Joe Jackson - Don't Ask Me (1982)

David Ian Jackson, known professionally as Joe Jackson, was born on 11 August 1954 in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, and was raised in the Paulsgrove area of Portsmouth, where he attended Portsmouth Technical High School. At age 11, he began learning to play the violin, but after a couple of years he switched to the piano, and convinced his father to purchase one for their Paulsgrove council house. He began playing piano in bars when he was 16, and at age 18 he won a scholarship to study musical composition at London's Royal Academy of Music. Jackson's first band, Edward Bear, later renamed themselves Arms and Legs, and released two unsuccessful singles, then dissolved in 1976. Still known as David Jackson during his time with the band, he picked up the nickname "Joe" based on his perceived resemblance to the British television puppet character Joe 90, and at age 20 he legally changed his first name to Joe. After spending some time performing on the cabaret circuit to make money, he recorded a demo in 1978, which was passed to a record producer who signed him to A&M Records. Putting together a band which consisted of Jackson on vocals, Gary Sanford on guitar, Graham Maby on bass, and David Houghton on drums, they released their debut album, 'Look Sharp!' in 1979. It was a mix of rock, melodic jazz, and new wave, and it mined a vein similar to contemporaries Elvis Costello and Graham Parker, and it enjoyed wide critical success, with 'Is She Really Going Out With Him' hitting the Top 30 singles chart on both sides of the Atlantic. The same year Jackson released his second record 'I'm The Man', which followed a similar musical pattern, and despite receiving good, though not as strong, reviews, it did produce Jackson's biggest hit singles in 'It's  Different for Girls', peaking at No. 5 in the UK. In 1980 The Joe Jackson Band released 'Beat Crazy', and the band toured extensively until it broke up at the end of 1980. After The Joe Jackson Band disbanded, Jackson embarked on a solo career with the release of a cover of the Jimmy Cliff classic 'The Harder They Come', backed with two new original tunes. However, instead of continuing this singer/songwriting style he went in a completely different direction, recording 'Jumpin' Jive', an album of old-style swing and blues tunes, including songs by Cab Calloway, Lester Young, Glenn Miller, and Louis Jordan. 

He followed this in 1982 with the 'Night And Day' album, which was his only studio album to chart in the UK and US Top 10. Two singles were released from the record, with both 'Steppin' Out' and 'Breaking Us In Two' becoming US top 20 hits. By 1984, New York had become Jackson's home base, and he recorded 'Body And Soul' there, which was heavily influenced by pop, jazz standards and salsa, and it included the US No. 15 hit single 'You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)'. In 1985, Jackson played piano on Joan Armatrading's album 'Secret Secrets', including the single 'Love by You', and in 1986 he collaborated with Suzanne Vega on the single 'Left Of Center' from the 'Pretty In Pink' soundtrack. His next album, 'Big World', was his first in more than five years that included all-new songs, and it was recorded live in front of an audience that was instructed to remain silent while music was playing. Released in 1986, it was a three-sided double record, with the fourth side consisted of a single centring groove and a label stating "there is no music on this side". The instrumental album 'Will Power' followed in 1987, with heavy classical and jazz influences, and it set the stage for things to come later, although before Jackson left pop behind completely he released two more albums, 'Blaze Of Glory' in 1989 and 'Laughter & Lust' in 1991. In the late 1990s, Jackson expanded into classical music, signing with Sony Classical in 1997, and he released 'Symphony No. 1' in 1999, for which he received a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album in 2001. Since then he has reformed the pop band for the recording of the 'Volume 4' album, and he continues to record and tour, but for me his best period has when he was writing those classic pop songs like 'It's Different For Girls', 'Sunday Papers' and 'Fools In Love', and even the jazz albums have their moments, so this compilation collects together all the non-album singles and b-sides from 1978 to 1982, plus a criminally neglected John Peel session from 1979, and a live cover of Ramones 'I Can't Give You Anything', that they played live after supporting the band on the Detroit leg of that band's 1979 US tour.    

Track listing

01 You Got The Fever (b-side of 'Is She Really Going Out With Him?' 1978)
02 Don't Ask Me (b-side of 'One More Time' 1979)
03 Come On (b-side of 'I'm The Man' 1979)
04 One More Time (John Peel session 1979)
05 Fools In Love (John Peel session 1979)
06 Got The Time (John Peel session 1979)
07 I'm The Man (John Peel session 1979)
08 I Can't Give You Anything (Ramones cover, live Santa Monica 1979)
09 The Harder They Come (single 1980)
10 Out Of Style (b-side of 'The Harder They Come')
11 Tilt (b-side of 'The Harder They Come')
12 Enough Is Not Enough (b-side of 'Mad At You' 1980)
13 Knock Me A Kiss (b-side of 'Jumpin' Jive' 1981)
14 El Blanco (b-side of 'Breaking Us In Two' 1982)

Joe Jackson - Arms And Legs (1979)

In a comment this week, GW asked if I'd ever come across the demo of 'Look Sharp' that Joe Jackson hawked around in 1978, and which led to him getting a record deal with A&M Records. Unfortunately I haven't, but to make up for that here's some early work from Jackson, both before and after he hit the big-time. David Ian Jackson was born in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, and grew up near Portsmouth. He learned to play the violin as a child, but soon switched to piano, and began playing piano in bars at the age of 16. In 1974 he joined his first band, Edward Bear, who secured a recording contract with MAM Records the following year, and on being told that there was already a Canadian group using the name, they first changed it to Edwin Bear, and then to Arms and Legs. Under this name they released three singles on MAM in 1976 and 1977, but had already broken up by the time the third one was released. Because his bandmates decided that he resembled a puppet called Joe (either Joe 90 or Joe Piano - sources vary) they started to call him 'Joe', and although he mainly played piano in the band, he did write and sing one of the single b-sides 'She'll Surprise You'. After he left Arms And Legs he took Mark Andrews (guitar) and Gary Maby (bass) with him to form The Joe Jackson Band, while at the same time becoming pianist and musical director for cabaret act Koffee 'n' Kream, who were starting a tour following their success on UK TV talent show 'Opportunity Knocks'. The money that he made from this enabled him to record a demo album in Portsmouth, which led to the deal with A&M Records, who immediately re-recorded the album professionally and issued it as 'Look Sharp' in 1979. The record was an instant success, boosted by the now-classic single 'Is She Really Going Out With Him?', leading to a request to record a session for the John Peel Show, which was broadcast in February 1979, just one month after the album came out. The 'I'm The Man' album and 'It's Different For Girls' single cemented Jackson's reputation as a major talent, and were the start of a long and varied musical career for him, effortlessly switching between genres on subsequent albums. This collection comprises the five songs released by Arms And Legs, the full John Peel session, and three non-album b-sides from early singles. I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed the first four Arms And Legs recordings, which are all well-crafted songs from Mark Andrews. 

Track listing

01 Heat Of The Night (Arms And Legs single 1976)
02 Good Times (b-side of 'Heat Of The Night')
03 Janie (Arms And Legs single 1976)
04 She'll Surprise You (b-side of 'Janie')
05 Is The Anymore Wine (Arms And Legs single 1977)
06 I'm The Man (John Peel session 1979)
07 Got The Time (John Peel session 1979)
08 Fools In Love (John Peel session 1979)
09 One More Time (John Peel session 1979)
10 Don't Ask Me (b-side of 'One More Time' 1979)
11 You Got The Fever (b-side of 'Is She Really Going Out With Him?' 1979)
12 Come On (b-side of 'I'm The Man' 1979)