Quick Review: Joe Jackson Band Vol.4

Hi everbody,

This new release from JJ came out today. I was able to pick up a copy at my local Tower for only $11.99. The disc also came with a bonus 6-track CD of live hits recorded in late '02.

Since I'm not so good at reviewing, I'll keep it short.

The 11 new songs all written by Joe Jackson are a great mixture of upbeat rockers and a couple of mid-tempo ballads that are all extremely catchy. From the opener, "Take It Like a Man" onwards, you can hear that JJ has returned to form of witty melodies he pioneered with "Look Sharp" and "I'm the Man" discs of the late '70s. This is a good thing IMO. Just back to basics shows that JJ still has plenty of melody left in him. I don't think there's a clunker among the 11 tracks.

The Sound: Supposedly the JJ Band went to a farm in England to lay down to 24track analog tape for a more "live" sound. They've accomplished this for the most part. The mix is good and is well balanced. The mastering is just a bit hot, though. While listening to it, I felt the tracks had a good tonal balance with strong bass. I knew is was a little "hot", so I took it to the computer to see what Cool Edit had to say. Unfortunately, there's quite a bit of maximization and occasional limiting of peaks. It hurts me to say, but it don't look so great in the Cool Edit. Mastering credits go to Ted Jensen.

My ears tell me it's not too bad to distract from the overall musical presentation. Still gets my vote!

On an aside: Has anyone else noticed the change in JJ's voice over the past couple of years? It's gone up in pitch and gained a very nasally quality that came through on most of "Two Rainy Nights" and again here with the newer material. Usually, singers go the opposite way in tone as they age. Possibly all the smoking that JJ does?

 

Haven't listened to the album yet, but I just finished a first pass through the live bonus disc. Certainly nothing relevatory, but it is nice to hear a tougher version of "It's Different For Girls" than the simpler "piano ballad" arrangement Jackson has favored in recent years.

And, of course, I would have been much happier with a jewel case than a digipak...

 

Yeah, digipacks stink! Please post your thoughts after you give it a spin.

 

A good album, not a great album. Some songs sort of reminded me of a second rate "Body and Soul" (A great album in my book) type of approach, others like they were trying to get that old sound but just couldn't nail it.

I wasn't too taken with the sound quality - par for the course for most CDs these days.

The bonus disc was a bit of a letdown. The classic cuts didn't sound as energetic as I would have hoped - even though they are somewhat mirror images of what they were doing in the late '70s. For more recent classic JJ cuts that really rock I prefer "Summer In The City".

One thing that I always find a bit "disturbing", is that as Joe gets older he really has a "creepy" look to him. I know he was never the greatest looking guy in the world - but now he really looks sickly.

 

Oddly enough, it was the ballads ("Blue Flame" and "Love At First Light" are great songs) that made the biggest impression on me the first time through. The rockers sounded a bit forced to me in large part, but may well grow with time. As Mike said, good but not great after a single listen.

The sound definitely struck me as squished, though I haven't put the tracks on the PC yet. Not the worst I've ever heard (there still a definite difference between the softer and louder songs), but everything's sorta jammed together. It definitely sounds live, no doubt about it. I thought the bass was maybe a bit overcooked, but Graham Maby a great bassist, so no big deal.

I enjoyed the bonus disc. I thought it was plenty energetic, especially the breakneck version of "Got The Time." I also got a kick out of the audience attempting their own backing vocal arrangement on "Is She Really...".

Ryan