Iconic Albums Billy Joel The Glass Houses Era (1980)

Billy Joel entered the 1980s with everything to lose.

After the enormous success of The Stranger and 52nd Street, the obvious move would have been to repeat the formula. Instead, Billy turned up the guitars, toughened the piano sound and made one of the most direct rock records of his career.

Iconic Albums - Billy Joel: The Glass Houses Era (1980) explores the making, meaning and impact of the album that proved the Piano Man could change direction without losing his audience.

From the shattered-glass opening of "You May Be Right" and the nervous energy of "Sometimes a Fantasy" to the melodic sophistication of "Don't Ask Me Why," the obsession of "All for Leyna" and the loneliness beneath "Sleeping with the Television On," this book examines all ten tracks and the world surrounding them.

At the centre of the story is "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me," Billy's sharp response to punk, new wave and the obsession with musical fashion. The song would become his first No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, while Glass Houses itself spent six weeks at No. 1 and confirmed that Billy's extraordinary late-1970s success could continue into a new decade.

The book also explores Billy's continuing partnership with producer Phil Ramone, the growing importance of his touring band, the harder Yamaha CP-80 keyboard sound, the album's famous glass-house concept, contemporary criticism, commercial success and Billy's Grammy-winning emergence as a recognised rock vocalist.

Most importantly, Glass Houses did not turn Billy Joel into a punk or new-wave artist. It allowed him to reconnect with the teenager who had played in rock bands long before "Piano Man," combining that energy with the sophisticated songwriter he had become.

The result was not simply another hit album.

It was Billy Joel smashing his own successful formula before anybody else could trap him inside it.

Iconic Albums - Billy Joel: The Glass Houses Era (1980) tells the complete story of a pivotal moment in Billy Joel's career - and the record that opened the door to Songs in the Attic and the ambitious world of The Nylon Curtain.