Chart (top 100) 6 [5] 45 310,000+
Oricon Weekly CT Albums Chart (top 100) 12 [5] 35
United Kingdom UK Albums Chart (top 75) 9 24 100,000+ Gold
Austria Albums Chart (top 20) 4[4] 20
Sweden Albums Chart (top 50) 6[4] 10

Singles

Year Single Country Chart Position
1980 "All for Leyna" United Kingdom UK Singles Chart 40
"You May Be Right" United States Billboard Hot 100 7
Billboard AC 48
Japan Oricon Weekly 60
"It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" United States Billboard Hot 100 1
Billboard AC 40
United Kingdom UK Singles Chart 14
"Don't Ask Me Why" United States Billboard AC 1
Billboard Hot 100 19
"Sometimes a Fantasy" 36


Awards

Grammy Awards

Year Winner Category
1980 Glass Houses Best Male Rock Vocal Performance

References

Preceded by
Against the Wind by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
Billboard 200 number-one album
June 14 - July 25, 1980
Succeeded by
Emotional Rescue by The Rolling Stones

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Glass Houses" Read more