Joe Jackson Band - Beat Crazy

 

 "Beat Crazy" was the third album released by Joe Jackson but the first that was credited to the Joe Jackson Band. Both "Look Sharp !" and "I'm The Man" were intelligent new wave/power pop which sold well and received much critical acclaim, with Joe Jackson being bracketed with Elvis Costello and Graham Parker. Two ballads, "Is She Really Going Out With Him ?" and "It's Different For Girls" were top twenty hits.

"Beat Crazy" didn't sell well, with explanations ranging from that there was no hit from the album to draw in sales, to the shift to a more reggae/ska influenced style of music put off potential buyer. The sticker on the cover shows that WH Smith had discounted the price from £4.99 to £2.49 to £1.25 to get rid of their stock when I purchased my copy !

I can't remember whether I liked this album or not. More confusion set in when I looked at the track listing as I could have sworn that "Kinda Kute" was on this album, but that song is actually on "I'm The Man". The only track I could recall how it went was "Pretty Boys" and I had a vague recollection of the chant "Beat Crazy" in the title track.

Having now sat through all eleven songs in one sitting my reaction was one of disappointment. Whilst there are plenty of well-crafted and clever lyrics, there is a shortage of killer tunes. It is dark and mostly moans and complaints. Joe certainly seemed to have a lot of anger to be released.

Being generous, there are 5 songs that I could bear to listen to again, whilst I have already forgotten the other six. The first two songs on side one are about as good as it gets.

"Beat Crazy" starts with a scream over the Duane Eddy style guitar intro. A reggae beat kicks in with the melodic verses sung by bass player Graham Maby with Jackson providing support. Its a sort of call and response duet but not in any sense that the B-52s might recognise. Lyrically, the youth of the day are either too busy enjoying themselves or too drugged up to fight for any cause. "Smoking LSD and such, it must be the reason why they can't talk much" & "If the Russians should ever come, they'll all be beating bongo drums"

Totally out of context with the rest of the album, "One To One" is a soulful piano ballad where Joe is frustrated over his lady's good causes and activism that leave her little time for him. "You were at the Monday Club or a Communist demonstration, who cares. You're going somewhere everyday, vegetarians against the Klan, every women against every man" & "I agree with what you say, but I don't want to wear a badge, I don't wanna wave a banner like you". I can almost see The Beautiful South singing this song.

There are three reasonable songs on side two. "Someone Up There" has The Jam style pulsating bass, and a pleasant backing vocals in the chorus.

"Biology" has a menacing Stranglers type bass riff leading into a ska beat with pounding drums. After "Hello, I'm Back again, I haven't seen you since I don't know when", Jackson tries to explain his being unfaithful is an act of nature, "It's not a process controlled by the brain" only to get stung in the third verse with the role reversal from the girlfriend "Now I feel no shame about Dave and Tony and Phil and James". There are hints of "Is she only going out with him" in the lead up to when Joe sings "B.I.O.L.O.G.Y can't you see ?"

"Pretty Boys" is a lively ska song with extensive use of a melodica in the lengthy outro. It sounds a lot like Bad Manners. 

Of the rest ? Well, "In Every Dream Home ( A Nightmare )" is vaguely in the style of dub. It is slow and tries to conjure a creepy atmosphere, but despite some decent bass playing, it's terrible, and virtually unlistenable

"The Evil Eye" has an uptempo, ska beat but is very dull.

At over 6 minutes long "Mad At You" is forgettable, with an over long dub reggae coda. The first half of the song is an angry rush over a reggae/ska rhythm. Apparently the album version is twice as long as the single, which was the first song released from the album. Unsurprisingly, it failed to chart.

"Crime Don't Pay" sounds unfinished. It begins was some more jaunty Duane Eddy style guitar,  whimsical piano and organ for a 1 minute 20 intro. Jackson sings for just under a minute after which there is long jazzy piano, organ and synthesizer outro.

"Battleground" is simply embarrassing. It is mostly spoken words as dub poetry but apart from it being an awful song, there is an over use of the "n" word even if prefixed by either black or white. I don't know if Jackson was trying to be controversial but if it was released today there would be an outcry and probably banned. There is a dedication to Linton Kwesi Johnson, who presumably would have been aghast to be associated with this drivel.

