Pros: Jackson returns to the lineup and the sound that first brought him success
Cons: Not enough of Jackson's piano playing
The Bottom Line: Joe Jackson has never exactly fit in with the mainstream, but the sound of his first recordings was quite memorable. 25 years later, he's brought that same sound back.
DrFaustus's Full Review: Volume 4 by Joe Jackson (Rock)
Joe Jackson has returned to the album shelves with Volume 4, an collection of songs that, as critics say, marks a return to form for Jackson. The problem is that Jackson has shifted from style to style, re-inventing himself so many times over the years that a "return to form" could mean just about anything. After all, Jackson's early work set the stage for new wave music, but a few short years after his first release, Jackson began to experiment with jazz, traditional pop, straight ahead rock, jump swing, and even classical music. He's worn so many hats during his career, that it's hard to name one definitive style that lies at the center.
Take a look at the lineup of musicians that Jackson has assembled for Volume 4, though, and fans familiar with his music will start to know what they can expect. Jackson, of course, handles the lead vocals and keyboard work, and he has brought together Graham Maby on bass, Gary Sanford on guitar, and Dave Houghton on Drums. This is the exact same group of musicians that supported Jackson on his first three albums and helped him create such memorable hits as I'm the Man, It's Different for Girls, Sunday Papers, Look Sharp, and the incomparable Is She Really Going Out With Him?. Clearly, Jackson is trying to reach back to aggressive spirit and energy that his first hits embodied twenty-five years ago, and while he doesn't quite manage to capture the exact same magical spark, he comes awfully close.
Take It Like a Man, the opening track, starts out the album solidly in 5th gear with a powerful drum assault from Houghton. Maby and Sanford soon join the mix, but the moment when the song finally comes into it's own comes about half a minute in, when all other instruments suddenly drop out, leaving Jackson's piano all by itself. Anyone who's heard Jackson's piano playing before will instantly recognize his sharp, percussive style with its distinctive flair. It's a sound that will make longtime fans feel right at home and will welcome new ones with open arms. Overall, Take It Like a Man features the energy and attitude that so many of today's "pop-punk" band aim for, but never really manage to hit. Leave it to a handful of artists in their late forties and early fifties to show these upstart kids how its really supposed to be done.
The opening track sets the stage well for a strong album, but the real high point comes a few songs later with Awkward Age. This song bristles with traditional energy of rock and features the catchy hooks that the best pop songs give us. Maby's nimble bass playing drives the song forward, with the rest of the musicians holding on for the ride quite well. We don't get much in the way of piano work from Jackson, but his vocal work here is more than enough to ensure that we don't miss it. The lyrics slyly shift around through points of view moving from:
So uncomfortable in your messed up skin
And the cool parties never let you in
I can still relate to being left so high and dry
Don't cry, you're just at an awkward age
and eventually finding their way to:
I got a mind that goes out to lunch for days
And a body that sometimes disobeys
I get into the parties but I hate them 'cause I'm shy
Oh my, I'm still at an awkward age
Clearly Jackson is coming to grips with growing old, but his presentation is not only easy to relate to, it makes for an immensely enjoyable, memorable highlight of the album.
Throughout the other songs on the album, Jackson shows off his skill with a wide variety of styles. Little Bit Stupid comes across with a strong shuffle beat as it hearkens back to the sounds of British rock in sixties. Fairy Dust mixes elements of fusion jazz with straight ahead rock for another rough, aggressive anthem. On Love at First Light, Jackson presents a slow, pensive waltz that sounds like it could have come from the piano of Ben Folds, a more recent musician clearly influenced by Joe Jackson's first albums. He flirts with elements of the blues on Dirty Martini and incorporates a wry ska beat in Thugz 'R' Us. Most of the other songs on Volume Four take after the jangle pop feel that sounds an awful lot like REM, not only in musical style, but also in lyrical content. (Basically, imagine if Michael Stipe decided to follow in Madonna's footsteps and adopt a British accent for no apparent reason.)
Here's the full track listing for Volume 4:
1. Take It Like a Man
2. Still Alive
3. Awkward Age
4. Chrome
5. Love at First Light
6. Fairy Dust
7. Little Bit Stupid
8. Blue Flame
9. Dirty Martini
10. Thugz 'R' Us
11. Bright Grey
(As an added bonus, the album also comes with an extra disk of live recordings from 2002 of One More Time, Is She Really Going Out With Him?, On Your Radio, Got the Time, It's Different for Girls, and I'm the Man, all hits that the foursome recorded on Jackson's first few albums.)
Volume 4, while a strong, solid album, probably isn't destined to end up a masterpiece like Jackson's first few releases. Too many of the tracks blend into one another without managing to jump out and grab the listener by the ears. It's a good album to put on in the background when you've got something else going on, but I just can't see this as one of those albums that demands that you to drop everything else and focus on the music while it's playing.
Another minor complaint is the over reliance on guitar and bass in the arrangements of most of the songs. Jackson's piano work is not only skillful, it is also distinctive and memorable. Too many of the tracks push the piano to the back of the mix. They still sound good, thanks to the skill of the other musicians, but not putting the piano in the spotlight is like hearing a Stevie Ray Vaughan album without a guitar solo.
While not everything is absolutely perfect, there are several songs here that do stick out as superb blends of pop and rock. Even though Joe Jackson and his bandmates have seen quite a few years pass by since their first release together (as evidenced by the pictures on the back cover and in the liner notes), they still have what it takes to stand next to today's biggest acts. (In fact, they still stand head and shoulders above most of today's commercial darlings.) For fans who have been following Joe Jackson for years, Volume 4 will feel like slipping into a well-worn robe. Those unfamiliar with Jackson's back catalog will probably also find a familiar sound to the album, since Jackson has had a noticeable impact on so many other artists in the past two and a half decades. Regardless of your previous experience with Jackson's work, Volume 4 is a rather solid collection, and hopefully we'll get another album from this foursome again soon in the future.
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