As a mother of teen boys, I feel this hard. Also Breaking Us In Two is one of those songs that instantly sends me back to being 17 and painfully in love with one of those tender-hearted, music-loving teen boys, about to leave for college.
Great to read: as a long time Joe J supporter , it was always a mystery why he didn’t get into the very top: classy arrangements, killer lyrics, fantastic chords, and a good enough voice. Still that 14 year old , looking back at those emotions, those chords , those lines ...
Night and Day was a huge commercial success, and people like me, who are jazz people who also love various forms of rock and pop, appreciate all that he did. But the critics often thought he was uncool. Like, great technique, but.. See all of Bob Christgau's Consumer Guides about him. When I was a teen, I was into Beat Crazy. When I saw him at 16, I saw him in concert, and he announced he would play something from it. I made a sound, and he said, "You're the one who bought it!"
St. Vincent and Fiona Apple have the sophistication in the writing and are better in many ways, but they weren't around when I was 14! The girl in the piece reads this Substack!
I managed to get tickets to his show in Ann Arbor, Michigan next week ... he's been a favorite for decades ... 'Blaze of Glory' is way underrated ... the song 'Evil Empire' never loses relevance ... thanks for the essay
I first saw him in 89, when he played the entire Blaze of Glory album before busting out the hits at the end. I reviewed him playing Joe's Pub in 99 and it was everything one would want. Radiohead and Steely Dan covers!
As a mother of teen boys, I feel this hard. Also Breaking Us In Two is one of those songs that instantly sends me back to being 17 and painfully in love with one of those tender-hearted, music-loving teen boys, about to leave for college.
And the seasons, they go round and round...
I never had the chance to see him- wasted youthful oops to do so.,. But so good to read your analysis …
Thank you! He's on tour now, so maybe you can: http://joejackson.com/tour
Great to read: as a long time Joe J supporter , it was always a mystery why he didn’t get into the very top: classy arrangements, killer lyrics, fantastic chords, and a good enough voice. Still that 14 year old , looking back at those emotions, those chords , those lines ...
Night and Day was a huge commercial success, and people like me, who are jazz people who also love various forms of rock and pop, appreciate all that he did. But the critics often thought he was uncool. Like, great technique, but.. See all of Bob Christgau's Consumer Guides about him. When I was a teen, I was into Beat Crazy. When I saw him at 16, I saw him in concert, and he announced he would play something from it. I made a sound, and he said, "You're the one who bought it!"
Whenever I hear his name, I think of Trombone Joe Jackson, a former student and graduate of your high school alma mater......
Beautiful analysis. I am sure the 8th grade crush would write a similar ode - I wonder who the female counterpart to Jackson was/is?
St. Vincent and Fiona Apple have the sophistication in the writing and are better in many ways, but they weren't around when I was 14! The girl in the piece reads this Substack!
Interesting! Maybe she will chime in and tell us wha she was listening to. I think back to then...maybe Journey or Styx or Blondie - even maybe Knack?
We were both nerding out on the Beatles. It turned out we also love XTC.
Many thanks !
I managed to get tickets to his show in Ann Arbor, Michigan next week ... he's been a favorite for decades ... 'Blaze of Glory' is way underrated ... the song 'Evil Empire' never loses relevance ... thanks for the essay
I first saw him in 89, when he played the entire Blaze of Glory album before busting out the hits at the end. I reviewed him playing Joe's Pub in 99 and it was everything one would want. Radiohead and Steely Dan covers!