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steveburnhamuk

Joe Jackson – Big World (1986)


Stumbling across a Sunday morning market on a recent break in Ghent, there's a chap selling some CDs and I part with a few euros and relieve him of some of his stock, one of which was this mid-eighties album from Joe Jackson.

Originally released as a double album with music on three sides, critics talked about a 'missing side', but since it was priced as a single album, Jackson reasonably pointed out that there was an 'extra side'


This is another one I owned on vinyl back in the day, so for a couple of euros was happy to revisit it. I'll admit, I was expecting to be disappointed, feeling that much of Jackson's music hadn't aged as well as some of his contemporaries, but I've been pleasantly surprised here. Part One kicks off strongly with the Morricone-tinged Wild West, starting with a spaghetti Western sound, but pounding into life with a fine song, then Right And Wrong, similarly intelligent and catchy and the Eastern sounding Big World, bouncy and fun. Precious Time is another upbeat, infectious number, before this part concludes with the upbeat, yet less convincing Tonight And Forever.

Part Two slows things down as we hear Jackson the pianist and balladeer on Shanghai Sky. His slower stuff is not really my cup of tea, and neither this nor the following song, Fifty Dollar Love Affair, do it for me. We Can't Live Together appeals a little more, with a powerful chorus, and a sleazy jazz feel, and this section concludes with the anthem Forty Years Ago, again mostly just Jackson and his piano, and again, not working for me.

So, on to Part Three. Survival is an interesting, bouncy little romp, and while the funky Soul Kiss and The Jet Set (with some nice twangy guitar) stay upbeat, they don't feel as strong as earlier songs. Tango Atlantico feels a little 'novelty' until you listen to the caustic lyrics (but it's hard to shift Tom Lehrer's Masochism Tango from my mind. But there's a real uplift with the jaunty Home Town, with its catchy guitar lick. The album concludes with Man In The Street, a grandiose, fully produced song, which doesn't really gel to these untrained ears.

There's a lot to like about this album, and certainly I find Jackson's more upbeat, full band songs far more convincing than his slower, more reflective pieces, although I don't think the songs towards the end of the album are as strong as those which open it. Have a listen and decide for yourself.



3* - certainly worth a listen, with some lovely songs, but there's much that doesn't work for me



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