Conference cookie::notes$archive:cd_v1

    
    	Look Sharp!?  Costello-like? is that as in Elvis Costello?
    	I like Elvis Costello and would like to know were I can hear
    	more of Joe Jackson's Look Sharp! if it is like Elvis Costello.
    
    	Which Boston radio stations play this?
    
    	Thanks,
    
    	Peter
    
    

    I recently caught the end of a symphony by a Joe Jackson on the
    radio.  It sounded pretty interesting.  I had never heard of this
    guy before and this is the first mention of the name I have heard
    since.
    
    Are we talking about the same Joe Jackson?  Is there are recording
    of this work available on CD?  Does anyone have any opinions on
    it?
    
    -John

    Re .1:
    
    Yes, that's Elvis Costello.  Joe Jackson's early music is somewhat
    similar in style to Elvis Costello's early music; the music press
    made that comparison pretty often and for once they were right.
    Many Boston rock stations play Joe Jackson, though not so frequently
    now since his new album is not rock.  WMRQ is probably the best
    bet, though they concentrate more on the later albums.  WBCN is
    probably the best bet for the early albums.  "Is She Really Going
    Out With Him?" was the big hit from Look Sharp!, but that's a pretty
    mellow tune compared to the rest of the album.
    
    Re .2:
    
    Yes, the same Joe Jackson whose early albums are "Costello-like"
    is also the one who wrote the Symphony.  It's on Will Power, his
    latest CD.  Personally, I don't like that disc, but if you liked
    what you heard of the Symphony, it's fairly representative of the
    rest of the CD.  All of his CD's should be pretty easy to find.
    
    As I suspected in .0, Beat Crazy and Jumpin' Jive are also in the
    budget line.  Night and Day, his biggest seller, is still at full
    price ("Steppin' Out" was the big hit from that album).

    There's an interview with Joe Jackson in the latest issue of
    "Digital Audio."  Check it out...

        I have been impressed with Joe Jackson for some time and would
        put "Body and Soul" with my all-time favorites.  I couldn't
        resist "Look Sharp" & "I'm a Man" for the price ($18 for 2
        at Independent R & T, Colorado Springs).

        I need a good reason for yet-another-joe-jackson purchase -- can
        anyone expand on the capsule summaries in .0?  Any reviews for
        "Beat Crazy" and "Jumpin' Jive", the only ones I don't have?  I
        don't believe I have heard any of the cuts from these.

        Glen (who doesn't need too much of a reason to buy more music)

    "Beat Crazy" is easy to justify - if you like "Look Sharp!" and "I'm
    the Man", you should definitely try this album.  It's with the same
    band as the first two albums, but it's a much more ambitious and
    varied album, both musically and lyrically.  Apparently Joe decided
    that this band wasn't right for the music he wanted to write, because
    he broke the band up just as the album was released (great incentive
    for the label to promot the album).
    
    I still hear the title song fairly frequently on the radio - it's
    a great song, but hard to explain in words.  Lots of energy in that
    song, though at a slower, more reggae-like tempo.  "One to One"
    and "Fit" are two beautiful songs - sex roles figure prominently
    in the lyrics here, as in some other songs on the album, like
    "Biology".  "Pretty Boys" is a sarcastic look at TV personalities.
    
    "Jumpin' Jive" is all covers, including several tunes by Louis Jordan.
    It's a horn based band with a jazzy, happy feel.  The music is good,
    and the performances are OK.  I'm not familiar with most of the
    original versions of these songs, but I doubt that Joe's versions
    are improvements.  I find it more interesting for revealing another
    side of Joe's musical personality, and as a stepping stone to the
    music in his later albums.  I hope that "Will Power", his current
    album, works the same way.
    
    They're both cheap as CD's go, so why not make it a complete set
    of one of the best rock performers of the 80's?
    
    Michael

            
>     They're both cheap as CD's go, so why not make it a complete set
>     of one of the best rock performers of the 80's?

        So right.  But, to put it in perspective, mine is a budding
        collection of 14 CDs.  3 are currently Joe (the balance is vinyl),
        2 more will give him close to a 1/3 share.

        I have never been disappointed with this artist, why fight it?

        Glen

	I discovered Joe Jackson when "Night and Day" was released, and have
	since  then stocked up with the rest of his albums on LP. Definitely
	one  of  my  favorite  artists!  With  the coming of CD I got the CD
	versions  of  the  ones  I  like  the best, and was happy to note an
	improvement of sound quality compared to the vinyl discs.
	
