I knew the hit singles and the first two albums, so was intrigued when seeing this album cheap many moons ago.
This, in retrospect, seems a brave move for 1981, to record an album of swing covers from the 1940s era, at a time when music seemed to be moving inexorably electronic and preprogrammed.
Almost anti-fashion, but clearly an attempt by Jackson to distance himself from some of his post-punk contemporaries as well as share some of the music he grew up with.
And without breaking any new ground, it’s successful. He leads a talented band through some old greats, and some less well known ones. The playing is accomplished and Jackson’s vocals work well. Stand outs, to me, are Five Guys Named Moe, Jumpin’ Jive and Tuxedo Junction, while only What’s The Use Of Getting Sober feels hard work as Jackson fails to carry off the spoken word section.
It’s feel good music from an earlier age, and the intent isn’t to be definitive, but to point the listener to the originals (Jackson said as much when he refused to do a Jumping Jive 2 ).
3* - it’s a good listen, not a great one
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