Joe Jackson: Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive CD Track Listing

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Joe Jackson Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive (1981)
1988 A&M Records, Inc.\n\nOriginally Released 1981\nCD Edition Released 1988\nRemastered CD Edition with New Artwork Released January 12, 1999\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Jumpin' Jive proved to be one of Joe Jackson's most adventurous projects as he tries his hand at covering a bunch of Louis Jordan and Cab Calloway tunes, ranging from the extravagance of big band to bop to vibrant swing music. The album broke the Top 50 in the U.S. and made it to number 14 in England, with the title track peaking at number 43 over there as well. Jackson sounds extremely fresh and vivacious throughout all of the tracks, with Calloway's "We the Cats" and "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" demonstrating how easily his persona adapts to this particular style of music. Jackson doesn't just sing the music here, he actually role-plays to some extent to make the songs sound that much more genuine and timeless, giving tunes like "Tuxedo Junction," "What's the Use of Getting Sober," and the hip-cat composure of "Jumpin' Jive" some modern flash and color. The horn work is dazzling as well, especially Dave Bitelli's alto sax and Pete Thomas' clarinet contributions. Not only was Jumpin' Jive a novel idea, but it reveals Jackson's musical dexterity and desire to further his interests into other avenues aside from pop and mainstream ballads. Although he touched on reggae with 1980's Beat Crazy, Jumpin' Jive fully uncovers his musical astuteness and remains one of his best albums. -- by Mike DeGagne \n \nAmazon.com Customer Review\nBelieve me, this really swings, March 4, 2004\nReviewer: "vranjo" (Chicago, IL, USA) \nJoe Jackson helped shape the sound of popular/punk music in the 1970s, and his first three albums are huge landmarks. But, as musical accomplishments go, even Jackson's early work pales in comparison to the much lesser-known "Jumpin' Jive," which was Jackson's fourth album (recorded in 1981). In a complete departure from anything Jackson did before (or after), this album erupts with interpretations of well-known jazz songs from the swing era of the 1940s.\n"Jumpin' Jive" focuses primarily on songs made famous by two jazz artists - Cab Calloway and Louis Jordan. As Jackson emphasizes in the album's liner notes, this is NOT the intellectual, cool jazz that has come to dominate the modern jazz scene. Instead, "Jumpin' Jive" focuses on the witty, exuberant music that Calloway and Jordan helped to popularize. \n\nJackson claims that these songs were originally more likely to be heard in a whorehouse than in a concert hall, and I think this helps to emphasize the wild, unrestrained, and sometimes even bawdy quality of this album (well, bawdy by 1940s standards). But let's not forget that many of these songs were top-ten hits of their time (including a few number ones), so I suspect they had a listening audience beyond that era's dens of iniquity.\n\nI'm a big fan of Calloway and Jordan, so it almost hurts me to say that on almost every cut from "Jumpin' Jive" Jackson out-swings the originals. Jackson didn't have to worry about creating music that people could actually dance to all night long, so he was able to record the songs at a much faster tempo than the original versions. As a result, the brass is really blowing steam, the drums are kicking like a bucking bronco, and the vocals are roaring around the track. Jackson throws himself with abandon into each song, and his ironic vocal delivery (a hallmark of his other work) somehow finds a way to complement the almost na

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