Basically, I figured this would be mediocre at best and I was dead wrong.

Coming 25 years after Jackson's debut, "Look Sharp," the man has reassembled the original band who played on his first three records [Graham Maby, Gary Sanford, and Dave Houghton], and it doesn't sound like they've missed a beat. Right off the bat, the album jumps into the rock foray with "Take It Like A Man," a drum-driven piece with stacatto piano riffs peppered throughout. The song really gets your blood pumping. The next two tracks, "Stay Alive" and the single "Awkward Age" showcase Jackson's uncanny ability to write a damn good pop song. The former will remind you of the Beatles, while the latter will make you think of the aforementioned Mr. Costello.

Joe brings the band down for "Chrome" and "Love At First Light," showcasing the quiet side of his songwriting abilities. Musically, it sounds a bit like a more somber Ben Folds Five.

The album continues to jump back into "rock" mode, though, so don't fret if ballads aren't your thing. "Fairy Dust," with it's wah-wah guitar and 5/4 time signature sounds a bit like modern jazz, but there's too much edge here to dare let you lump it in those quarters. Album closer "Bright Grey" is one of the punkest songs I've heard this year - this new crop of nu-pop-punk bands could take a lesson from this master.

And let's not forget what could be the comedy hit of the year - Jackson's hilarious sendup of hip hop poseurs in the song "Thugz 'R' Us." A wonderfully funny three-and-a-half minute ska tune, the song contains lyrics like "We got beer but we want some.../ we look white but we wanna be black." Joe's telling it like it is, and I for one won't get in his way.

All in all, this is a fantastically solid album, and it will surely please anyone who was ever a fan of his older work from the late 70s/early 80s [before he started doing swing albums and orchestral charts {sounds eeriely similar to Mr. Costello again, doesn't it?}]. There's not one song on here that I really dislike. Sure, they're not all impeccable, but considering if you total up the ages of all the guys in this band it would be over 200, this is pretty impressive stuff. I highly recommend picking this up.

Also, as a sidenote, the first pressing of the album comes with a bonus disc containing 6 Joe Jackson classics being performed live last fall, so if you're really into him you might want to get this ASAP.

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The new songs show the same edge, wit, and musical talents that I remember from "Look Sharp" and "I'm the Man".

"Volume 4" opens with "Take it Like a Man", which features a catchy piano bit. Other tunes that stick out in my mind are "Awkward Age", "Thugz 'R' Us", "Love at First Light", and "Dirty Martini".

Another way that this album reminds me of the early work are how even the quality of the songs are. There are just no dogs here.

The bonus CD contains six early hits recorded live in London and Portsmouth last September. Very fun.

I recommend it highly.

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Criticism: Joe and the band, though they play well, sound like they're forcing youthful angst from every chord and lyric. It doesn't quite come across the way Look Sharp does and that's because these guys are all about 50. 50 trying to be 25 again, and it doesn't quite add up. Joe also seems to be recreating the past lately with this and with Night and Day II. That, plus the past three classical outings have lead me to believe that the well of creativity has been depleted. So this cd is well executed but not as original as Joe's previous work. The live cd, also played very well, was not recorded that great. To me it sounds rather muffled and poorly microphoned on the vocals.

Conclusion: Worth buying if you're a Joe Jackson fan like myself. If you're a beginner, start with Look Sharp and work your way up.

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