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Known to most for the ultra-sophisticated pop of "Night And Day," Joe Jackson began his solo career with this eclectic gem, released in 1979 by A&M under the happy production of David Kershenbaum, probably one of the few people in the world incapable of pronouncing his own surname correctly.
Rightly compared to early Costello, he did not shy away from ska, rockabilly, and reggae digressions (in homeopathic doses), thus attracting not only the admiration of numerous pub-rockers but also of those who were frantically consuming the first two LPs of the contemporary Police.
Completing the (musical) picture are some new wave sounds, obligatory at the time, that make the album vibrant and relevant even today.
The variety of the work is well encapsulated in songs like "One More Time," with its irresistible chorus, the ska tunes "Fools In Love" and "Sunday Papers," and the pseudo R&B "Baby Stick Around." The extremes of the CD are on one side the almost-punk "Throw It Away" and "Got The Time" (the peak of the album, later brilliantly remade by Anthrax) and on the other, the melodic "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" Joe Jackson's most played single on the radio.
The other tracks, although far from mediocrity, have fewer noble qualities.
In times like these, where most bands are content to tend to their own small gardens or produce interesting but indigestible stylistic crossovers, it's mandatory to (re)discover an artist like Joe Jackson, one of the best exponents, alongside Graham Parker and the aforementioned names, of what we might term "art punk."
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
02 Sunday Papers (04:19)
Mother doesn't go out any more
Just sits at home and rolls her spastic eyes
But every weekend through the door
Come words of wisdom from the world outside
If you want to know about the bishop and the actress
If you want to know how to be a star
If you want to know about the stains on the mattress
You can read it in the Sunday papers, Sunday papers
Mother's wheelchair stays out in the hall
Why should she go out when the TV's on
Whatever moves beyond these walls
She'll know the facts when Sunday comes along
If you want to know about the man gone bonkers
If you want to know how to play guitar
If you want to know about any other suckers
You can read it in the Sunday papers, read it in the Sunday papers
Sunday papers don't ask no questions
Sunday papers don't get no lies
Sunday papers don't raise objections
Sunday papers ain't got no eyes
Brother's heading that way now I guess
He just read something made his face turn blue
Well I got nothing against the press
They wouldn't print it if it wasn't true
If you want to know about the gay politician
If you want to know how to drive your car
If you want to know about the new sex position
You can read it in the Sunday papers, read it in the Sunday papers
Sunday papers don't ask no questions
Sunday papers don't get no lies
Sunday papers don't raise objections
Sunday papers ain't got no eyes
Sunday papers don't ask no questions
Sunday papers don't get no lies
Sunday papers don't raise objections
Sunday papers ain't got no eyes
Read all about it, Sunday papers
Read all about it, Sunday papers
Read all about it, Sunday papers
Read all about it, Sunday papers
Read all about it, Sunday papers
Get your Sunday paper, get your Sunday paper, get your
Read all about it, Sunday papers
Get your Sunday paper, get your Sunday paper, get your
Read all about it, Sunday papers
07 Look Sharp! (03:22)
Big shot, tell you what
Tell me what goes on around here
Go on and get me in the corner
Smoke my cigarettes and drink my beer
Tell me that this world is no place for the weak
Then you can look me in the eye
And tell me if you see a trace of fear
You gotta look sharp
You gotta look sharp
And you gotta have no illusions
Just keep going your way looking over your shoulder
Okay, what you say
Tell me what they're wearing this year
Go on and laugh at me 'cause you don't see
That I got something going right here
Say I'm just a dreamer, say I'm just a kid
Well ace, shut your face
Maybe you will see or hear
You gotta look sharp
You gotta look sharp
And you gotta have no illusions
Just keep going your way looking over your shoulder
Big shot, thanks a lot
Gotta go, it's getting late
I got a date with my tailor now
Thanks for putting me so straight
Tell me how they robbed me blind on every street
But check your watch and wallet now
Before I go and you're too late
You gotta look sharp
You gotta look sharp
And you gotta have no illusions
Just keep going your way looking over your shoulder
Yeah
09 (Do the) Instant Mash (03:11)
In the supermarket there is music while you work
It drives you crazy, sends you screaming for the door
Work there for a year or two and you can't get to like it
I don't work in supermarkets anymore
It's so easy, it's so easy
Grab can, lift arm, stack can, turn around
It's so easy, it's so easy
Do the instant mash, do the instant mash
Do the instant mash, make an instant smash
Doin' the instant mash
In the Discorama there's a DJ tries to charm ya
They got flashin' lights to dance to if you're shy
Red for treble, green for bass, they're wired in sequence round the place
You wait till ten, then try take off your tie
It's so easy, it's so easy
Lift hand, flick wrist, drop hand, turn around
It's so easy, it's so easy
Do the instant mash, do the instant mash
Do the instant mash, make some instant cash
Doin' the instant mash
In the cinema tonight they sit and watch the robots fight
The human beings don't have much to say
Robots making lots of cash and all they eat is instant mash
Oh wouldn't you just love to be that way?
It's so easy, it's so easy
Heat it, beat it, eat it, turn around
It's so easy, it's so easy
Do the instant mash, do the instant mash
Do the instant mash, make an instant smash
Doin' the instant mash
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