Customer Reviews

Look Sharp

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It's easy for many -- especially music industry writers -- to dismiss Joe Jackson as a pop musician who possessed nothing more than delusions of grandeur, due to his forays into jazz and classical shortly after his first two smash albums. A pompous musician, or a true artist? Regardless of what side you're on, there's one thing you can't deny: Joe Jackson was/is one crafty, talented S.O.B., and I feel he's a force to be reckoned with.

_Look Sharp!_ is a smash album with ridiculously catchy tunes, infectious melodies, cynical and ambivalent lyrics, and snappy rhythms that'll be impossible *not* to bop your head to. There is literally not one boring, unlistenable tune to be found here: every track is jam-packed with energy, taste and charisma. While the lyrics are quite sarcastic (and hilarious in spots), the music is impossibly upbeat, and refrains from depressing wallowing: leave it to wisecracking Joe to turn something so self-deprecating and sarcastic into something peppy and upbeat -- it almost makes you wonder if Joe is celebrating his own dissatisfactions with love and life. Either way, infectiousness and intelligence are so rare to come by in one package. But Joe Jackson delivers big-time in this department. "One More Time" is a perfect example of how Joe makes something miserable sound so peppy and fun: listen to those ironic, almost masochistic lyrics. Yet the music is so driving, tasty and energetic. Of course, many already know "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" featuring those semi-hilarious, yet reflective lyrics, and the muted riff on the verses. "Throw It Away" is a fast-paced, energetic rocker, with Joe howling in certain parts of the track. The title track many may have heard as well: a snappy, tasty number exhibiting excellent musicianship. Listen to the sophisticated arrangement in the vocal harmonies during the closing parts of the chorus. "Fools In Love" is a reggae-rock number that pretty much speaks for itself, title-wise: the lyrics and Joe's vocal delivery crack me up hysterically. Hilarious stuff. And later, to close out the album, "Got The Time" is a fast-paced, energetic rocker in the style of "Throw It Away."

Want something ludicrously catchy and snappy? Want something subtly sarcastic and sneering, but at the same time, utterly reflective, moving and funny? Want some upbeat music good for cruising with your girlfriend, or otherwise? Pick this album up, along with _I'm The Man_. Both are essential Joe Jackson albums.

The new Joe Jackson CD reissues of "Look Sharp!" and "I'm The Man" are paradigms of CD remastering. Hats off to reissue producer Mike Ragogna, remastering guru Erick Labson, and the rest of the reissue team for a superb job!

If you like these albums, these reissues have everything you could want - dramatically improved sound, non-album B-sides as bonus tracks, expanded album art, full lyrics, new liner notes, and a mid-range price.

This was Joe Jackson's debut album and it still sounds great over 20 years later. This is the one with "Is She Really Going Out With Him?", but just about all the songs on it are excellent. Softer songs like the reggae-ish "Fools In Love" especially benefit from the wonderful remastering job - you can hear every bit of the interplay between the Joe and his 3-piece band.

More please!

Joe Jackson's debut album is one of the greatest debuts of all time. Before you even pop the CD in to your player, you can look at one of the greatest album covers of all time. It shows two shiny, white shoes, casting light upon the sidewalk in front of them. Incredibly cool. Then, the music. "Look Sharp" is filled with varying musical styles. Punk, reggae, pop, and even jazz can be heard at different points on this record. Another achievement of Jackson's on this record is the songwriting. Much of "Look Sharp" conveys Jackson's cynical views on relationships, dating, and love. This often is presented in a humorous manner, which makes it that much more entertaining to listen to. The album kicks off with "One More Time," one of the more punkish tunes on the album. It goes on to classics such as "Sunday Papers," and "Is She Really Going Out With Him." The latter is arguably the strongest song on the album. It is Jackson's observations on the men he sees the women around him dating ("pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street..."). Other standout tracks include "Fools In Love" ("fools in love, are there any other kind of lovers?") and "Look Sharp." Overall, a classic new wave-period album that is both emotional and humorous at the same time. One of the talented Jackson's crowning achievements.

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.

While watching the "Freaks and Geeks" DVD's recently, there was an episode where Sam buys a Parisian nightsuit and wears it to school, all with the hope of impressing a girl. The song playing as he walks down the hall is "Look Sharp," and it's a perfect marriage of visuals and music. If you watch the episode with the commentary, one of the commentators waxes about how much he loves the song, and especially Graham Maby's bass playing. I couldn't agree more. This is a dynamite album that still sounds phenomenal and that is due in large part to the excellence of Graham Maby. He has to be one of the most unsung bassists ever, but his liquid lines bring the groove to the entire album. The remastering sounds better than the LP I had many moons ago, and I can tell it's one album that I will never tire of. If you want to "look sharp," you should make this your nxt purchase.

