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| Look Sharp! | 
 enlarge | Artist: Joe Jackson
Label: A&M
Category: Music
List Price: $9.98
Buy New: $5.69
You Save: $4.29 (43%)
Buy New/Used from $2.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  (30 reviews)
Sales Rank: 4230
Format: Extra Tracks, Original Recording Remastered
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 586194
UPC: 731458619420
EAN: 7314586194200
ASIN: B00005N8Y9
Release Date: August 14, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | One More Time | | • | Sunday Papers | | • | Is She Really Going Out With Him? | | • | Happy Loving Couples | | • | Throw It Away | | • | Baby Stick Around | | • | Look Sharp! | | • | Fools In Love | | • | (Do The) Instant Mash | | • | Pretty Girls | | • | Got The Time | | • | Don't Ask Me | | • | You Got The Fever |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
 Showcasing Jackson's Punk and New Wave Roots; Great Bass Foundation December 31, 2008
Joe Jackson is a name that most music fans know of in both the United States and United Kingdom. Joe Jackson hasn't been a "superstar" in terms of a Top 40 artists. He also an artist who hasn't gotten the respect he deserves. Jackson has proven to be an outstanding songwriter, arranger, musician - and of course vocalist. Jackson has done a multitude of styles throughout his career, but Jackson is probably best known for his Jazz-infused piano work. However when tracing back to Jackson's early career, we find an artist that has his roots in the Punk/New Wave scenes of the late 1970s. This early style was demonstrated on his debut album "Look Sharp!". This album would produce some moderate early success for Jackson. While probably not as strong as his latter Jazz-infused material, it would nonetheless establish Jackson for what would prove to be a long career over the next three decades.
One thing that impressed me about Joe Jackson is how he has changed musical styles over his career. His roots are in Punk Rock and New Wave. After 1980, he would switch to more of an urban/jazz infused pop sound. Later in his career, he would bring in a Rock and Blues influence into his sound. One thing that has been a constant in his career is that Jackson's music always has a "storytelling" element to it. Jackson doesn't have the most elegant style vocals, but has"awkward" style vocals that complement the "storytelling" element perfectly. It also has worked throughout the different musical styles he has incorporated into his career.
"Look Sharp!" is Jackson's first album. It isn't necessarily his strongest material, but many of the constants of the storytelling and awkward vocals are seen in his music. While many know Jackson more for his keyboard vocals, "Look Sharp!" has much more of an influence with guitar and bass (credit to studio musicians Gary Sanford on guitar and Graham Maby on bass who do a great job). In fact, the bass plays a key role on this collection. This collection would set the tone for Jackson's follow-on work through 1980.
Here is a song by song synopsis of the collection:
"One More Time": This is a very catchy song. The guitar and bass influence is in full swing on this track. This song is New Wave through and through. The guitar and bass really are awesome as the song wraps up.
"Sunday Papers": The bass really drives this song. Jackson incorporates some light sociological commentary on the media on this track.
"Is She Really Going Out With Him?": This is more reminiscent of the pop sound that Jackson would move to as he career would progress into the 1980s. This song has the classic Jackson storytelling sound with him. However, once again the bass will be the driving force again.
"Happy Loving Couples": This song has similar elements to "Is She Really Going Out with Him?": Storytelling, quirky vocals, and a driving bass. However this song has a faster tempo and more of a New Wave feel.
"Throw It Away": This is a high-energy New Wave song. However, I like the way Jackson incorporates keyboards into this track on top of the guitar and bass work.
"Baby Stick Around": I found this to be an "average" track on this album. It wasn't a bad track, but not a "home run" track. Once again the bass drives a lot of this song.
"Look Sharp!": This song grows on you. Once again the bass sets the tone for this song. However, I think its the "awkward" vocals that really work on this track.
"Fools in Love": This song deviates from the standard Punk and New Wave formula. Here we see Jackson incorporate a slight reggae/ska sound into this. We also hear Jackson's storytelling element in full-swing. The result is one of the stronger tracks on this collection. It also showcases the versatility that would become a staple for Jackson's career.
"(Do the) Instant Mash": This song has a mix of humor and social commentary in it (i.e. "Human Beings don't have much to say; Robots making tons of cash..."). However, the musical style is very interesting. The vocals start out a bit like Philip Oakley from Human League. Both the vocals and melody are very catchy. Some great guitar riffs contribute to making this a catchy track.
