Joe Jackson - Joe Jackson - Greatest Hits

Early in his career Joe Jackson came on at times even angrier and more cynical than Elvis Costello. His first hits, "Is She Really Going out with Him?," "Sunday Papers," and "I'm The Man," were virtual tirades. Initially fusing punk rock's angst and sneer with new wave's melodicism, Jackson would later mature in his artistic expression, exploring everything from reggae to big band jazz. Greatest Hits chronicles this development nicely. The urban sophistication of "Steppin' Out," and even "Breaking Us in Two," had Jackson entering Cole Porter territory. His adroit ability to turn a phrase, casting his keen eye toward the ironies of relationships and entanglements often made him seem like a new wave Noel Coward. While his later material hasn't always had the same commercial success, "You Can't Get What You Want" and "Hometown," it found Jackson receiving some of the most fawning critical praise of his career. --Steve Gdula Amazon.com

Joe Jackson Always Wrote With Depth And Unique Quality

November 23, 2006
In 1979, Joe Jackson, a British pianist, arranger and songwriter hit the top forty with a song called Is He Really Going Out With Him. I remember it well because as a 27 year old guard service salesman in Midtown Manhattan I clearly recall the daughter of the owner barging into our section and imploring us to listen to this catchy material. Well I did not marry the boss's daughter and Joe Jackson in 2008 is still making great music as a revered and special recording artist, his tenure as a musician light years longer then my short acquaintance with sales. I wonder if Joe were to be fast forwarded from his beginning compositions such as Breaking Us In Two and Stepping Out, would he be on commercial radio or relegated to Adult Alternative on Sirius. Sort of like Steve Poltz who is an outstanding acoustic performer and songwriter, Joe was always like a Steely Dan songwriter at least musically. You can discover many elements in Joe's music, mostly jazz rock, calypso and even swing. My wife and I saw him somewhere in the early eighties at Radio City. That was such an interesting and massively unique performance that Joe gave us. His lyrics are almost like subliminal advertising, they stick with you forever. The line I remember is "We could stay at home and stare into each other's eyes". It sounds initially as being simplistic but then it becomes metaphorical and starts reminding you of your heavy relationships. Then there is the one about "In a yellow taxi". Young folks who have obviously never heard of Joe Jackson and his quirky punk, jazzy fare should actually purchase this CD and discover a pro vs an aspirant. Jay Adler, Music Critic November 24, 2008

Divergent sounds come together-not quite successfully

The interesting thing about a greatest hits package from Joe Jackson is that it is really easy to see the evolution of Jackson as an artist over the course of the CD. This; however, does not make for a wholly satisfying listening experience. Starting his career with an Elvis Costello-like edge, his early singles are sharp and bitter tunes that catch your ear as you marvel at the cynicism. But then you hit "Beat Crazy" and all of a sudden you're back in the thirties with Cab Calloway. Next, you enter the grown up world of "Breaking Us in Two" and "Stepping Out" with Jackson's more mature vocals layered over delicate piano. Jackson is an artist who definitely refuses to sit still and I doubt this collection will satisfy anyone. A true fan will have most of the original material and a casual fan of any particular period would be better served with a CD featuring music from that time period. But if you're someone totally unfamiliar with Jackson, give it a listen. There are very few musicians so willing to follow his muse.
June 22, 2006

Not this one

As a big fan of Joe Jackson's first half-dozen albums, I may not be the most impartial judge of a skimpy package like this. I'm used to hearing Joe arrange his songs into a mood-setting whole, either in concert or on his original albums. Early songs on "Look Sharp!" and "I'm the Man" were three-minute slices of perfect punk-pop and as such are well-suited to compilations, but the albums he created during the middle of his career were carefully constructed and orchestrated and really deserve to be heard in their entirety, particularly "Night and Day," "Jumpin' Jive," and "Big World." If you can, buy those albums, but if you must have a "Greatest Hits" volume, spring for the 2-CD "Steppin' Out." I just don't think you'll be satisfied with this limited hodgepodge, brilliant as the individual songs are. January 28, 2006

He's the man.

I have to admit, I was gonna just get "Night And Day" because all I thought I knew from him was "Steppin' Out". Thank god I got "Greatest Hits", since it is full of great songs, many of which I recognized well. I'm so glad this is in chronological order too. I really like every track here, but most 80's fans should easily know the excellent "I'm The Man", "Is She Really Going Out With Him?", "Sunday Papers", "Nineteen Forever", and "You Can't Get What You Want (til you know what you want)". Of course the cool "Steppin' Out" is on here also, as well as "Breaking Us In Two" from the same album. The styles of music may not be real consistent, but the quality of the songs surely is. Definitely an underrated artist. April 5, 2005

Outstanding Content - but not the most complete

Joe Jackson is a name that most music fans know of in both the United States and United Kingdom. Joe Jackson has been a "superstar" in terms of a Top 40 artists. Joe Jackson is also an artist who hasn't gotten the respect he deserves. Jackson has proven to be an outstanding songwriter, arranger, musician - and of course vocalist. Jackson has done a multitude of styles throughout his career. One good way to get a taste for Jackson's talent and follow his musical evolution is through the compilation "Joe Jackson - Greatest Hits".

