Joe Jackson – Hope and Fury (earMUSIC) (13th Floor Album Review)
Joe Jackson is back! Actually, he never left, as he’s been making records on a regular basis ever since Look Sharp! got our attention back in 1979.
But Hope and Glory…Jackson’s 24th album…sounds like a comeback, as his energy and creativity seem to be bursting from every track.
Jackson himself calls it a return to his “own mainstream”.
The 9 new compositions that make up Hope and Fury were recorded in Berlin and New York with co-producer Patrick Dillett and a tight little band featuring long-time bassist Graham Maby (his bass lines helped Look Sharp! stand out among other punk/new wave wannabes back in the day) along with guitarist Teddy Kumpel, drummer Doug Yowell and, most interestingly, Peruvian percussionist Paulo Stagnaro.
The Latin lilt added to tracks like I’m Not Sorry and Do Do Do is infectious and the clean, uncluttered production feels organic and immediate.
Jackson himself, now age 71, has always sounded…mature…so now the rest of us have caught up with him.
And then there’s the songs.
Joe Jackson has always been a storyteller…think back to Is She Really Going Out With Him or It’s Different For Girls…and he still is.
In fact, Fabulous People sounds like the natural successor to It’s Different For Girls and After All This Time is classic Joe Jackson with its ascending keyboard run and passionate vocal delivery.
Hope and Fury is one of those albums that just gets better and better as it moves from track to track.
Like his contemporary, David Byrne, Joe Jackson seems to have come to terms with aging with little effort while simultaneously making some of the best music of his career.
Marty Duda
Hope and Fury is out now via earMUSIC
CONNECT WITH JOE JACKSON
Instagram | Facebook | Website
