@soundhealer6043 Yep! You can tell we REALLY want that buzzkill at ALL of our parties. The author of 'How to make enemies and irritate people....' right there.
The entire "Look Sharp" album is fantastic and this song is part of Joe's punkier origin story but his staggering talent took him into other directions, all of it amazing. There are also some BANGERS in his catalog, including much of the first two albums (this song is one of the few slower songs) and Graham Maby, the bass player, is amazing on every track.
The bass was the first thing that hooked me when I first heard Joe Jackson. My favorite Graham Maby bass line (among his many magnificent ones) was on “Fridays” from the “I’m The Man” album.
Funny how you hear a song you haven't heard in along time and all the words just come out of your mouth and start moving your head around 🎶 🎵 love it and your love of music . You always make my day better 💜✌🎵🎶🇨🇦
@@donlee1534 Yes agreed. Both the chorus and particularly the bridge uses some interesting chords that all work real nice together in contrast with the basic verse progression.
I suggested it last time so I'll give it another plug here - 'It's Different For Girls.' 1979 It's basically Joe playing around with male/ female stereotypes / relationship expectations and role reversal. Clever - and definitely a track that stood out for me back then as a 13/14yr old. It just had a very 'different' sound. And very moody! Different for Girls and Is She Really Going Out With Him are his best songs imo.
Jay & Amber, you’ll love his “Look Sharp”, "Sunday Papers" and “I’m The Man”!!!! (the bass is Thumping on "I'm The Man" !!) edit- 1979, one of the great debut albums, in my top 10 all-time. Graham Maby on bass!!
As someone who has lost half his family young to cancer, somehow I like his song Cancer. "There's no cure there's no answer, everything gives you cancer"
I think Stepping Out is one of the most romantic songs of that era, I definitely think it deserves a second listen. You Can’t Get What You Want is another to give a listen to.
This Joe Jackson and Elvis Costello's "Alison" were two of my all-time favorite songs I listened to toward the end of the 1970s. Many thanks for playing this song and I'm so glad you both enjoyed it. If you want to try another Joe Jackson song from the "Look Sharp!" album, try listening to "Fools In Love," I promise you both won't be disappointed. :)
You Can't Get What You Want (Until You Know What You Want) is probably Joe Jackson's biggest hit. He plays a great Saxophone 🎷 in that song too. Check out the live performance released by Vevo.
He's funny and witty - his wit keeps the song from drowning in sadness. I also like the line, "They say that looks don't count for much/ Well there goes your proof."
Again, I can't be objective. I love Joe Jackson so much. Listened to him from high school through college and beyond. He has a passion to his voice. It hits a nerve. So talented. It dawned on me that another thing that's difficult when you look back is that you don't experience the artists' development over time. Steppin' Out was a later song (5th album), but you listened to it first. The Look Sharp album was his 1st. We listened to him develop over time. I feel like I went on that journey with him. It was a blast. Saw him in concert not too long ago. Still amazing.
He played my college senior week 1984 at University of Rhode Island. It’s when Steppin Out hit charts. I couldn’t believe we got him. Great show in a small venue of 3000.
Glad you gave him another chance. 😁 He is an amazing composer and performer. Check out the song “You can’t get what you want, till you know what you want” 😀❤️🎶 Amazing beat and horns!!!!
There is a live a capella version of this song that is stunning! Graham Maby is Joe’s bass player; he’s been with him over 40yrs and he’s an amazing musician. Joe is a big rabbit hole to venture down. Check out “Its Different For Girls”, “I’m the Man” or “Nineteen Forever”.
Like others have suggested: "Sunday Papers" and "I'm the Man" Both of these have a kinda Reggae feel with really cool baselines. Both are more uptempo than what you've heard thus far.
The thing about Joe Jackson is that he’s a consummate musician and never sticks with one thing. Albums are less important these days than they were back when he was releasing them but he will give you a solid adventure through songwriting and musicianship.
Please 🙏, do next from him, these other's super hits : "I'm the man", "Happy Ending", "You can't get what you want","Breaking US in two", "It's different for girls", "Nineteen Forever" & "Beat Crazy".
Love Joe Jackson! Have the album on vinyl! Have to check out another track called It’s Different for Girls from the album I’m the Man! It’s just as good!
Loved this tune back in the day. Always kicked into the slow horizontal head bob for the breakdown guitar part. It was still the late 70's but you could really see the music starting to transition to the 80's style arrangements and culture.
What I like about Joe Jackson is his STORYTELLING. His stories are real, down to earth.... stories that are relatable. We all know from our neighborhood that there is some girl that we grew up with and we are totally astonished that THIS girl is taking THAT dude home. We're like "How COULD she go with THIS dude?" We all know a story like this. Relatable. THEN, JJ drops this cool, ORIGINAL bass beat to a timeless story. Pure genius. And the gorilla line... YUP, I KNOW that one.