For starters, there are no shortages when it comes to Joe Jackson Greatest Hits albums. There are several different compilations available - some are only available as imports. "Joe Jackson Greatest Hits" isn't the most complete one, but it isn't the least complete one other. It covers a period from 1978 ("Look Sharp") through 1989 ("Blaze of Glory"). There are three Jackson Compilations that are available in the U.S. right now. The most complete one is the 2 CD compilation called "Steppin Out - The Very Best of Joe Jackson". All of the studio material on "Greatest Hits" is contained on "Steppin Out". Another collection that is available is "Joe Jackson - The Millenium Collection". All of the songs are the "Millenium Collection" are contained on "Greatest Hits". "Millenium Collection" covers the same time period as "Greatest Hits" while "Steppin Out" covers 1978 through 2000 ("Night and Day II"). The one thing that "Greatest Hits" has that is not available on the other studio-baed greatest hits compilations are live versions of the songs "A Slow Song" and "Memphis". However it is worth noting that these live songs were available on his Live CD titled "Live 1980/86". It is also worth noting that there is a 3 CD Joe Jackson compilation available as an import called "Joe Jackson - Ultimate Collection". This compilation has some tunes that are exclusive to a Jackson 'best of' compilation, but also is missing some songs "Greatest Hits" - including some rare songs that Jackson contributed to the "Mike's Murder" soundtrack back in 1983.

There are eight studio albums represented on "Greatest Hits". These albums include: "Look Sharp" (1978); "I'm the Man" (1979); "Beat Crazy" (1980); "Jumpin Jive" (1981); "Night and Day" (1982); "Body and Soul" (1984); "Big World" (1986); and "Blaze of Glory" (1989). As mentioned there are two songs included from the 1988 live album "Live 1980/86". While the live version of "A Slow Song" appears as a studio track on "Night and Day", "Memphis" comes from the "Mike's Murder" soundtrack. It might seem like Jackson wasn't active between 1986 and 1989, but he worked on the soundtracks for "Will Power" and "Tucker - The Man and His Dream". It is a shame that "Greatest Hits" doesn't have any material from this collection.

In most cases, regardless of what compilation you are looking at, Jackson does something I like - With Greatest Hits collections, I find that the best "Greatest Hits" collections are ones that arrange the songs in chronological order. This allows me to see how an artist progresses over time. The nice thing about "Greatest Hits" is that it does do this. Most of the other compilations by Joe Jackson also fall into this category. I think it is especially important that Jackson's collections are ordered chronologically. This is because Jackson's music style has changed several times throughout the years. With "Greatest Hits", you will get a feel for Jackson's Punk Rock/New Wave roots, to his urban/jazz pop days, to bringing in some Rock and Blues influences to his sound.

The first six tracks come cover the period from 1978 through 1980. In most cases (possibly with the exception of "Is She Really Going Out With Him"), these might seem like atypical songs to the Joe Jackson fan. They tend to have more of a New Wave and even in some cases Punk-ish Rock influence. These are songs that Jackson did with his band called "The Joe Jackson" band. While you will hear keyboards, there will be much more of a bass and guitar influence (exception: "Is She Really Going Out With Him") . Listen especially for the bass influence on these tracks. While "Is She Really Going Out With Him" is the most popular song from this era, songs like "Look Sharp", "Sunday Papers" and "I'm the Man" are even better. Jackson also establishes himself as a master songwriter - listen for his narrative storytelling style in many of his songs.

After 1980, Jackson's left the Joe Jackson Band behind and went off in his own directions. Jackson's terrific cover of "Jumpin Jive" (included here) - done in true Swing Style that launched him into this Urban/Jazz phase. This is where you will hear Joe's Trademark Piano and Keyboards here. "Greatest Hits" includes his popular songs "Steppin' Out", "Breakin Us in Two" and "You Can't Get What You Want". Songs like the live version of "A Slow Song" and "Be My Number Two" are not quite as jazzy, but the keyboard influence is there. There is also no loss for Jackson's storytelling lyrics.

Thes songs from Jackson's last two albums "Big World" and "Blaze of Glory" start to fold a Rock and even a Blues influence into the music. This is some of his best stuff. The four songs on "Greatest Hits" reflect this. Once again - no loss of storytelling lyrics. I think Jackson's track is "Down to London" featuring some terrific piano, horns, harmonica, and a terrific duet with Joy Askew.

The liner notes are thin - no lyrics, no production or musician credits. They do list the year and album each song is from. Despite the live cuts, this still isn't as complete as the "Steppin Out" compilation, but this still isn't bad. I'd still recommend "Steppin Out" first because it's more complete - but "Greatest Hits" is still a very good collection so it may be the next best thing. February 17, 2005

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