Live 1980/86 is a collection of live recordings by Joe Jackson that collects songs from four different tours.
When it was a vinyl double album, each side represented a particular tour:
- 1980 The Beat Crazy tour songs 1 to 6
- 1982/83 The Night and Day tour songs 7 to 11
- 1984 The Body & Soul tour songs 12 to 16
- 1986 The Big World tour songs 17 to 22
Songs On Joe Jackson Live 1980 to 1986
CD 1 – The Beat Crazy tour (1980) songs 1 to 6 and The Night and Day tour (1982/83) songs 7 to 11
- One To One – 4:26 (originally on the studio album Beat Crazy)
- I’m The Man – 4:27 (I’m the Man)
- Beat Crazy – 4:00 (Beat Crazy)
- Is She Really Going Out With Him? – 6:13 (Look Sharp!)
- Don’t Wanna Be Like That – 4:28 (I’m the Man)
- Got The Time – 4:44 (Look Sharp!)
- On Your Radio – 4:56 (I’m the Man)
- Fools In Love – 7:28 (Look Sharp!)
- Cancer – 7:55 (Night and Day)
- Is She Really Going Out With Him? – 4:18 (Look Sharp!)
- Look Sharp – 4:23 (Look Sharp!)
CD 2 – The Body & Soul tour (1984) songs 1 to 5 and The Big World tour (1986) songs 6 to 11
- Sunday Papers – 5:31 (Look Sharp!)
- Real Men – 4:46 (Night and Day)
- Is She Really Going Out With Him? (Acoustic Version) – 3:57 (Look Sharp!)
- Memphis – 5:36 (Body and Soul)
- A Slow Song – 7:58 (Night and Day)
- Be My Number Two – 2:43 (Body and Soul)
- Breaking Us In Two – 4:18 (Night and Day)
- It’s Different For Girls – 3:35 (I’m the Man)
- You Can’t Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want) – 5:37 (Body and Soul)
- Jumpin Jive – 2:34 (Joe Jackson’s Jumpin’ Jive)
- Steppin Out – 5:38 (Night and Day)
I’m not entirely sure what to make of this. On the one hand it’s excellent but on the other, I find it both confusing and frustrating.
From 1979 when Look Sharp! was released through to Body & Soul in 1984, Joe Jackson was a very exciting artist. A bit like David Bowie in the 1970s, you never knew what to expect from him because his musical development was moving so quickly.
He started as an angry young man in a similar vein to Graham Parker and Elvis Costello but then he introduced more sophisticated rhythms and jazz influences into his music, even releasing a pure jumping jive album in 1981.
This means that he was adapting his songs to his latest ideas, just as I’d want an artist to do. I think my problem is that I don’t want 25 minutes from each tour (the total album time is 105 minutes) but about 90 minutes i.e. a proper representation of each tour.
I know it’s a great song and the versions are different but ideally I don’t want three versions of Is She Really Going Out With Him? so close together. My other whinge is that my favourite studio album by Joe Jackson is Body and Soul and that’s poorly represented here.
When I put my moans to one side and stop thinking about what it could have been, there is some terrific music on here. If you’re a casual fan and you’d like to buy a Joe Jackson live album that highlights the great music he made in his early days, this is highly recommended.
%%CUSTOMERREVIEWS%%
Buying Joe Jackson Live 1980 to 1986
It is available from Amazon.com – Amazon.co.uk – iTunes – eBay
These links will help you get to the albums quickly and easily but I recommend that you still search for the best deal.
What Do You Think?
Is this a great live album?
Is it the best live album by Joe Jackson? Which do you recommend?
The Best Live Albums Of All Time
Please vote in the poll to find the best classic rock live albums.
Loading ...Because there are so many excellent classic rock live albums I have split the poll into two and you may find some of your favourites in the second division. Albums will be promoted when they get enough votes.
Loading ...You may be interested in the polls for other classic rock artists like The Beatles (group & solo) – Dave Matthews Band – David Bowie – Sting & The Police – Bruce Springsteen – Thin Lizzy –
You can see the complete list of readers polls at Live Album Polls