This is from Joe Jackson's debut album, 1979's "Look Sharp!" It's not only considered the high point of early new wave, a lot of critics named it one of the best debut albums of the 70s (and the cover with those white shoes is iconic). It's amazing all the way through; the band is super-tight, and yes Jay, bassist Graham Maby kicks out some dizzying licks, especially in the reggae-ish "Sunday Papers" and the hyperactively fast "Got The Time".
When this album came out, I played it constantly . . and continued to follow JJ’s awesome development over the next 4+ decades. Saw him every time he came to NYC. There was a period where he wanted to stop writing lyrics, he got so serious about music composition. Glad he came back to, or stayed with, song writing because he’s very skilled at that. His piano playing is amazing. He’s so wonderful to experience live. I’ve seen him more often than most of my music loves. Got the Time is one of his more “punky” tunes. The band Anthrax did a great cover of it. Most people seem to point out the first two, sometimes three, albums. But JJ has had an illustrious career with many brilliant songs. For example ten years and ten albums after his first was Blaze of Glory. The title song, Evil Empire, Discipline … brilliant!! His album Big World has We Can’t Live Together, the amazing Right and Wrong and the beautiful and touching Home Town. I was fortunate to hear him sing this song live a few times. Each time brought tears to my eyes.
So many great lines in this song. So much fun. We have all had an ex that we thought traded down. "they say that looks don't count for much, so there goes your proof"!!!! What a great line. Love this song. glad you enjoyed it.
Graham Maby has played bass for Joe Jackson almost his entire career. He is an amazing bass player. Joe has some great music and just loves performing.
The year this came out I got this album, Boston's debut album, and Meatloaf's Bat Out Of Hell album for Christmas. My parents put out the word to my aunts and uncles of what to get for me and they came through big-time, getting me three albums that are now considered classics.
I was lucky enough to see Joe on the 1979 Look Sharp tour at the Palladium in NYC... He is an absolute musical talent and the Palladium was the perfect venue for it.. It was an original Fox theater from the 20's and had great acoustics (and had comfy seats)...
I love how it gives Jay a 90s vibe when this was from 1979, lol. I'm not always a huge fan of covers but Sugar Ray had a it with their cover in 2003. You want quirky, check out Mad At You!!
There are many great Joe Jackson songs. Another unique British rocker who knocked it out of the park. The U.S. and Britian had an amazing rock and roll love fest. Wish you could have been there. You would have loved it. And it all started with the Blues.
Used to play a lot of Joe Jackson when we were on Exercise in the Army 🙂 Happy Ending and It’s different for girls, but Stepping Out which you have already reviewed was our Go to Song. 🤘😎🎸💀✊
Great reaction! Glad you liked this one! Maybe try 'Sunday Papers' or 'Look Sharp' . He was one of those cool 80's guys who didn't really fit any one genre. Some would morph into punk or new wave or reggae or whatever. The Clash and Elvis Costello were great examples of that. No rules back then!
Joe Jackson was considered a part of the “Second British Invasion” of late seventies/early eighties synth-pop and a contemporary of artists like “Elvis Costello” and “Graham Parker”, and you can hear it in this song.
Joe used to live down the street from me in NYC… used to see him around the neighborhood. Talented guy, but never looked too friendly… He did a great album of Louis Jordan covers from the 1930’ calleds Jumpin Jive
Just wanted to drop this...Joe Jackson has an awesome jazz album called Jumpin' Jive. Anybody who likes big band, swing and/or Joe Jackson will like this album.
When Joe Jackson’s first album came out, I played it constantly . . and continued to follow JJ’s awesome development over the next 4+ decades. His second album was released shortly after his first and I😢 couldn’t get enough of the song On the Radio. I Saw him perform every time he came to NYC. There was a period where he wanted to stop writing lyrics, he got so serious about music composition. Glad he came back to, or stayed with, song writing because he’s very skilled at that. His piano playing is amazing. He’s so wonderful to experience live. I’ve seen him more often than most of my music loves. Most people seem to point out the first two, sometimes three, albums. But JJ has had an illustrious career with many brilliant songs. For example ten years and ten albums after his first was Blaze of Glory. The title song, Evil Empire, Discipline … brilliant!! His album Big World has We Can’t Live Together, the amazing Right and Wrong and the beautiful and touching Home Town. I was fortunate to hear him sing this song live a few times. Each time brought tears to my eyes. I can continue to point to many brilliant songs over the years. Instead I suggest that you jump somewhat chronologically into the deep rabbit hole that is the genius of Joe Jackson.
