"I Know You Think That I Protest Too Much..."

Before you get tired of this topic, let me say that Joe Jackson has been at least a curiosity to me for the better part of my life. As a child I spent a lot of time at Grandma S's house. Uncle Frank was living with her at the time and, being 20 years older than me, he was in tune with the music of the day. I remember thumbing through his vinyls and marveling at the artwork. Don't you miss that? And that vinyl smell. Man, when you would open that sleeve and catch a whiff...

Anyway, one record he had was Look Sharp! by Joe Jackson which has been referenced here many times. This has always stuck in my memory because the cover had a pair of white shoes with the ties on the side. This in itself was unremarkable. What was unique, however, was the one inch hole in the upper left hand corner that was actually cut away to make room for the little, black pin-on button that said LOOK SHARP! to be removed and worn at the buyer's leisure. OK, free samples may not impress you, but how about this: the record was 10" , not the standard 12". The sleeve was smaller and it stood out from the other records so, even if one had no idea who this Jackson guy was, it drew your eye to the gap in the records. I have since purchased my own copy of this bit of nostalgia from ebay and would love to wear the pin, but the record is sealed in its original wrapping.

I remember listening to the album and being VERY disappointed. It didn't have Steppin' Out. Keep in mind I was 10 in 1984 and by then Night and Day had been out for a few years.

I digress. Today I bought Rain, Joe Jackson's newest (2008) release. I had gone to the local super center yesterday to find it but it wasn't there. So, I decided to drive the 45 minutes to the nearest big box store to find it this morning. I must say that I am glad I did. It gave me the chance to listen to the record on the way home, with the sun out, the vent blowing cool air, and myself in good spirits.

I really liked the Night and Day II album. It deals with the isolation of several individuals in "the Greatest City on Earth", New York City. At the time that it came out, I was dealing with a certain amount of isolation, as well, and could very closely relate to the album. I have recently revisited it and found it to still be good, but somewhat of a downer. Of course there is the personal connection, but there is definitely the thread that ties all the characters together into a concept album for the turn of the century (2000), but in a world where the events of 2001 were not even imagined.

Rain, on the other hand seems to focus more on the music. The band is pared down to three original members: Joe, Graham Maby on bass and Dave Houghton on drums. It is an (dare I say) uplifting album that makes this reviewer call to mind 1986's Big World album. Stand out tracks are the first one entitled Invisible Man; Citizen Sane, which acknowledges our search for the universal cure-all, and Uptown Train which has a similar feel to the recent work of Steely Dan. In my humble opinion Rain is the best work from these guys in the last 10 years, and worth the wait. Joe Jackson is still able to capture that honest-to-god insecurity of the average guy and work it into a beautiful jazz-pop blend that is timeless. Make time for Rain.