Billy Joel – Glass Houses (1980/2013) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Billy Joel – Glass Houses (1980/2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 35:11 minutes | 788 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Columbia Records

Chart History/Awards
– Reached #1 on the Billboard 200.
– “It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me” reached #1 on Billboard’s Top Pop Singles.
– Won a GRAMMY® for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.
– One of the bestselling albums of the 1980s.

Glass Houses is the seventh studio masterpiece by Billy Joel. It is certified seven-time Platinum and was widely acclaimed worldwide. It includes Joel’s first song to reach #1 on the Billboard Pop charts, “It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me.”The album reached #1 on the Billboard 200 and was one of the bestselling albums of the 1980s. Billy Joel also won a GRAMMY® for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.

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

Tracklist:

01. Billy Joel – You May Be Right (04:15)
02. Billy Joel – Sometimes A Fantasy (03:40)
03. Billy Joel – Don’t Ask Me Why (02:59)
04. Billy Joel – It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me (02:57)
05. Billy Joel – All For Leyna (04:19)
06. Billy Joel – I Don’t Want To Be Alone (03:57)
07. Billy Joel – Sleeping With The Television On (03:03)
08. Billy Joel – C’etait Toi (You Were The One) (03:25)
09. Billy Joel – Close To The Borderline (03:47)
10. Billy Joel – Through The Long Night (02:44)

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