19-04-2026, 11:51
JOE JACKSON ~ Hope and Fury
![[Image: 250px-Joe_Jackson_Hope_and_Fury_2026_album_cover.jpg]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/cf/Joe_Jackson_Hope_and_Fury_2026_album_cover.jpg/250px-Joe_Jackson_Hope_and_Fury_2026_album_cover.jpg)
I have a love hate relationship with Joe Jackson’s music. I’m reluctantly admiring of his ability to shapeshift, his sheer musicality and absolute pithiness. He is unabashedly and entirely his own brand, although exactly what that is remains unclear! Eclectic doesn’t begin to describe him and he seems to do it all with great gusto, from jazz to pop, to classical and beyond. The fact is that he really can pen a tune, whether or not one likes his style. He never denies his working class roots, quite the opposite, which is refreshing in a terribly class conscious society, and in truth, I found at least half of this album listenable, if not downright earwormworthy, in some instances.
Even if it’s outside of my regular choice of listening, the quality presentation and execution goes an awfully long way. He is clever, a consummate professional, and still sounding remarkably strong at 71. He’s obviously having a bit of a go here, about a few topics, which is all good – that’s what musos have done since time immemorial, and I think he speaks some incontrovertible truths, even if he IS on his soapbox. Also, he has earned the right to say as he pleases and critics be damned, IMHO.
Two that stay with me … (can't seem to insert a playable link)
“End of the Pier” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBZKC4CTc_0
“Made God Laugh” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULfVgODPa2s
I have a love hate relationship with Joe Jackson’s music. I’m reluctantly admiring of his ability to shapeshift, his sheer musicality and absolute pithiness. He is unabashedly and entirely his own brand, although exactly what that is remains unclear! Eclectic doesn’t begin to describe him and he seems to do it all with great gusto, from jazz to pop, to classical and beyond. The fact is that he really can pen a tune, whether or not one likes his style. He never denies his working class roots, quite the opposite, which is refreshing in a terribly class conscious society, and in truth, I found at least half of this album listenable, if not downright earwormworthy, in some instances.
Even if it’s outside of my regular choice of listening, the quality presentation and execution goes an awfully long way. He is clever, a consummate professional, and still sounding remarkably strong at 71. He’s obviously having a bit of a go here, about a few topics, which is all good – that’s what musos have done since time immemorial, and I think he speaks some incontrovertible truths, even if he IS on his soapbox. Also, he has earned the right to say as he pleases and critics be damned, IMHO.
Two that stay with me … (can't seem to insert a playable link)
“End of the Pier” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBZKC4CTc_0
“Made God Laugh” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULfVgODPa2s
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." ~ Bill Watterson