Back in the eighties Joe Jackson was something a little different. He toyed with various styles of music and recording techniques. He recorded some really high quality albums and some very popular singles. I want to cover this period, because a) it is what I have in my collection b) it is a great introduction to an artist that seems a little overlooked in recent times .... Having said that though, it appears his brand new album The Fool may be doing some good business. So who is Joe Jackson David Ian "Joe" Jackson (born 11 August 1954) is an English musician and singer-songwriter.[2] After years of studying music and playing clubs, Jackson's first release, "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" became a hit in 1979. This was followed by a number of new wave singles before he moved to more jazz-inflected pop music and had a Top 10 hit in 1982 with "Steppin' Out". He has also composed classical music. He has recorded 19 studio albums and received 5 Grammy Award nominations.[3] Born in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, David Jackson spent his first year in nearby Swadlincote, Derbyshire. He grew up in the Paulsgrove area of Portsmouth, where he attended the Portsmouth Technical High School. Jackson's parents moved to nearby Gosport when he was a teenager. Jackson learned to play the violin but soon switched to piano and prevailed on his father to install one in the hall of their Paulsgrove council house. Jackson began playing piano in bars at the age of 16, and he also won a scholarship to study musical composition at London's Royal Academy of Music. Jackson's first band, formed in Gosport, was called Edward Bear,[note 1] later renamed Edwin Bear, and then Arms and Legs. The band broke up in 1976 after two unsuccessful singles. He was still known as David Jackson when he joined Arms and Legs, but around this time he picked up the nickname "Joe," based on his perceived resemblance to the puppet character Joe Piano, who was Snoopy in Joe Cool guise playing piano.[4] Jackson then spent some time performing on the cabaret circuit to make money to record a demo. In 1978, a record producer heard Jackson's demo tape and signed him to A&M Records. The next year the newly formed Joe Jackson Band released their debut album Look Sharp! A mix of rock, melodic jazz, and new wave, it mined a vein similar to that of contemporaries Elvis Costello and Graham Parker. The album enjoyed wide critical success: in 2013 Rolling Stone magazine named Look Sharp! number 98 in a list of the 100 best debut albums of all time. Some commercial success also followed, as the debut single "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" reached the top 40 in 5 countries, and no. 9 in Canada. ----------------------------------------- Over the coming weeks we will look at this multi-instrumentalists albums and songs and hopefully some folks can revisit a great artist and perhaps some folks will discover an artist they may have overlooked..... or in fact some of the younger folk may look back to see what this guy was doing. Anyhow, I hope some folks will join us in this discussion and look back through this very impressive catalog. Cheers Mark
apologies ... it seemed the logical thing, but I can see where you're coming from There we go, probably a little better
So bad you're missing out on everything post-1989. Some of his best music comes from that period too. (ie the Heaven & hell album and also the previous one Fast forward, which is as good as the new one Fool. But good luck to your topic anyway !
I'll get there.... I only have so much time and money and a wide love of music Edit - you never know, if my finances improve over the course of this thread I may get the others anyhow. If there is interest, I also may go on a road of discovery of what came after anyhow. But for now these are the albums I'm familiar with, so that's where I'm going to start
He's The Man! I love the Night & Day album so much. Stepping Out has to be one of the best singles of 1982. Whenever I'm in London around the Chinatown vicinity I immediately think of his song, despite the fact it's about NYC. Great picture inside the gatefold sleeve too.
I love Night And Day. One of the things I appreciate about the section of his catalog that I am very familiar with is the variety. For me Look Sharp Jumpin' Jive Night And Day Body And Soul Big World are all classic albums and all so very different from each other. And yes I always loved that picture. It portrays a relaxed feel about the players, but the instruments spread all over the place kind of gives it a bit of a mayhem factor too.
I have that as a 30x30 picture framed on the wall in my music room. Bought a beat up second hand copy for that gatefold only. Yes, it's a great pic - it oozes love for music. Love me some Joe Jackson. His early records mean a lot to me, because I used to listen to those many times during my formative years. I know several of these word for word and note by note. Admittedly, his musical career has some dips in quality, but overall I think he's a great and very talented musician who shines in a wide variety of musical styles. I think his Heaven and hell album is terrific, though I can see why some people don't like it all that much. And hey, I must consider his Jumping jive album my very first jazz album. That wasn't a bad start, was it?
You didn't need to delete that comment. This isn't a militant regime, and I have no problem with folks mentioning things about other albums ... as I say, if there is interest, I may well step into the unknown territory, but this is somewhere to start.
I mentioned the musical relationship with Rickie Lee partly because I am a huge fan of her. She is one of the greatest singers/writers/performers in my humble opinion. But hey, this thread is about Joe!
That's cool, we're just settling in here. Rickie Lee is great I am a big fan of the debut through to Magazine. Unfortunately I have heard little of her work since. So much music out there..... My listening is at least a hundred albums behind on what I have on the shelf, never mind what I don't have lol
Check out her covers album 'It's Like This'. Joe is singing on two tracks: Show Biz Kids and One Hand, One Heart.
Ok , I have played this album countless times and have only just noticed the Marvin Gaye Super Hits record in the picture . Also when it comes to playing Joe Jackson , I always play 'Look Sharp' and 'I'm the Man' as a back to back 2fer. Would've been a great double album .
Never bothered with him until two weeks ago. Got an excellent copy of the debut LP for €5. Love it... will investigate further as I come across LPs in the used shops I frequent. Body & Soul next on the list because there's a cheap copy for sale locally.
Random contribution: “Body & Soul” is my favorite Joe Jackson album. And I suspect I’m in the minority. But check out “Not Here, Not Now”—a very emotional experience every time I play it.
I love it. The first time I saw him in concert was the Body and Soul tour. Great stuff. But we will get to all the songs in good time
Mark - you would probably have gotten to this later, but I wanted to highlight this terrific 1980 Beat Crazy outtake that was originally only released as the "B" side to the Mad At You single in the U.K. This should have been an "A" side on its own and should have been released in the States at the time. Starts off with a great chord progression and sustains lots of energy 'till the end.
