Joe Jackson
Volume 4 (2003)

review by: Chris Orcutt
Date: 3/18/03

Joe Jackson has taken so many changes in musical direction that you really have to be a die-hard fan in order to keep buying his records. To be honest, he lost me after Blaze of Glory in 1989. By then I had enthusiastically followed him through snarling new wave pop, ska, jump blues, Cole Porteres-que New York salsa, hip jazz, a live album where he insisted the audience be quiet, a classical album where he apparently almost lost his mind, and Blaze of Glory, a really great, smart, stretched-out rock & roll song cycle about growing older. I did pick him up again at Heaven and Hell, another classical effort, and even saw that tour. But even though I could still see his sharp songwriting pushing through the arrangements, it didn't do it for me.

But wow – Volume 4 does do it for me. Joe has reunited with the original Look Sharp / I'm the Man / Beat Crazy band, but this is no rehash of old stuff. All of the songs clearly show how he has grown as a songwriter; he couldn't have written half of this stuff if he hadn't taken all of those career turns and absorbed so many diverse musical styles. There are sprinkles throughout Volume 4 of his whole career but-crucially-it's all nailed down, airtight, by his original bandmates, who also have explored their own musical paths.

The uptempo songs are bright, sharp, full of double entendres – all things you could say about anything on Look Sharp. The difference here is the band and Joe's singing is much, much better and looser. Fans, even casual fans, of the first three albums will love "Take it Like a Man', "Awkward Age", and "Dirty Martini" and some (like me) will think they're even better. Think about it: it's kind of like if you went back to the first girl you really fell for and found you still had the same chemistry but there was something more that made it better – all of the good stuff you had both picked up during the time you were apart.

The slower songs are a great reminder (and a little bit of a surprise for me) of how good this band is with Joe's quieter songs, though this material is much richer than his earlier stuff. Instead of "Baby, baby / Tell me that you never wanted my loving", there's "And if we untangle the webs that we weave / Then maybe there's room for more laughter / 'Cause for just a moment I almost believe / In love at first light." He still looks at the whole thing very skeptically, but this time around he has hope.

There are some great moments, like "Thugs 'R' Us", a hilarious, right-on stab at those white suburban hip-hop poser kids (Out in the suburbs / Life is getting' tough / Me and my posse), and "Awkward Age", a wry and bouncy look at how the uncertainties of adolescence turn into the doubts of adulthood. "Bright Grey", the closer, is a nod to Look Sharp's "Got the Time" and the urgency of the song finishes the album on just the right note.

This really is a great record; old Joe Jackson fans will dig it for the familiarity and I hope there will be a lot of new fans who will get into it on its own merits. If you decide to pick it up do it soon: the initial copies have an excellent bonus CD of the band performing old tunes as they were warming up to go into the studio to do the new record.

Joe Jackson
Summer in the City – Live in New York (2000)

review by: Michael Walls
Date: 7/5/01

Joe Jackson does a great live show. No big light shows. No fancy stage performances. Just Joe behind a piano and the rest of the band. And if you're familiar with Joe's 1988 Live album, then you already know that he also puts out a great live album.

I've only seen him once in concert, which was at Radio City, but I had always thought that Joe was probably best in a small setting. Summer in the City – Live in New York is the materialization of that thought.

Recorded in several small, downtown nightclubs, Joe ditches the full band for a simple trio performance with his longtime band mates, Graham Maby and Gary Burke, on bass and drums.

I originally bought this CD during the winter and played it for a few days, then shelved it. Now that it's summer, it seems to have more punch. It makes you feel like your sitting in a smokey lounge, drinking some cocktails on a hot summer evening, listening to the house musicians.

The CD starts off with short version of the Lovin' Spoonful's "Summer in the City". From there, Joe, Graham and Gary do a good mix of songs. From originals like "Another World", "It's different for Girls" and "One More Time", to cover tunes from Steely Dan, The Beatles, and Duke Ellington. They do a great version of Joe's "Fools in Love" which transforms into the Yardbird's "For your Love", then back again.

Not that he needs to, but Joe also does some showing off with his great piano playing with a long intro into "Down to London".

Besides a couple of slow moments in the middle ("Be my Number Two", "Hometown", and "It's different for Girls") which seems to be out of place in this carefree, casual live performance, it's a good CD. Any true Joe fan should definitely own it. And those not familiar with Joe's work will still enjoy the covers and overall mood of this CD.