Billy Joel - Glass Houses - Hybrid Stereo SACD
Numbered Limited Edition
Hybrid SACD
Still Rock and Roll to Him: Joel Toughens Up and Increases the Animosity, Sarcasm, Confidence, and Rock on 1980 Set
Accessible and Angry: Phil Ramones Stalwart Production Bristles With Boldness, Raucousness, and Directness on Definitive Mobile Fidelity Reissue
Chart-Topper Certified Seven-Times Platinum: Includes You May Be Right Its Still Rock and Roll to Me, Dont Ask Me Why
Elvis Costello long had a reputation for being the angry young man. With apologies to the former Declan McManus, he had nothing on Billy Joels Glass Houses. Fed up with inexcusable critical backlash and believing hed still not been regarded as a serious artist, Joel ratcheted up the angst on the 1980 set that, oh, by the way, happened to sell another seven-million-plus copies and top the Billboard charts. Revenge is sweet.
An integral part of Mobile Fidelitys Billy Joel catalog restoration series, Glass Houses is mastered from the original master tapes and made available on fully transparent hybrid SACD. Honing in on producer Phil Ramones radio-tailored albeit looser, straightforward production, this edition opens up the previously veiled soundstages, spotlights the clean yet raucous arrangements, and decongests the imaging so that every note comes to the fore. Thanks to DSD technology and meticulous remastering, Joels urgency and temperament have never sounded so vibrant.
In addition to firing shots at detractors, Joel further solidifies his reputation as a pop maestro on the hit Dont Ask Me Why and mellow classic Cetait Toi (You Were the One), each replete with sparkling structures and shimmering melodies. Throughout, he dials down the grand gestures, focusing more on an attitude and directness. At the time, Joel was conscious of the punk movement, and seems inspired to follow that genres preference for simplicity, frankness, and irritability. The albums legendary artworkthe singer preparing to toss a brick through the windows of his houseis a metaphor for Joel shattering his image as a cocktail-lounge pop crooner.
Such changes are evident in the now-signature You May Be Right, a hard-rocking and scathing rebuttal to a romantic partner on which Joel embraces the identity of a tough-skinned madman that wont stop at anything. He inhabits the role with convincing theatrics, his voice mixing pushiness, smugness, self-evident humor, and cool that fits the resistive tone of the records songs. Glass Houses is Joels megaphone for stubborn independence, dogged assertiveness, and blustery confidence.
Its also an announcement of artistic intent, a statement thats simultaneously catchy and barbed, well-crafted and rowdy. And it succeeds on all levels, bringing to commercial pop-rock a brashness and grit often absent from fare that sticks in your head for days. Joel would never be seen the same way again.
(821797209168)
SKU | 821797209168 |
Barcode # | 821797209168 |
Brand | Columbia / Mobile Fidelity |
Be The First To Review This Product!
Help other Birdland Records users shop smarter by writing reviews for products you have purchased.