"Pretty Girls": This song has a some retro 50s/60s style elements that are heard throughout the song. The bass plays a key role on this song and this song has the classic Jackson storytelling element to it - complete with some humor. Another very catchy song.
"Got the Time": This song has a high energy tempo and showcases Jackson's Punk/New Wave influence at its best. Jackson's "awkward" vocals lend itself perfectly to the fast pace vocals that comprise this track.
There are also two "bonus" tracks that appeared as B-sides.
"Don't Ask Me": This was a B-side to "One More Time". This was another Punk/New Wave styled track with the guitar/bass influence that is prevalent on the mothership album.
"You Got the Fever": This was a B-side to "Is She Really Going Out with Him?". In a lot of ways, musically this sounds like a continuation to the melody to "Is She Really Going Out with Him?". This song also has the classic storytelling element to it. Nice use of the harmonica on this track.
The liner notes contain a very good write-up that discusses a lot of the background into Jackson's early career as well as background on the "Look Sharp" album itself. The liner notes also contain the lyrics to all of the songs as well as the musician credits. This is not a bad album. Keep in mind, Jackson's best work was still to come - yet this was a good foundation. This is an album I would recommend.
Joe Jackson - Great Debut Album October 6, 2008
If ever there was such a thing as a rock n roll chameleon, Joe Jackson would be it. Over the years he has done albums that encompassed punk, new wave, pop, jazz, swing, album oriented rock, and even progressive rock. On this his first album Jackson burst on to the scene mainly appealing to the punk and new wave crowd, but unlike most artists of this ilk, Jackson could actually play the hell out a piano and wrote lyrics that were both biting and incredibly intelligent. Joe's debut would rocket him to stardom with the smash hit single "Is She Really Going Out With Him" and three other lesser hits "One More Time", "Sunday Papers" and "Got The Time". Joe's lyrics are cerebral, cynical and at time hilarious as he portrays the angst of a 20 something trying to fit in with the new wave 80's culture. The music is all solid with Jackson's original band featuring Gary Sanford, Graham Mabey, and Dave Houghton. "Look Sharp" is not Jackson's best album, but was a great debut for one of the more innovative artists to come out of the punk / new wave era.
Great debut album. September 6, 2008
I wish Joe Jackson was going to be in Rock Band at some point. I recently discovered his album Look Sharp! which I alluded to earlier. It's really one of the most overlooked, underappreciated rock albums that history isn't doing any favors for. You may know Joe Jackson for his smash "Is She Really Going Out With Him?", which, in the days of Kazaa, was commonly attributed to The Cars not unlike how "Dancing in the Moonlight" was pegged to Van Morrison instead of it's true performers, King Harvest. "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" topped out at number 21 in 1979 in the US and 13 in the UK and propelled the album to reach #20 in the US and #40 in the UK (credit: Wikipedia).
Look Sharp! features a ton of fun rock, early pop/punk, and dancible tracks. It's very comparable to My Aim Is True in terms of style, and I would wager that Jackson was heavily influenced by Elvis Costello's breakthrough debut album. I haven't done a review in a while, so why not take a look at this forgotten gem?
Joe Jackson - Look Sharp!
1. One More Time - Five stars. A great song with a driving guitar and bass. One of the things that Jackson does really well on this album is his ability to play with minutia and tweak verses and choruses so that they are not identical. He does this extremely well on "One More Time", especially midway through the verses. Jackson always has a really nice song writing ability to make the verses and chorus sound unique from eachother enough so so that it is a pleasant surprise when the chorus makes an appearance but it doesn't disrupt any of the flow he has built. Bonus points to the bassist on this track.
2. Sunday Papers - Four stars. This track allows the listener to catch their breath. It's a nice, simple rocker with really clever, biting lyrics, a dub-styled guitar, and some more nice bass work. "If you want to know about the new sex position, you can read it in the Sunday Papers." The song would work a little better if they didn't add a little extra post chorus in. Kind of disrupts the flow.
3. Is She Really Going Out With Him? - Five stars. A really great rock and roll song that captures the feeling of twenty-something heart ache. Bonus points for the piano in the bridge. This is THE song you've unquestionably heard from this album before you've read this review. It holds up flawlessly almost thirty years later.
