By 1980, Billy Joel had established himself as both a commercial and creative success in the pop music industry.  Billy's previous two albums "The Stranger" and "52th Street" basically defined his own style of music by incorporating two main themes.  These themes are: 1) An "Old New York" style of music that can best be described as a street-sounding jazz sound; 2) A Melting Pot Theme - a mix of various cultural themes (Latin, Italian, etc). While for the most part, the piano would remain a core to Billy Joel's music, these albums would also incorporate guitar and horns.  For his seventh album, "Glass Houses" - Billy would change gears and clearly move more toward a Rock direction.  Billy isn't going to try to imitate others doing a Rock album - he is going to do it his own way by incorporating different styles to get a Rock album product.  Once again Billy finds a winning formula with this terrific collection.

I look at Billy Joel's career as having three phases. The first phase is what I call "Old Billy Joel". This basically includes all of his material from "Cold Spring Harbor" through "Turnstiles". These are perhaps the strongest days as the piano sound, but they also contain most of Joel's least heard material. The next phase is what I call "Middle Billy Joel". This was his most successful period and covers from "The Stranger" to "Billy Joel Greatest Hits Volume 1 and 2". Joel would go through a transition during this phase - expanding his musical horizons and exploring different avenues. The final phase is the "Later Billy Joel" phase - this covers "The Bridge" to "River of Dreams". In this phase, Billy would start to incorporate some of his older styles of music while not abandoning his desire to continue to explore new avenues. The Rock direction that Billy takes on "Glass Houses" definitely falls into the "Middle Billy Joel" phase as Billy clearly demonstrates the desire to explore some new musical horizons.

Much of what is the theme for the sound on "Glass Houses" can best be described in the song "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me".  Although this isn't one of my favorite tracks on the album - the well-known lyrics really reflect a lot of what Billy is going to accomplish on this collection.  Lines such as "Hot funk, cool punk, even if it's old junk" and "next phase, new wave, dance craze anyways"...."It's Still Rock and Roll to Me".  I think Billy uses this song to justify that he is incorporating many different types of sounds with the ultimate goal of creating a Rock album.  "Glass Houses" isn't just a New Wave influenced collection - there are influences of Classic Rock, The Beatles, and even Billy's own style.

Here are a review of the other songs:

"You May Be Right":  This song opens with a rock being thrown through a glass window.  The theme of this song deals with a reckless individual and the music compliments this theme perfectly.  This song is going to be a strong dose of guitars and horns, thus establishing the Rock presence early on.  Billy doesn't completely abandon his New York roots by mentioning "Bedford Stuy".

"Sometimes a Fantasy":  This song continues the outstanding guitar work by David Brown and Russell Javors.  This isn't meant to pass judgement on the song - but one should note that this song does deal with having a suggestive-like conversation on the phone.

"Don't Ask Me Why":  On "The Stranger" and "52th Street", Billy had songs that had a Latin style.  Songs like "Rosalinda's Eyes" had a clear Latin flavor while " Just the Way You Are" and "She's Always a Woman" had some acoustic Latin guitar sounds.  This is the Latin sounding song on "Glass Houses".  This may be the strongest track on the album - despite not being a Rock song.  There is a terrific balance between the piano and guitars in this song.

"All for Leyna":  Another very strong song.  This song features some strong piano and the end result is a very "Classic Rock" sounding song.  The piano sound almost is "piano duel" style.  In this song Billy paints a picture of himself being troubled in a relationship in which the woman has basically used him.

"I Don't Want to My Alone":  This seems to be a forgotten Billy song. This song has a lot to offer.  It almost sounds like a cross between Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson in terms of the style of the music - giving it a very light punk element.  Once again Billy hasn't forgotten his New York roots with the reference to "The Plaza Hotel".

"Sleeping with the Television On":  This is another underrated song.  It's fair to say this song has a New Wave influence.  Billy's style works perfectly again.  Good harmonies in this song.

"C'etait Toi (You Were the One)":  This is a softer song. Billy has always claimed he was influenced by The Beatles.  This song reminds me of Billy's version of The Beatles "Michelle" with the combination of English and French lyrics.

"Close to the Borderline":  I found this song almost to have a "Southern Rock" edge to it.  Even with this sound, Billy doesn't forget New York with references "The West Side" and "Beekman Place".

"Through the Long Night": Another softer song.  There is a nice piano element in this song.  This is another song with a Beatles feel to it - this is evidenced by both the harmonies and the melodies.

