Glass Houses (film)

Glass Houses (1972) is an American independent film released by Columbia Pictures in 1972, although it was actually filmed in 1970. It is of interest in film history because of the credentials of its key personnel.

Glass Houses was directed by Alexander Singer, notable for his work on the Star Trek series, Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was one of the earliest screen appearances of actress Jennifer O'Neill, best known for her role in Summer of '42 (1972).

Glass Houses cinematography was by eminent cinematographer George J. Folsey, whose credits include films such as Meet Me In St. Louis (1944) and Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1954). The score was composed by David Raksin, famous for his musical score in Laura (1944).

Plot synopsis

The film's plot centres around the libidinous sexual shenanigans of a middle-class Californian family, and deftly explores themes such as marital discord, middle age, adultery, and incestuous desire. It is somewhat similar to the film Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) in the treatment of its themes.

Glass Houses

Glass Houses is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on March 10, 1980. It features Joel's first song to peak at #1 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart, "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me." The album itself topped the Pop Albums chart for six weeks and was ranked number 4 on Billboard's 1980 year-end album chart. The album is the 41st best selling album of the 1980s, with sales of 7.1 million copies in the US alone. In 1981, Joel won a Grammy Award for "Best Male Rock Vocal Performance" for his work on Glass Houses. According to music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the album featured "a harder-edged sound" compared to Joel's other work, in response to the punk and new wave movements.

Background

This album was the third collaboration between Joel and producer Phil Ramone, following The Stranger and 52nd Street.

Opening with the sound of glass shattering, Glass Houses has more of a hard rock feel than Joel's previous albums. The cover shows Joel poised to throw a rock through the two-story window of his real-life waterfront glass house in Oyster Bay. On some versions, the back cover shows Billy looking through the hole that the rock made in the glass. This alludes to the adage that "people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."