LOOK SHARP!, Joe Jackson's debut album, is also his best. He had yet to turn into a crank here, and the lyrics are filled with righteous anger and biting humor. "Sunday Papers" is an attack on the press for sensationalizing things, and expresses how I felt when a murder on campus at my old school made the newspapers and the TV news, leading to a fellow alumnus telling me that he'd never wear a school jacket from there to meet his favorite actress, as well as my feelings about how the news sensationalizes crimes by people with mental disabilities, which promotes discrimination against them. "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" and "Happy Loving Couples" humorously satirize romantic breakups, and "One More Time" and "Throw It Away" show a guy dissing his girlfriend for wanting a romantic vacation in a country that regularly arrests foreign tourists for trumped-up crimes, which is not surprising considering Jackson's belief that the young Australian tourist jailed in Indonesia on drug-smuggling charges was unjustly convicted. The only problem with this CD is that it's TOO perfect; Joe Jackson would equal it on the follow-up, and then swiftly decline.

Look Sharp! is the debut release of singer/songwriter Joe Jackson, who along with Elvis Costello and Graham Parker, is considered in the Big Three of the great songwriters of the new wave era. Like his counterparts, Joe Jackson combined the energy of punk rock with his witty and creative lyrics. And like Costello and Parker, Jackson had a killer band, whom despite their low profile, were very important to his sound. Although he seldom gets the credit that the popular Costello or the critically acclaimed Parker receives, Look Sharp! is an undeniable influence on what would become punk pop and emo in the 90's.

Right from the opening chords of the spirited "One More Time", Look Sharp! plays like a greatest hits album. Quite simply, there's not a bad or even mediocre track in the bunch. Tunes like "Throw It Away" and "Got the Time" combine a strong sense of melody with the manic energy of punk while "Baby Stick Around", "Happy Loving Couples", and "Pretty Girls" recall early-60's music without sounding nostalgic. As stated earlier, the musicians backing Jackson are top notch as Gary Sanford's melodic guitar lines and Graham Mary's counter bass lines highlight tunes like "(Do The) Instant Mash" and the excellent title track. Other great songs include the reggae influenced "Fools in Love" and the mid-tempo "You Got the Fever." Finally, you have two of the best late-70's songs ever with the tabloid attack that is "Sunday Papers" and the bitter yet super catchy "Is She Really Going out with Him?", a track that has become his signature song. All told, Look Sharp! stands right beside the Pretenders' self-titled debut and Costello's Armed Forces as must have albums from the new wave era.

This record is sharp and energetic, cynical and angry, insightful and perceptive, all tightly-wound frayed nerves. Think a bad night plus too much coffee in the morning for a smart misfit with a gift for melody. It can be a bit much at times but when I'm in a certain mood I put this on and it hits the spot. Most people who do "breakup music" like slow, sad songs from what I can tell. Well, this is what I go to at those times. It reminds me that the world of romance, indeed the world in general, is taken too seriously. People will be people. Girls will continue to go out with big apish guys for no apparent reason. The newspaper will continue to report on all kinds of useless [junk] and neglect real problems. And no matter how cynical you get or think you are, you're still gonna fall prey to love. This album laughs at the world, at itself, and turns the mirror on all of us. It's a classic, timeless, and I'm amazed more bands don't cover these songs. Especially after one of their members has gone through a breakup or divorce, has stayed up all night, and has imbibed too much coffee.

Back in the late 70's when I was a teenager, I purchased this record due to it's unique packaging... A 2 disc 10" "sandwich" album with cool cover art and even a "LOOK SHARP" lapel button. I was shocked to find that the music was incredible as well! Needless to say, even though I still have the record, I haven't heard it in years and stumbled accross it on Amazon. Boy am I glad I did! The album is a total classic that is as fresh as when released sounding even better on compact disc. A MUST FOR EVERY COLLECTION.

Joe Jackson's first two albums have always represented, to me, what was good about the New Wave/No Wave splash of the late '70s to early '80s. LOOK SHARP was Joe Jackson's impressive first dive into those waters. Although not as consistently engrossing as his next album, I'M THE MAN, this album was a great introduction to the contradictory, self-conscious attitude of late '70s pop. Alternating between comic and pathetic, like "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" to "Fools in Love", the album does have an interesting range. The title cut is probably the most self-conscious in the sense that it figuratively asks, "How should I look and/or behave in this post-punk world? What is the new attitude?" I had just turned twenty when this album came out and, for that reason alone, this cut spoke to me. I worried about having to look "over my shoulder" too.

The DVD has a great sound and the accompanying goodies make it well worth the very reasonable price.