"Fit"  is a slow dirge about not fitting in. On the positive side, it has a nice guitar motif and a reasonable guitar solo, the only one on the entire LP. It is the best of the rest, but the bar isn't very high.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Beat Crazy
2. One To One
3. In Every Dream Home ( A Nightmare )
4. The Evil Eye
5. Mad At You

Side Two :

1. Crime Don't Pay
2. Someone Up There
3. Battleground
4. Biology
5. Pretty Boys
6. Fit

Released 1980
UK Chart Position : 42

Singles :

Mad At You ( - 1980 )
One To One ( - 1980 )
Beat Crazy ( - 1981 )

 

INXS - Kick

 

A work colleague of mine emigrated to Australia. When he returned to the UK for a short visit he was raving about this fantastic band from Australia. Stuck in traffic on the way to the pub he insisted on playing the tape he had. It was the "Listen Like Thieves" album by INXS. 

We only had to endure 5 or 6 songs before we arrived at our destination, and at the time I was generally underwhelmed by what seemed to be fairly cliched and formulaic music. Maybe I was impatient to have a drink, as hearing all three singles off the "Listen Like Thieves LP many years later I quite liked them !

The one exception was "Kissing The Dirt" which I thought was a well structured song, nicely played and with a good vocal. It was released as a single in the UK but received hardly any airplay and didn't chart. When I saw it being sold off cheap in my local record store I bought it !

Kick was the 6th album released by INXS, and their breakthrough effort in the UK, with the music press making Mick Jagger references about Micheal Hutchence but that was probably more due to his looks and dancing rather than his voice !

After several tracks were released as singles I decided to buy the album. At the time I thought it was really good and played it a lot but looking at the track listing the only non-single I could now remember was "Tiny Daggers"

The opening track "Guns In The Sky" is probably the least commercial song on "Kick". A two chord anti-war song, it starts with some annoying grunts before proceeding into a heavy metal number. It sounds more like their compatriots AC/DC !

Three singles follow. "New Sensation" with its toe-tapping funky riff and a sax solo is next. It's been called a song to dance to when no-one is looking !

"Devil Inside" has a drum intro, a great guitar riff, and guitar solo and there is another drum intro on "Need You Tonight" before the guitar chords come in, which then morphs into a funky riff.

"Mediate" is another track that starts with just drums, but features atmospheric keyboards, a rap vocal with words ending in -ate, and some smooth sax to fade at the end. It is surprisingly good and has become one of my favourite songs on the album.

"The Loved One" has a messy intro, then crashing guitar and piano over a bass line. There is a slight blues feel, and a decent chorus, which reminded me a little in parts of some of Aerosmith's ballads. A bit of the vocal also made me think of Noddy Holder of Slade. I hadn't realised it was a cover of a 1960s song, as it sounds like an INXS song, and isn't out of place here.

"Wild Life" is another song with the drums intro and a funky riff, but there is also plodding bass, and some nice keyboards in the middle. It is the closest to a filler on the album and I've already forgotten how it goes.

The epic ballad "Never Tear Us Apart" is next with a keyboards and strings intro, a great vocal, striking three note guitar and dramatic pauses before the soaring chorus. There is also magnificent saxophone solo. For such a classic song it is strange it only reached number 14 in the UK charts.

"Mystify" starts with jaunty piano then launches into a great rocker from second verse as thedrums and guitars kick in. The vocal is great too.

"Kick" is a high energy, big sounding R&B number with plenty of explosive sax and brass and "Calling All Nations" has a similar riff to "New Sensation" but the chorus is different.

"Tiny Daggers" closes the album. It's a 1980s new wave pop song, with a happy feel, a hypnotic keyboard motif and I love the guitar solo. There is also a hint of Rod Stewart's "Tonight I'm Yours" and "Young Turks" !

There is hardly a bad track on the album, if you like danceable rock n'roll. Although the five singles are all great in their own right, "Mediate" and "Tiny Daggers" are also superb songs.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Guns In The Sky
2. New Sensation
3. Devil Inside
4. Need You Tonight
5. Mediate
6. The Loved One

Side Two :

1. Wild Life
2. Never Tear Us Apart
3. Mystify
4. Kick
5. Calling All Nations
6. Tiny Daggers

Released 1987
UK Chart Position : 9

 Singles :

Need You Tonight ( No 2 - 1987 )
Devil Inside ( No 47 - 1988 )
New Sensation ( No 25 - 1988 )
Never Tear Us Apart ( No 24 - 1988 )
Mystify ( No 14 - 1988 )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Billy Idol - Idol Songs : 11 Of The Best

 

I quite liked Generation X, but not quite enough to purchase a record. Part of the punk movement, but without most of the politics, songs such as "Your Generation", "Wild Youth" and "Ready Steady Go" were fun rather than changing the world.

