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,
still displays the hallmarks of
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
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
"It's Still Rock and Roll to Me,"
which ironically is closer to
than
rock
). That's not a detriment; that's the album's strength.
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
-- but
is the closest
ever got to a pure
album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine