Joe Jackson "Rain" (Rykodisc)
By Dim
Wednesday. Apr 02, 10:46 AM
Will not disappoint the fans.

I gotta admit that I went into listening to this disc a little put off by Joe Jackson. I mean, the way he treated those kids… Marlon, Jermaine, Michael, Jackie, and Tito… oh, he was SO hard on Tito. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the case and saw a middle-aged white guy with a buzz cut. Quite the change from being portrayed by Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington in a VH1 movie. I guess what they say is true: people really can change.

Truth be told, my previous exposure to the real Joe Jackson pretty much began and ended in 1982 after the Night and Day album, which admittedly had three really excellent singles (“Real Men,” later covered by Tori Amos, “Steppin’ Out,” and “Breaking Us in Two”). As a 12 year-old kid, I do remember liking the dude’s voice, his piano playing, and the fact that he had one of the three videos shown in constant rotation on the seedling MTV (along with “Video Killed the Radio Star” and After The Fire’s “Der Kommisar,” featuring the tragically underrated, late great Falco on vocals). Then again, I also liked Men At Work.

Rain represents Jackson’s first disc of original material in four years and, since it is so far off of what I am listening to these days, I was actually pretty excited to give it a listen. As the piano-driven first notes of “Invisible Man” play on, it’s pretty easy to hear that Jackson still has it, both vocally and musically. The style hasn’t changed that much. Jackson’s songs are mature and classy sounding. There’s not much of an edge, unlike his very early work, but as a 50-something, Jackson might be content on staying in his comfort zone rather than blazing new paths.

Jackson’s backing band here is stellar. I was immediately grabbed by the excellent and tasteful bass parts played by Graham Maby. “Invisible Man” is actually a great encapsulation of the entire disc. Very strong pop sensibilities, almost too perfect in execution, with strong musicianship and songwriting. And if you can get past Jackson’s over-utilized falsetto, you might find a lot to like with Rain.

It’s hard to imagine some teenager throwing this on and appreciating it for what it is. Not quite Sting-like in its Adult Contemporary-ness, but something that those with more refined musical tastes and a comfort with solid, if unspectacular, offerings would like.

It’s as obvious to hear Jackson’s contemporaries in his songs (“Too Tough” sounds like the bizarre, pop ballad offspring of Tori Amos and Ben Folds) as it is to hear his influences (“Citizen Sane” has an early ‘70s Elton John stomp to it, again augmented wonderfully by Maby’s bass and Dave Houghton’s perfect percussion), yet Jackson’s vocals are his signature and his unique stamp on all of the 10 tracks here. Some of the ballads suffer from a dated sound, however. “Wasted Time” is elegant, but makes you feel like you took a time capsule back to 1978 (not really in a good way) and, again, Jackson’s falsetto is just a tad too much The almost six-minute “Solo (So Low),” though flawlessly played, meanders a bit too much in a free-form style and never really sucks the listener into its sad beauty. But when Jackson decides to let his buzzcut down, the disc can be downright enjoyable. “King Pleasure Time” is toe-tapping in a GOOD retro way and “Good Bad Boy” is definitely something that the aforementioned Folds probably wish he wrote.

Rain’s greatest success, other than welcoming Jackson back to the scene, is the poignant and gorgeous ballad that closes the disc, “A Place in the Rain.” A captivating melody, heartening and heartbreaking lyrics, and an ever-tasteful arrangement easily makes it one of the disc’s best.

Rain will undoubtedly be a welcomed sound to those who have followed the talented Jackson’s career over the years. Again, it is a solid, yet not spectacular offering. I’m not sure how many new fans this will produce or if it even has that aim, but you will find a handful of songs on it on my iPod. And I might find myself going back to the days of Look Sharp! and Night and Day and grabbing some songs from yesteryear as well, as Rain called me back to the time where strong vocals and good musicianship built the foundation of my current musical tastes. And who knows? Maybe Rain will take off for Joe and a biopic will be in order. I hear Juan Epstein is available.
www.joejackson.com
www.rykodisc.com

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Dim

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