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(reviewed by Casey Brennan)
Joe Jackson's first album is full of energetic, bouncy, and youthful tunes. The sparse instrumentation and clean production reveals that for the most part, the tunes are truly simple in nature and very catchy. This is a good thing though, since the well-crafted and fun melodies are emphasized more. There are a number of great little tunes on here. Well known-tracks such as "Is She Really Going Out With Him?"(his earliest hit), the effective groove of "Sunday Papers", and the very well-crafted "Look Sharp!" are great simply great songs. Their are quite a few other tunes though that rank just as high, such as the highly effective opener "One More Time" which is great song, with it's simple riff, accessible lyrics, and plodding bass. Also "(Do The) Instant Smash", a song with a disco backbeat, "Happy Loving Couples", and the reggaeish "Fools In Love" are highlights.
The lesser tunes like "Pretty Girls" and the rockin' "Baby Stick Around" aren't bad either. This is simply a fun and accessible album for the New Wave/post-punk generation. Joe's style is pretty basic; guitars, bass, drums, and occassional piano, are the primary instruments on this record. The rhythms and melodies have that punk attitude, and are short, jerky, and poppy, but unlike most new wave acts he doesn't engage in any weird techno keyboard effects, or ultra-slick beats. I couldn't exactly say that Joe could be put into the new wave genre though, as he survived unlike most of the others, and changed his style over the years to show that he wasn't just one dimensional. Anyway, for the time being Joe was just starting out, and this album shows that he was probably having a fun time while recording this.
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(reviewed by Casey Brennan)
HIGH POINTS: On Your Radio, It's Different For Girls. LOW POINTS: Amateur Hour, Get That Girl.
Returning at the end of the year with his second new wave album, Joe Jackson decides to use the same basic guitar, drums, and bass approach that he utilized on Look Sharp!; thus, the album is a carbon copy of that debut. You know how carbon copies are supposed to turn out. That's right, weaker. Well, that's partly true in this case (the album is on the whole less consistent), but really, the quality of these songs are about the same as before in every way. The album boasts a couple more smash singles in the form of the well-crafted "It's Different for Girls" and energetic bass-happy "I'm the Man" (both of which are found on his Greatest Hits album), plus a spew of fun album tracks that are cute, energetic, and poppy. I actually prefer "On Your Radio" to the latter hit (I'm The Man), as it is under-pinned by some kinetic bass-playing, and has a ton of great little hooks.
It's a great song followed by other good tunes like the sparsely-played "Geraldine And John", the catchy little pop-tune "Kinda Kute", and mini-epic "The Band Wore Blue Shirts", which has a neat melodica (or is that a harmonica, I can't tell) playing along as the tune goes through a slight chord-change. The band really did wear blue shirts one day, because the latter tune is a true story. Anyway, the album gets a bit weaker after that fine song is over (you know how the second sides of albums can be, doncha) with songs like the ballad "Amateur Hour" and "Get That Girl" (which is well, just a pop song as it says on the inside cover). Both of them aren't too special really. Thankfully, other sparse and bouncy bass-driven tracks like "Friday" and "Don't Wanna be Like That" come on the latter side as pretty good songs, though slightly less fun than the highlights. Still, all these songs are pretty catchy and nice, so you can't go wrong with buying this album if you liked Look Sharp!. Plus, the corny album cover is a hoot - you get to see a mustached Mr.Joe with a retarded-looking face holding open his cloak of metal stuff (watches n' shit).
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(reviewed by Casey Brennan)
This well organized and highly enjoyable greatest hits collection of Joe Jackson (solo artist to emerge during the new wave era), contains some of his biggest hits with a few extra worthy tracks thrown in. The first five songs, which are from his two 1979 albums, are good poppy and catchy tunes."Is She Really Going Out With Him?" (his earliest hit), "Look Sharp", and "Sunday Papers", which are the first three on this set, are some of the more melodically sharp tunes on here. These poppy, catchy, and rhythmically bouncy tunes are pretty simple, and are enhanced by Jackson's cool-sounding vocal style.
"It's Different For Girls" is another finely crafted song, while "I'm A Man" is a rock-n'-rolling tune and slightly weaker. The only tune from his third album, Beat Crazy, is a reggaeish/punky tune in it's verses and is also good (it doesn't differ to far in style from his previous recordings). As the 1980's progressed though, Joe Jackson went through a couple different styles (with success mostly). This shows on "Jumpin' Jive" which comes from his swing music album of the same name, and is an OK but uninteresting tune. Mr. Jackson went for a more adult and sophisticated approach though on "Breaking Us In Two" and "Steppin' Out", which are two piano-based tunes, with the latter one being done in a more dance-oriented style. These could possibly be the two best songs of his career.
Next are two live songs that aren't bad but take up a little too much space; "A Slow Song" (which has a decent melody) and "Memphis". The hits get a little less worthy from here on, since from the mid-80's on Joe goes for an adult pop approach to his songwriting. "You Can't Get What You Want", "Right And Wrong", and the simple "Down To London" are among the stronger tunes from this period. Overall, this compilation works well, as most great hit collections work best when they are put in chronological order. This set makes me think that his solo career isn't too shabby, and that a lot of his late 1970's and early 1980's albums are probably quite worthy.
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