Re .6:
>>    "Jumpin' Jive" is all covers, including several tunes by Louis Jordan.
>>    It's a horn based band with a jazzy, happy feel.  The music is good,
>>    and the performances are OK.  I'm not familiar with most of the
>>    original versions of these songs, but I doubt that Joe's versions
>>    are improvements.  

	"Jumpin' Jive"  is  one  of my absolute Jackson favorites! This disc
	really  makes  the  happy  hormones  flow through my body. I haven't
	heard any of the originals except for Tuxedo Junction, but Jackson's
	interpretations of these old songs really swing!

	An interesting note about "Big World" is that the recording was made
	during  live performances straight on to two track digital tape with
	no  mixing  done  afterwards.  Sounds really good and is good value.
	Three  LP  sides  fit  on  to one CD (The "double" LP only has three
	sides with music. The fourth side has no music on it). To top it off
	the music is very good!
	
	Jackson's latest   effort,   "Will   Power",   was   a   bit   of  a
	disappointment,  especially  the  way  it sounds. The noise-floor is
	rather  high  even  though  it  is  a DDD recording. Has anyone else
	noticed  this,  or do I have a bum copy of the disc? Also, watch out
	with  the  first track. It starts out very softly so you're inclined
	to  play  it  pretty  loud. Then comes this chord that can get to be
	very  loud  if  you  do  like I did with the volume knob. Scared the
	socks  off of me! Listening to the album is like going to the movies
	without having any pictures to watch. 
	
	Has anyone seen "Mike's Murder" on CD?
	
	- GL -
    

    "Will Power" claims to be DDD, but if so I have no idea why
    there's so much noise and hiss.  Both the sound quality and
    the music are disappointing.  But I do like the first track,
    and I'm confident that the shock value is intentional (it sure
    got me!).

    I love Joe Jackson!  My favorities are "Jumpin' Jive" and "Body and
    Soul".  One I don't have and am interested in is "Mike's Murder".
    
    Any reviews and/or info on where I can find the CD??
    
    by the way, he was fantastic if you got a chance to catch him at
    Great Woods last summer.  Can't wait for more music in the Big World
    vein...
    
    -mark
    

    You won't go wrong with Mike's Murder. Check it out...
    
    Edd

    But Edd, do you have it on CD?  I've never seen Mike's Murder
    on CD.  If you have it please let us know where you found it.
    
    Thanks,
    Michael

    Not to be a stick in the mud but I went out and bought "Jumpin Jive"
    and it doesn't do anything for me.  It can be yours for a mere 8
    dollars.  The first one to call wins (296-7161)
    
    					Bart Lasky
    
    I love "Body and Soul!!

 	Has anyone  listened to the soundtrack from the film "Tucker
	-  A  man  and his dream"? (I'm not quite sure of the title,
	but it is approximately as stated)
	
	Reason I'm asking is because Joe Jackson does all the music.
	HFN&RR  gave  the  album  a  fairly  positive  rating in the
	January '89 issue. Problem is that the review only was a few
	lines long. 
	
	As I'm  a bit disappointed with JJ's previous studio effort,
	"Will  Power",  I  don't  think  I'll buy this disk unheard.
	Maybe  I'll  see the movie. I've seen the disk in the stores
	for a while now, and I'm tempted .....
	
	
	While on  the  subject of Joe Jackson, the two CD "Live" set
	that  was released last year gives a fairly good overview of
	JJ's  music  throughout his career. The music is recorded on
	four  different  tours.  All  songs  have  been more or less
	rearranged. There are three versions of "Is she really going
	out  with him" that all sound very different. My only nit is
	about  the  sound, which I think is a bit shrill in the high
	frequencies.
	
	re: .13
	
	Too bad  you didn't like Jumpin Jive. It's my favorite. Just
	goes to show that the taste varies.
	
	- G�sta

If Jumpin' Jive is your favorite Joe Jackson album, then you
definitely want to get Tucker!  The movie is set in the 1940's
and Joe's score is 40's-style music - it's closer to Jumpin'
Jive than to anything else he's done.

For me, Jumpin' Jive is not one of my favorites - it's OK, but
I don't listen to it very often.  Tucker strikes me about the
same way.  I'm looking forward to Joe Jackson's next rock
album - his live double-CD set shows how excellent he is in
that style, and has versions of his songs that are very, very
different from the studio versions.  I remember when he did
Steppin' Out at the concert I saw on the Big World tour.  It
was in the arrangement that closes the live CDs, and later in
the concert people were still yelling for "Steppin' Out", not
realizing that he'd already played it!

By the way, Tucker's a very good movie - recommended even to
those who aren't Joe Jackson fans :-).