Joe Jackson

Joe Jackson
Strike Up the Band

Joe Jackson rode in on the New Wave of UK rock in the late 70’s, replete with sharp suits, sharp attitude and sharp musical hooks. His 1979 debut album, Look Sharp, was a tour de force of post-punk rock musicianship with piano man Jackson leading an ace band made up of drummer Dave Houghton, bassist Graham Maby and guitarist Gary Sanford. The band was the rock equivalent of a well-made clock, with each musician playing an integral part in pumping out Jackson’s short, punky pop gems, including the hit "Is She Really Going Out With Him?"

It was clear from the start, however, that Jackson, a classically-trained musician and a multi-instrumentalist, had bigger fish to fry. After another edgy pop album with the band (I’m the Man), Jackson set out to prove his stylistic eclecticism: 1980’s Beat Crazy delved into reggae; Jumpin’ Jive attacked swing; Night and Day explored jazz and sophisticated pop and yielded Jackson two hits, "Steppin’ Out" and "Always Something Breaking Us in Two." Throughout the ‘80s Jackson continued to pursue his idiosyncratic muse, recording albums that moved further away from traditional "pop." He also scored the music for two films, Mike’s Murder and Francis Ford Coppola's Tucker. In the 90’s, he began recording classical music and won a Grammy for 1999’s Symphony No. 1.

In 2000, Jackson released Night & Day II, a sequel of sort to his city-themed earlier album. Then, almost to his own surprise, in 2003 Jackson decided to reform his original band. The four musicians discovered they had lost none of their original chemistry and went into the studio to record an album’s worth of new material. Volume Four is a stunning comeback for the group. Songs such as "Take It Like A Man," "Awkward Age," "Love at First Light" and "Dirty Martini" showcase Jackson’s powers of melding sardonic lyrics, emotional depth and musical sophistication.

In January, before heading out to the Sundance Film Festival to perform at ASCAP’s Music Café, Jackson spoke to Playback’s Erik Philbrook about his musical adventures over the years.

I know you studied music a lot as a child. Was it something your parents got you into or was it something that you took to because you had a gift?

My parents were not particularly musical. I think that’s the reason why music had an appeal; it was something that I was discovering all by myself.

What instrument did you pick up first?

Violin was my first instrument. What really started me seriously on music was the fact that at my school they started a violin class that took place during the sports periods. I just wanted to escape from sports because when I got on the soccer pitch, they used to kick me instead of the ball. I just hated it so much I wanted to do anything to escape.

You went on to study music seriously for quite some time. At what point did you become interested in pop music? And what did you like?

I liked a lot of pop music as a kid. All the British stuff, you know, the Beatles, the Stones and a lot of the more obscure bands such as The Searchers. I would say my roots -- if I have any -- are the Beatles and Beethoven.

As a young musician interested in both pop and more serious music, did you feel pulled in two directions?

No I didn’t. I was very curious about all areas of music. In a way I think it was good that I grew up in a provincial town among people who to a great extent couldn’t care less about any kind of music. As a young teenager studying music, I didn’t really know that it was uncool to be interested in classical music and to learn to read music and play your instrument and practice and so on. I wasn’t hampered by hipness.

When did you first start seriously writing songs?

I was probably in my late teens when I was playing in bands.

How would you characterize those songs?

Bad (laughs). Music came to me easily, whereas the lyrics were very hard. It wasn’t until I got into my early 20s when I started writing the stuff that was going to end up on my first album that I hit on a way of writing lyrics. Then my songwriting came together and that became the main focus. Then I felt like, yeah, this is where I belong -- in the pop rock world.

Your first album, Look Sharp, has such a distinctive band sound. How much of that character was the band and how much of it were the songs themselves?

It’s all about the arrangements. I’ve often described it as being a bit like writing a play. Like a wrote a play for four characters and I cast the play with people that I thought could play those characters well.

Your album, Night and Day, is considered by some to be one of your best. Can you describe what this album represented to you at the time you created it?

I think that after splitting up the first band, I wanted a fresh approach, and I wanted to get away from the guitar, bass, drums thing and feature the keyboards more. I was also interested in Latin music and I wanted to see if I could bring in some of those kinds of rhythms without trying to make a Latin album.

There was also the fact that I’d fallen in love with New York and I wanted to record it there and give it a New York vibe. I also remember thinking that the ideas I had were not really in step with what was happening at the time on radio. I felt very nervous about it. And I just thought, you know what, I’m going to make a record that I really like, that I can be proud of. I really half expected it to fail. Turned out to be my most successful album.

After all these years of writing songs, does it get any easier? Do you have more trust in your intuitions?

Yeah, definitely. I never used to revise anything. If it was written, it was done. I didn’t think that much about it. As a result, there are some songs on my early albums that make me cringe when I hear them. Now I think I’ve come about a million miles as a lyricist.

Your fans were so thrilled when you got your original band together last year. Did you write the new songs on Volume Four specifically with them in mind?

No, I actually had some of the songs already written. I had a whole other concept in mind, which I may still pursue. I’d like to make an album where I play everything myself, but rather than doing it with lots of state of the art technology and making it sound big and perfect, I’d do it in a way that would sound more like what Todd Rundgren or Stevie Wonder did in the ‘70s, when they were playing everything themselves but it was organic.

The thought of reforming the band always seemed to me like cheesy nostalgia. But the idea gradually took hold and the guys were so enthusiastic about it. It just sort of came together. I wouldn’t have done it if we hadn’t made a new album, and if I hadn’t felt it was a strong new album. I think it’s the best album we’ve done as a band.

BY ERIK PHILBROOK