After the break-up of Generation X, singer Billy Idol decamped to New York and finalized his sneering, spiky bleached hair, leather gear with unnecessary zips, and fist pumping persona which became his trademark. Being in the right place at the right time, Idol became huge in the USA, taking advantage of the launch of MTV with some suitably theatrical videos, and as a part of the so-called "second British invasion". I was surprised to discover that many familiar songs charted so poorly in the UK charts, with only three top 10 singles, one of which was the live cover version "Mony Mony".

When this greatest hits compilation was released in 1987 Idol was still at the peak of this powers, but he subsequently released nothing of any significant merit afterwards, so unless you were an absolute fan this LP is basically all of his that you would need in your record collection. Looking through my collection of singles, I was surprised to find it included "White Wedding", although I don't remember buying it !

Nearly all of the songs contained here should be familiar to most people of my generation, and probably to many younger listeners as well. This is a rare example in Fatbear's Lockdown LPs where I can remember all the songs ( although it is a greatest hits compiliation ! ), so there shouldn't be any surprises in hearing them again. Interestingly though, this album is not on YouTube, so I would have to play them all individually.

I thought there were plenty of great tracks on "11 Of The Best", with my favourites being the recording of the Generation X song "Dancing With Myself", the anthems "Rebel Yell", "Hot In The City" and "White Wedding" and the slower numbers "Eyes Without A Face" and "Sweet Sixteen". I never really saw the point of the cover of Tommy James and the Shondells' "Mony Mony", especially as this had been covered by many other artists but it was huge success for Idol. The rest I saw as likable fillers.

"Rebel Yell" is perhaps the classic Billy Idol song. A great intro, a searing guitar solo and a memorable chant along chorus. "In the midnight hour, she yelled More ! More ! More !"

"Hot In The City" is slower than the usual Idol song, with strings, a nice bass line, alluring girly backing vocals and the usual anthem chorus.

"White Wedding"is perhaps the best all round song, with a driving bass intro and a great tempo. "It's a nice day to start again, it's a nice day for a white wedding"

The ballad like "Eyes Without A Face" sounded even better now than I thought it did back in the 1980s. I really liked the soft "Les yeux sans visage" backing vocal, there is some not too serious rap in the middle and some screeching guitar before moving back to the soft melody.

"Catch My Fall" is a mainstream rocker which includes some sax, has a nice bass line and a great chorus. "It could happen to you, so think for yourself, if I should stumble, catch my fall - catch my fall !". I was surprised to learn it wasn't a hit in the UK.

Idol's version of "Mony Mony" is a OK cover of the old standard, making sound American mainstream rock a la Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Van Halen or other bands of that ilk, if you like that sort of thing.........

"To Be A Lover" again has a pulsating hi-energy bass and synth beat, girly backing vocals and swinging blues piano. Its the one where the video has Billy in a boxing ring.

"Sweet Sixteen" is a tender acoustic ballad with slight rockabilly undertones. At the time it was released I completely missed the back story around the meaning of the song, thinking it was more akin to Ringo Starr's pervy "Sweet Sixteen" instead of the sad story of a broken engagement and the building of a castle in Florida. It's a great song.

"Flesh For Fantasy" is a standard mid-tempo rocker, saved by a decent hook for the chorus. It now reminds me of something Simple Minds might have released, which isn't a great recommendation in my book !

"Don't Need A Gun" has a catchy synth intro, driving bass and drums and a searing guitar break. It lacks a decent tune though.

"Dancing With Myself" is a re-recording of a Generation X song and is very hard to resist the temptation to get up and dance on your own !"Let's sink another drink, cos it'll give me time to think. If I had the chance I'd ask the world to dance and I'll be dancing with myself"

After 35-40 years, Idol's music has stood the test of time, and still sounds relevant today.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Rebel Yell ( 1984 - No 6 )
2. Hot In The City ( 1982 - No 58 - remix 1987 - No 13 )
3. White Wedding ( 1985 - No 6 )
4. Eyes Without A Face ( 1984 - No 18 )
5. Catch My Fall ( 1984 - )
6. Mony Mony ( Live ) ( 1987- No 7 )

Side Two :

1. To Be A Lover ( 1986 - No 22 )
2. Sweet Sixteen ( 1987 - No 17 )
3. Flesh For Fantasy ( 1984 - No 54 )
4. Don't Need A Gun ( 1987 - No 26 )
5. Dancing With Myself ( 1981 - )
 

Released 1988
UK Chart Position : 2