Summer in the City: Live in New York

by

Joe Jackson

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Joe Jackson is no stranger to recording live, already providing a 2cd live set and the recorded live "big world." This cd is a real treat for fans of his musical style before his orchestral meanderings of the last decade. The arrangements are spare, just Jackon's piano, Graham Maby on bass and Gary Burke on drums. But the songs themselves are full and rich and fully realized.

Nearly half the songs on the disc are covers, all of them good choices that are well-executed. Standouts include Steely Dan's "King of the World" (wish that Fagen's voice sounded as good these days as Jackson's), a catchy "Summer in the City" and a delicate and lovely "Eleanor Rigby."

The highlights of this disc are his reworkings of his own songs, especially "Another World" and my favorite "It's Different for Girls."

It's really wonderful to see that almost 25 years after the release of "I'm the Man" that Joe Jackson still is. This disc couldn't be any tighter, and the song choices and musicianship displayed make this a CD worthy of anyone's collection.

OK, so this isn't "Night And Day," but it is still a fine listen. I love the way Joe has re-interpreted his songs over the years in the live setting. Who wants to hear the same songs played live, note-for-note, anyway? That has always been my criticism of live albums, in general. For me, the only song that doesn't benefit from this 'trio' treatment is "Down to London." I wish I had been to this show. The playing is tight, and I can close my eyes and imagine that I'm there. When Joe does a live album, or when you see him perform live, it's always a fresh experience. I enjoyed his "Symphony No. 1" as well, but it's not the kind of disc that stands up to repeated listens the way a pop disc does. I think all Joe fans would agree that even 'Average Joe' is still better that 90% of everything else that is out there.