Glass Houses
Say goodbye to the piano and hello to the guitar. That seems to be Billy Joel's message for his next album which shifts Billy Joel in a brand new direction; towards pop rock.
This is evident with "You May Be Right" which not sounding while all the rest, indicates that Billy Joel has drifted in the wrong direction. It's guitars have presence and the vocals are appropriate for rock but I'm just stratching my head in awe at how he can suddenly play the guitar.
Much of it sounds like it would be playable on the radio in the 80s and on classic hits stations right now. Phil Ramone has done a good job in making sure that Billy Joel and his band hit the right notes but something seems off... It's not the notes, they sound on key; it's not the voice, it sounds good. Maybe it seems a bit hollow.
Songs like "It's Still Rock and Roll" to me sound flat because it's not really rock and roll. Nobody listens to Billy Joel for rebellious attitude or to really experience rock; no they listen because they want something they can call a soundtrack which his previous albums did very well. By claiming himself to be rock & roll, he is offending artists such as Kiss, Def Leppard, Led Zepplin and future punk acts like NOFX and Bad Religion who would truly question authority as we know it.
The album contains more weaker songs than stronger songs. "C'Etait Toi (You Were the One)" is an acoustic guitar in the veins of many other pop artists like for lack of a better artist Tom Petty. Billy gets points for singing in french but loses it for making something that could of been a bit better. "I Don't Want to Be Alone" suffers from the whole "Billy is a rocker" mentality and Through the Long Night (which despite having Billy play some piano) feels like a weak way to end the album.
The bright spots you should be looking for in this album are "All For Leyna" & "Sleeping With the Television On"; both of them have distinctive sounds that stick in your memory, distinctive and clever lyrics and meaning... The two songs below are lightning in a bottle as said in the industry, something that can only be captured once due to sheer luck and timing... Case in point Billy was onto something when he made those two songs because without those two songs he wouldn't be mentioned on internet forums with people saying that "those two songs are the only two good songs he has".
Billy Joel is losing me at this point; he is not a rocker, he is not rebellious. He is a good musician and pianist and he should of sticked to that as his strength. This album goes in all the wrong directions going full fledged rock with only hints of piano in there. Not only that but it's too radio friendly, if I wanted to hear pop; I want to hear some creative liberties taken... especially from Phil Ramone who impressed me so much with his "Making Records" book. If you like it, more power to you but it is what it is.
2/5
|