The enhanced CD features music videos for "Sometimes a Fantasy", "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me",and "All for Leyna".  All of the lyrics are included to each of the tacks as well as musician and production credits.  Overall, Billy proves he can do something different than he did on "The Stranger" and "52th Street".  The end product is outstanding and this is a collection that is highly recommended.
By 1980, Billy Joel had established himself as both a commercial and creative success in the pop music industry. Billy's previous two albums "The Stranger" and "52th Street" basically defined his own style of music by incorporating two main themes. These themes are: 1) An "Old New York" style of music that can best be described as a street-sounding jazz sound; 2) A Melting Pot Theme - a mix of various cultural themes (Latin, Italian, etc). While for the most part, the piano would remain a core to Billy Joel's music, these albums would also incorporate guitar and horns. For his seventh album, "Glass Houses" - Billy would change gears and clearly move more toward a Rock direction. Billy isn't going to try to imitate others doing a Rock album - he is going to do it his own way by incorporating different styles to get a Rock album product. Once again Billy finds a winning formula with this terrific collection. I look at Billy Joel's career as having three phases. The first phase is what I call "Old Billy Joel". This basically includes all of his material from "Cold Spring Harbor" through "Turnstiles". These are perhaps the strongest days as the piano sound, but they also contain most of Joel's least heard material. The next phase is what I call "Middle Billy Joel". This was his most successful period and covers from "The Stranger" to "Billy Joel Greatest Hits Volume 1 and 2". Joel would go through a transition during this phase - expanding his musical horizons and exploring different avenues. The final phase is the "Later Billy Joel" phase - this covers "The Bridge" to "River of Dreams". In this phase, Billy would start to incorporate some of his older styles of music while not abandoning his desire to continue to explore new avenues. The Rock direction that Billy takes on "Glass Houses" definitely falls into the "Middle Billy Joel" phase as Billy clearly demonstrates the desire to explore some new musical horizons. Much of what is the theme for the sound on "Glass Houses" can best be described in the song "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me". Although this isn't one of my favorite tracks on the album - the well-known lyrics really reflect a lot of what Billy is going to accomplish on this collection. Lines such as "Hot funk, cool punk, even if it's old junk" and "next phase, new wave, dance craze anyways".... "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me". I think Billy uses this song to justify that he is incorporating many different types of sounds with the ultimate goal of creating a Rock album. "Glass Houses" isn't just a New Wave influenced collection - there are influences of Classic Rock, The Beatles, and even Billy's own style. Here are a review of the other songs:

"You May Be Right":  This song opens with a rock being thrown through a glass window. The theme of this song deals with a reckless individual and the music compliments this theme perfectly. This song is going to be a strong dose of guitars and horns, thus establishing the Rock presence early on. Billy doesn't completely abandon his New York roots by mentioning "Bedford Stuy". "Sometimes a Fantasy":  This song continues the outstanding guitar work by David Brown and Russell Javors. This isn't meant to pass judgement on the song - but one should note that this song does deal with having a suggestive-like conversation on the phone. "Don't Ask Me Why":  On "The Stranger" and "52th Street", Billy had songs that had a Latin style. Songs like "Rosalinda's Eyes" had a clear Latin flavor while " Just the Way You Are" and "She's Always a Woman" had some acoustic Latin guitar sounds. This is the Latin sounding song on "Glass Houses". This may be the strongest track on the album - despite not being a Rock song. There is a terrific balance between the piano and guitars in this song. "All for Leyna":  Another very strong song. This song features some strong piano and the end result is a very "Classic Rock" sounding song. The piano sound almost is "piano duel" style. In this song Billy paints a picture of himself being troubled in a relationship in which the woman has basically used him. "I Don't Want to My Alone":  This seems to be a forgotten Billy song. This song has a lot to offer. It almost sounds like a cross between Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson in terms of the style of the music - giving it a very light punk element. Once again Billy hasn't forgotten his New York roots with the reference to "The Plaza Hotel". "Sleeping with the Television On":  This is another underrated song. It's fair to say this song has a New Wave influence. Billy's style works perfectly again. Good harmonies in this song. "C'etait Toi (You Were the One)":  This is a softer song. Billy has always claimed he was influenced by The Beatles. This song reminds me of Billy's version of The Beatles "Michelle" with the combination of English and French lyrics. "Close to the Borderline":  I found this song almost to have a "Southern Rock" edge to it. Even with this sound, Billy doesn't forget New York with references "The West Side" and "Beekman Place". "Through the Long Night": Another softer song. There is a nice piano element in this song. This is another song with a Beatles feel to it - this is evidenced by both the harmonies and the melodies. The enhanced CD features music videos for "Sometimes a Fantasy", "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me",and "All for Leyna". All of the lyrics are included to each of the tacks as well as musician and production credits. Overall, Billy proves he can do something different than he did on "The Stranger" and "52th Street". The end product is outstanding and this is a collection that is highly recommended.