Billy Joel, Glass Houses
Billy JoelGLASS HOUSES.
Billy Joel followed the polished scale of The Stranger and 52nd Street with a tighter, harder-edged album built around his established touring band and producer Phil Ramone.
Album artwork shown for commentary and historical reference. Image source: Cover Art Archive / MusicBrainz.
SEVEN THINGS
WORTH KNOWING.
Recording stories, personnel, physical details and numbers worth keeping with the record.
Glass Houses was released on March 12, 1980 and contains 10 tracks.
Phil Ramone produced the album, with Jim Boyer credited as recording engineer.
The core studio band included Liberty DeVitto, Doug Stegmeyer, Richie Cannata, Russell Javors and David Brown.
"You May Be Right" opens the album, while "Through the Long Night" closes the original sequence.
The album also includes "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me," "Don't Ask Me Why" and "Sometimes a Fantasy."
Joel plays piano and keyboards while the arrangements lean more heavily toward electric guitars than several of his earlier records.
The cover turns the title into a literal joke, showing Joel poised with a rock in front of a glass house.
WHY THIS
ALBUM MATTERS.
Glass Houses is Billy Joel pushing against the singer-songwriter label by making a record that sounds closer to the rock band he was already taking on the road.
THE
NUMBERS.
TRACKS
The album contains ten songs.
RELEASE
Glass Houses arrived in March 1980.
CORE PLAYERS
Joel's established touring musicians form much of the studio lineup.
THE
PHYSICAL OBJECT.
The cover makes the title instantly understandable before the record is even opened, using the image of Joel and a glass house as a visual punch line.
RESEARCH SOURCES
Facts are checked against official artist archives, release databases, recording credits and established archival sources before publication.
KEEP
DIGGING.
More recording stories, strange credits, cover art, chart numbers and details hiding inside the records.