Pages

Wednesday 30 March 2011

Random Review #37 Joe Jackson Live 80/86

C4S3CD11 This CD was picked by the ever wise @spurssimon who's blog Rumbles and Grumbles can be found by clinking the link on my site.

OK so Joe Jackson, first question where is he now? What a talent and what a nightmare for any record label who had signed him! Joe once released an 3 sided album I suspect this was commercial suicide the cost of pressing two vinyl albums but with content on 3 sides only! Jackson has also released classical music (Night Music) but has appeared not to have released any music for some time now.

Whilst we are talking about Jackson his autobiography A Cure for Gravity is an amazing read whether you are a fan of his music, if you are a music lover get it and read it!

So this album, covers the most successful and commercial period of his musical career 1980/86 the music is taken from four tours, The Beat Crazy Tour 1980, The Night and Day Tour 1982/83, The Body and Soul Tour 1984 and finally The Big World Tour of 1986. It has three versions of Is She Really Going Out With Him which again seems madness but when you hear all three and how Jackson re-invented the song then you will understand the justification of including all three. (the a capella version from The Day and Night Tour is my favourite)


The album trails Jackson's career from  early days as a 'New Wave' artist (lets say angry punk killer  tunes) to his progression to mature song writer of Steppin' Out the last song on this CD and everything in between.

I had forgotten how many great songs Jackson had written, aside Is She Really.... the hits just keep on coming, Beat Crazy, Breaking Us In Two, Different For Girls, and the aforementioned Steppin' Out but then you find Be My Number Two, Sunday Papers,  I'm The Man and Jumpin' Jive hit you and I realise that Jackson was a big part of the music scene in the 80's.

Again my Random Review blog has forced me to listen to an album I haven't listened to for some 10 years and also made me release that the 80's weren't all shoulder pads, bad haircuts and eye liner, (and that's just the boys!) Jackson would have been a killer songwriter for any decade and just sad that he seems to have disappeared.

Mark 8/10

2 comments:

  1. I had forgotten all about him - will go back and have a listen.
    The randomness of stumbling through other peoples music collections is possibly the second best thing the interweb has given us.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeah so had I until forced to re-visit,the book I mention is really good read, along with Mark Everett's (E from Eels)Things The Grnadchildren Should Know one of the best music autobiographies I have read.

    ReplyDelete