Joe Jackson - Live 1980/86

No longer available domestically, here reissued to coincide with Joe's 2005 U.K. tour. Disc one contain 6 tracks from the Beat Crazy tour 1980 + 5 from the Night And Day tours 1982/83. Disc 2 contains 5 songs from the Body And Soul tour 1984 and 6 tracks from his Big World tour 1986. Mercury. 2005. Album Description

Shows Why We Loved Joe

Here is a record that has been largely banished to non-US release. The major labels always tend to ignore and hide some of music's best gems and this is no exception. If you can choke down the price, you will find this record well-worth it. I prefer the rugged, raw energy of the first CD, where we hear the original Joe Jackson band pound through favorites such as `I'm the Man' and `Beat Crazy'. Graham Maby on bass especially shines on the old material. One could argue that while Mr. Jackson wrote the songs, Graham brought them to life.

OK, I am old and was in my late teens when Joe blasted on the music scene in the late 70's. He offered something new, exciting and driven. At the same time his music was unapologetic in injecting their songs with almost too cute pop hooks and melodies. Call it New Wave, Second Invasion, Punk, or simply Pop, it was great stuff.

For reasons that were never entirely clear to me, Joe Jackson and his contemporaries like Elvis Costello and the Police got tired of the cool, rockin' sound and moved to softer, more complex compositions and turned their backs on what made them popular in favor of something new. You can hear the start of this transition in the second CD. `A Slow Song', `Be My Number Two', and `Breaking Us In Two' are fine songs and the performances are brilliant, but they really are a clear deviance from the band's pub-scene roots. Time proved that the new musical directions Joe took were not particularly well-regarded by the critics or his core fans and he has recently "rediscovered" his old band and has put out some new "old" stuff that I have yet to listen to.

Listening to this live collection brings back memories and reminder to me of what were some exciting - if not short-lived - days of music in the late 70's and early 80's. There is not a true loser song in the bunch. The trio of `Is She Really Going Out With Him' show how he could take a loved favorite and throw it at you in new interesting ways. Heck, the original is out there on Look Sharp! if that is what you want.

If there is a negative for this collection, it would be the too-slick production of the numbers in the second half of CD 2. `You Can't Get What You Want' for example is layered with busy synthesizer soloing, and crisp, live digital effects, and a big, over- reverbed drum sound. That overdone sound was an earmark of the Big World band (with Ford on bass) and thus four stars note five. December 2, 2008

My favorite Joe Jackson album

I agree with the guy who wrote that Joe Jackson does not get his due. This album is wonderful. I owned Joe Jackson studio albums when I was in college and loved them, so I am a fan. I went away from the power pop/punk genre -- I had not listened to Joe Jackson for several decades -- and now I listen mostly to jazz/classical recordings. Hey, I'm old now. Last week I downloaded this album just for old time's sake, not really expecting much more than a trip down memory lane. THESE RECORDINGS ARE GREAT. The arrangements of the old songs are original and interesting, the musicianship is excellent (this guy can really play and his sidemen are just amazing), and the performances are ... well, I wish I had been there. July 26, 2008

Essential Joe!

Quite simply this album is a "must have" for Joe Jackson fans (or for anyone who has yet to discover this unique talent who has never been given his due). It contains all your favorite numbers live. The sound quality is superb and it gets me rockin' while I work.

Critics love to slam live albums for some reason but there's nothing to hate on here. Many people who have never even heard of Joe Jackson hear it playing in my office or in my car and always ask "Man, who's that, that's way cool!"

If I have one complaint it's the somnambulant version of "Steppin' Out". It's a bit of a disappointment for those of us who wanted to end the CD with a real rockin' flourish. September 25, 2007

Unique Approach To A Live Album Will Appeal To True Fans

"Live 1980-1986" is assembled like 4 separate live E.P.s rather than a traditional live album. Each of the two discs presents two different tours, so four are represented in total. Each tour gets 5 or 6 songs. The bands are different for each tour so it's easy to trace the evolution in Jackson's approach to music making. Casual fans may be put off by the fact that the versions of his two biggest hits are all quite different from their original studio incarnations. He gives three different takes on "Is She Really Going Out With Him", and frankly, none of the three appeal to me nearly as much as the original. On his other big hit, "Steppin' Out", he slows the song down dramatically, and the result is hypnotic - it's my second favorite cut on the album. My favorite is "Fools In Love", which is played at a slow tempo similar to the original, but is fleshed out and stretched out to over 7 minutes. Most of the other tracks stick closer to their original arrangements, but with some interesting variations, such as the punchy horns added to "Sunday Papers". I think this collection is a great souvenir for the true believers, but I think those with only a casual interest in Jackson's music will find it unessential. November 20, 2002

He makes the old stuff sound new

With this 2-disc set Jackson has taken many of his old classics and lesser-known tunes and given them new arrangements. He might "jazz up" and rock tune, speed up a slow song, or at least make the orchestrations more lush and "big" sounding. Some highlights are a version of "You Can't Get What You Want (Til You Know What You Want)" that is peppier than the original, a bouncy horn section added to "Sunday Papers", and a general spirit of fun that comes across best with live peformance, no matter what song. He has one of the tightest touring bands you'll ever hear, perfectly at home playing big-band jazz, rock, ballads, or a blend of all three. Just because Jackson stopped charting singles in the early 1980's doesn't mean that he should be forgotten by us. It's a fun record to listen to, and with around 90 minutes of material there's plenty to please just about anyone. December 24, 2000

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