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Rating: First of all, why Joe Jackson??... Because I adore him, I find him an underrated genius and because there's not much about him on DeBaser.... Why "Big World"??... Because it's the last vinyl I played, it moved me like the first time and I wanted to share it!! Let's start by saying that although you'll never hear screams or applause, this is a live album with unreleased tracks, in the vinyl version and a double, recorded on only three sides. Another peculiarity is the recording directly done on a 2-track digital master, without subsequent mixing, meaning it's a faithful, untouched live recording. Joe Jackson recounted the difficulty of explaining to the audience not to applaud until the end of the song and to remain as silent as possible to ensure a clean recording, but also how the interaction with the audience led to a warmer and more spontaneous performance compared to the studio, since these were unreleased tracks.
"Big World" (1986) comes after "Body and Soul", perhaps the most beautiful album by J.J., but perhaps too anticipated and too little considered after the masterpiece "Night & Day". This is the album that acts as a watershed for yet another change in direction by J.J., gathering all the musical elements previously expressed and heralding a shift to a slightly too light and commercial pop/rock like Blaze of Glory and Laughter & Lust. In JJ's career, there are punk albums, new wave, pop-rock with jazz influences, even a classical music album, swing & soul.... Multifaceted, an exquisite musician, great live, and this album is proof of that.
"Wild West" opens the album, a wonderful ballad, and when the bass and drums raise the tone, it's like hearing the British JJ of the early days again........ The bass takes the lead again in "Right & Wrong", with a text clearly referencing politics, reminiscent of the previous "Body & Soul", ... Once more, new age sounds in "Precious Time".... Piano and little else for the beautiful "Shanghai Sky"....... Then the incredible "Survival", a mix of genres supported by an excellent rhythm section.... We want to bring in some jazz and fusion, and then comes the stunning "Soul Kiss"..... No comment for the gem, in my opinion, of the album, "Man in the Street", a track that closes the third and last side.
A very special album, for an absolutely unique artist.
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By DavidWillpower
In a world where more and more “stars” seem often created at a table, with artificial studio recordings, Joe decides to record new songs live, without any post-recording touch-ups.
Not a perfect album, but still a work of quality and absolutely worth listening to over and over (and maybe many times).
