Gold CD Captures Grammy-Winning Record's Enjoyably Loose Feel

1980 Album Has Sold 7+ Million Copies and Set the Stage for Joel's Superstardom

A classic of the pop and rock cano, Billy Joel's Grammy Award-winning 1980 album Glass Houses features the Piano Man's first #1 single "It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me" that set the stage for a looser, harder rocking venture than Joel's previous works. From the classic anthem "You May Be Right" to the fan favorite "Sometimes A Fantasy" and other big hits like "Don’t Ask Me Why" and "All For Leyna," Joel delivered an outstanding album that rewarded him with a superstardom he has maintained to this day.

Opening with the sound of glass shattering, Glass Houses makes it immediately clear that Joel is in a livelier, angrier mood. He brings a sense of abandon to a majority of the material, paying homages to early heroes like Little Richard but also taking his music in the present with vibrant rhythms and rollicking barroom melodies. The strategy paid immense dividends: Glass Houses has sold more than seven million copies, and is legendary for its content as well as the thematic album cover. But none of those previous editions sounded so good.

Featuring stellar mastering by iconic engineer Steve Hoffman, Audio Fidelity's 24K + Gold edition of this Billy Joel masterwork bests all prior editions. The audiophile label specializes in deluxe packaging with see-through slip cases and beautifully reproduced original graphics. As always, the original master tape was played back on a specially constructed vintage tube playback deck, with the analog masters put through the new "Kensei Audio Transformer," a process that adds even more life to the music.