CD Review

Every time words fly about Joe Jackson, all you hear is some wise cracks about the balding guy and his skinny ties. Well, there also aren't too many Londoners who are quintessential New Yorkers. Hits like ‘Is She Really Going Out With Him," "Look Sharp," and "Stepping Out" are tunes that speak of a sensibility and charisma of a happening sound back in the day. Before Ben Folds Five there was the Joe Jackson Band and they have returned with style, showcasing their first recording since 1980's Beat Crazy. After experimenting with neo classical themes and jazz over the course of his most recent solo outings, Jackson returns to his earlier garage sounding roots on the 25th anniversary of the band's first recording -Look Sharp.

Volume 4 is the fourth recording Joe has put together with his namesake band, and this one picks off exactly were 1980 left off. Jackson, along with Dave Houghton, Graham Maby and Gary Sanford take Volume 4 to the extreme of piano rock. The opening riff of "Take It Like a Man" makes a piano sound that is few and far between on this album- as this is a more in your face affair with a majority of wise lyrics and thundering beats. You can't help but realize the influence the band had on the Smithereens and the Gin Blossoms after listening to the power pop of "Still Alive" and "Awkward Age." "Fairy Dust" squawks in Jackson's infamous city whine, poking fun at lifestyle choices, while "Little Bit Stupid" wades in a honky-tonk foot stomping release. "Dirty Martini" is a bar anthem permeating in cigarette smoke with a smirky polka organ riff. The ska happy "Thugs R Us" is Jackson's tongue in cheek look at white gangsters.

The ballad has always served as a defining tool for Jackson with goose bumpy numbers like, "It's Different For girls" and "Breaking Us In Two". "Chrome" carries the torch of Jackson's love songs of social awkwardness with the pungent chorus of "You're so hard and cold like chrome, and I'd like to take you home, but I'm scared of you." The chorus is a sticky harmony that would be top 10 material in 1982.

The bonus CD of 6 JJB classics is a hard-edged thriller soaking in youthful energy and audience participation. From the punk anthem "Got the time" to the personal, "It's Different For Girls," to the sing along crowd lines in "Is She Really Going Out With Him"- the bonus is a winner. Volume 4 speaks proudly for a band that has spent quite some time apart, but sounds fresh and hip...even in 2003.