4. Happy Loving Couples - Five stars. One of, if not the most dancible songs on the record. Jackson displays another great story telling skill in relating a simple, pure feeling that most potential listeners have felt. I almost took off a star for him rhyming girl and world twice. Fun drumming and catchy chorus.
5. Throw It Away - Four styles. A quick style change in this one. We revert back to more of the early pop/punk sound that One More Time had with almost Jerry Lee Lewis piano and vocal stylings, with a harder edge. Bass work is phenomenal in this one. A little too hard for me, meshes ok with the album, just feels slightly out of place.
6. Baby Stick Around - Five stars. Super fun song with an extraordinarily creative chorus. The transition from the verse to the chorus makes me jealous that I did not write it. Very cool variation on rockabilly styles in the verses. If there is one more thing that Joe Jackson does very well in this album is that he mashes together styles that should never normally go together and he does it ingeniusesly.
7. Look Sharp! - Five stars. The track bands like Franz Ferdinand and Modest Mouse wish they could have written. This is how you write smart, sharp dance music that still has an artistic edge.
8. Fools in Love - Four stars. I'd be remiss to point out right from the start that I listened to this album with my father, who knows a great deal about music, on a road trip once, and the first thing he asked was "Is this Elvis Costello?". I'd also be remiss to point out that this song sounds very similar to "Watching the Detectives". It has got a nice rock/reggae flair to it, but for me, it sounds way to similar to "Watching the Detectives" to give it five stars, even though this song's chorus blows it out of the water.
9. (Do the) Instant Mash - Four stars. A fun dance track that is really pushed by the continuingly excellent bassist, that is about dancing. I guess the old rule of selling records is if all else fails, try to create a new dance song. This song is more of a tongue in cheek look at that. Fun song to tap your toes to.
10. Pretty Girls - Five stars. A fun play on late 50's, early 60's rock and roll stylistically with some fun lyrics about scoping out the honeys. A nice bridge.
11. Got the Time - Four stars. A very hard song to end this album. Punk elements all over the place here.
Joe Jackson's debut album is definitely something all fans of rock and roll should give a spin to, especially if you are a fan of Elvis Costello's My Aim Is True, early J. Giles Band, or even more modern "dance" bands.
 Spring of '79 May 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was in my junior year of college, and like many others, tired of the mid-seventies popular music that had come to dominate: Boston, Heart, ELP, ELO, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Led Zep, Jethro Tull. Not that it hadn't been great in its day, but it was getting slow and tired. Then, starting in 1977 with Elvis Costello and Tom Petty, a new sound started to seep onto the airwaves. The subversion continued in 1978 with The Cars and Warren Zevon, and then, in the spring of 1979, New Wave hit the US with a vengeance. Combining hard rock and disillusionment with a pop sensibility, it was a fresh sound. The Police "Roxanne", Talking Heads "Take Me to the River", Blondie "One Way or Another" and "Heart of Glass" (despite its disco beat), Costello "Accidents Will Happen", and, of course, Joe Jackson, "Is She Really Going Out with Him?". Joe Jackson in particular reminded me of the fast, exciting, slightly dangerous, "urban" sound that had permeated pop music in the mid sixties, when I first started listening to the radio: it was both fresh and a little nostalgic at the same time. Short, catchy, unsentimental and unpretentious tunes. It was an urban sound for white kids, basically. Not that there was anything wrong with the other urban sound, R & B, but it wasn't rock. Then, the American public, including myself, were led to discover the harder-edged punk which had been around for years: Clash, Ramones, Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop. Pretty soon, the new wave/punk movement diverged completely: punk became hard-core, with groups like X, Bad Brains, Black Flag etc., and new wave started devolving into self-conscious retro pop acts like The Knack, The Romantics, The Go Go's, etc. Joe Jackson's first two cds, this one and "I'm the Man", along with The Pretenders' first album, stand at the pinnacle of Punk/New Wave.
Best thing Joe ever did April 23, 2008
As a Gosport, Hampshire boy who went to London with the punk and new wave revolutions in the 70's and is now a long way from home in the US this is a great flashback and the best thing Joe ever did .. definite reminders of the John Peel pub
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