Joe Jackson
Fast Forward

"Fast forward" is the latest studio album (at least until today) by Joe Jackson, his 20th to be precise (in almost 40 years of activity), including 3 cover albums.

It is, as usual with Joe Jackson, a very peculiar album. It's quite long, essentially a double album sold as a single album.

It essentially consists of 4 sides and the total duration of the work exceeds 70 minutes.

In terms of "idea," it somewhat resumes the "cosmopolitan project" already launched in 1986 with the album "Big World," although that album had only 3 sides and lasted a bit less, around 60 minutes; moreover, it was recorded live with an audience present, even though the songs were brand new. "Big World" was a half-successful record, containing great songs on one side and on the other side tracks that were somewhat "fillers" (a rare thing in the production of the great English songwriter).

In "Fast forward" (but as in most of his albums), Joe Jackson doesn't miss a song. We are facing a great album (as often happens in the discography of the English maestro with sad eyes, as he was described by Andrea Spinelli in a review of one of his concerts in Florence, in 1994).

From "Rain" (another great album from 2008), several years have passed (even though there was the beautiful Duke Ellington cover project, "The Duke," in between). In any case, "Fast forward" has no weak points, each song is a world of its own, as always in the English author's works, each song has its own style, completely different from the song before it and the one after it, yet overall manages to have its own unity.

There are hints of Joe Jackson's past, certainly, but Jackson's creativity, despite being 61, shows no sign of faltering and always manages to surprise you with unexpected sonic and vocal solutions.

It feels like being in front of a young musician who still has a great desire to make music and explore every genre (something the author has already done throughout his career, transitioning from classical to jazz, from pop to punk, from ballad to hard rock, from salsa to Latin music and more).

The absolute masterpiece of the album is "The blue time," a slow, hypnotic piece of great beauty, ranking alongside the author's best works (reaching the dizzying heights of immortal masterpieces like "Real Men" and "A slow song," year of grace 1982).

Other tracks that knock you out are the opening and long "Fast forward," a masterpiece where Joe Jackson's vocals stretch over a sonic carpet made with an electronic base and Regina Carter's violin weaving melancholic sound patterns under Joe's masterful piano touches. "If it wasn't for you" is a perfect and decidedly beautiful pop song. Drums, piano, bass, electric guitar, and voice travel together in a song that flows fast as an arrow.

"See no evil" is a cover of a Television track. An energetic and high-quality rock track, with a guitar that lays down piercing solos and Joe Jackson's voice doing the rest.

"A little smile" is a pop-rock track with a tight rhythmic base, with the voice stretching over it like fine velvet, piano and violins weaving high-end pop craftsmanship patterns.

"Far away" is a duet with a thirteen-year-old boy with an angelic and feeble voice. In the second part, Joe Jackson's voice comes into play. The delicate and slow sonic carpet and the voices of the two protagonists carry forward a track of great charm, ethereal and suspended, and of great emotional impact. The second masterpiece of the album.

"Poor thing" is another decidedly beautiful track, like a sort of cry and at the same time an anthem of hope to regain control of our lives without having to be bombarded daily by the sad news of death coming from everywhere (the "poor things" in the title indeed). Joe Jackson's voice is tense and dramatic, and the emotionally rising refrain is of great impact, interwoven with woodwinds chasing each other in a particular pop song infused with almost jazz sounds.

The following track, "Junkie Diva," is also beautiful, a hard and energetic pop-rock, just as hard and icy is the subsequent and beautiful

"If I could see your face." The track speaks of an Iranian girl who was killed by her brothers because she was with a German man. Joe drew inspiration from a real news event that occurred in Berlin (the city where he has lived since 2007). It is a rock track that grows minute by minute until an instrumental finale that is pure genius.

Then comes the major masterpiece "The Blue Time," which I've already discussed. Other quite beautiful tracks follow, and the finale is entrusted to "Ode To Joy," the most original song of the album, along with the initial "Fast Forward."

"Ode to Joy" is another excellent track. It's an ode to rediscover joy and not be afraid to be happy when we are. It seems obvious, but sometimes many people are afraid to show joy. And I believe it's true. An ode, therefore, to let ourselves go and enjoy life. The sonic texture almost feels like a Brazilian dance on which Joe Jackson's voice sings with the usual inspiration and perfection.

In conclusion, Joe Jackson proves to still have a heart as big as the universe, and this album stands as evidence of it, moving fast towards the next album.