🎵 AotW Joe Jackson - BEAT CRAZY (SP-4837)

[LPJim]

Joe Jackson
BEAT CRAZY
A&M SP-4837

"This album represents a desperate attempt to make some sense of Rock and Roll. Deep in our hearts, we knew it was doomed to failure. The question remains: Why did we try?"

Joe Jackson - vocals, keyboards, melodica + produced & arranged
Graham Maby - bass, vocals, lead vocal on "Beat Crazy"
Gary Sanford - guitars
Dave Houghton - drums, vocals

SIDE ONE

Beat Crazy 4:16
One to One 3:21
In Every Dream Home (A Nightmare) 4:32
The Evil Eye 3:46
Mad at You 6:00

SIDE TWO

Crime Don't Pay 4:26
Someone Up There 3:47
Battleground 2:33
Biology 4:34
Pretty Boys 3:41
Fit 4:47

All selections written by Joe Jackson & published by Albion Music Ltd. Administered in the U.S. and Canada by Almo Music Corp. (ASCAP)

Sleeve concept by Joe Jackson. Artwork by Willy Smax. Photography by Anton Corbjin

Reissued as SP/CD 3241

Entered the Billboard Top 200 on Nov. 8, 1980, peaked at # 41 and charted for 13 weeks

JB

 

[Rudy]

This one is a rather interesting entry in Jackson's catalog--the original Quartet picks up some reggae influence on many of the tracks. Yet you have one of those classic piano-fueled relationship songs in "One To One", one of my favorite JJ tracks of all time. Definitely one of the important releases in his catalog.

 

[Mr Bill]

Jackson's musical evolution is nothing less than amazing. This reggae/ska-tinged, 50s bop-style album was a perfect bridge between his first two straight new wave rockers and his next big band homage... I think I have a spare copy somewhere...

My favorite tune here is "Evil Eye" with it's homage to the fine I.R.S. band The Cramps: "I've got the Cramps on my stereo."

 

[beatcrazy]

I guess in regards to my forum name and avatar, I should post a comment on this album too. In my opinion, it is surely somewhat underrated, even by Joe Jackson himself. There are several songs, that show a different twist compared to the first two albums "Look Sharp!" and "I'm The Man" and make this third Joe Jackson album very listenable. The excellent and original Joe Jackson Band split up after the European tour following the album release at the end of 1980 (they reformed for another album and brilliant one-off reunion tour "Volume 4" in 2002/2003). Only bassist Graham Maby worked with JJ (almost) ever since.

An unusual and totally forgotten tune is "Battleground", which was dedicated to Linton Kwesi Johnson - I always wished that someone made a contemporary club remix of this. One of my personal favourites next to "One To One" is the closing track "Fit". Excellent lyrics about sexual minorities here!
Also worth mentioning are the co-lead vocals by Graham Maby on the title track and the brilliant cover art by Willy Smax.

 

[Rudy]

I agree with beatcrazy in that this is an underrated album, and it has taken awhile to grow on me. It is more complex than the first two Quartet albums for sure--a lot of it unfolds after multiple listenings. A song I may not have liked initially ends up hooking me in some way.

I missed out on that Volume 4 tour unfortunately. Never have seen JJ live either, and that would have been ideal. The Aftermath CD showcases what I missed--it was a great lineup. Love the approach to "Steppin' Out"--he never ceases reinventing that song.

 

[Rudy]

I think I have a spare copy somewhere...

 

[AM Matt]

The song "One To One" reminds me of "THE EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM"!! Matt Clark Sanford, MI

 

[LPJim]

My first and only time to see a live Joe Jackson concert was in May 2005. He and Todd Rundgren toured together that year and made a stop at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville TN. Joe played first; just him and his piano. It would be nice to see him in a more intimate venue with his band.
JB

 

[jfiedler17]

Ah, I love this one! I agree with all of you that this is an awfully underrated album. "One to One" is the highlight for me (what an amazing ballad!), but there's quite a few other songs on here I keep coming back to as well: the title track is an awfully fun song (and a rare chance to hear Graham Maby sing!); "In Every Dream Home," "The Evil Eye," and "Mad at You" all each have their share of hooks. And "Biology"'s a pretty fun and clever song as well. Not as strong an album as Look Sharp! or Night and Day, of course, which are both masterpieces, but I actually prefer this one to I'm the Man, especially for that one-two opening punch of "Beat Crazy" and "One to One." (I think Look Sharp! - with "One More Time" and "Sunday Papers" - is the only album of his to have a better one-two opening punch than this album.) Nice to see so many other fans of this one here!

- Jeff F.

(Incidentally, sorry to be resurrecting so many older threads the last few days, but it's been years since I was last on this site and so I've been curious to backpedal through the last few months of threads to see if I missed anything that especially excited me. Hope you don't mind!)