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BostonHerald.com - Music News & Reviews: Jackson hits right key with piano-pop
Jackson hits right key with piano-pop
By Brett Milano
Friday, June 30, 2006
Now that everyone from Ben Folds to the bands Coldplay and Keane are making a living out of piano-based pop, it’s about time Joe Jackson got in on the action.
After all, Jackson managed to sneak some piano solos onto his early, pub-rocking albums in the late ’70s. And his keyboard skills grew sharper on his wildly eclectic, hit-and-miss albums of the past two decades.
When Jackson last hit town, he’d re-assembled his great ’70s band and made an overdue return to rock. But at his sold-out Somerville Theatre show this week, Jackson had moved on again. Two-thirds of the old band remains, with Graham Maby on bass and Dave Houghton on drums. Yet the sound has gravitated from punkish rock to classic mid-’60s pop, with Jackson seated at the keyboard throughout. And the rhythm section sounded subtle and flexible, instead of the pile-driving rockers they were last time.
A sometimes prickly live performer, Jackson was unusually warm and appreciative to the crowd. Only once did he get slightly testy: When fans started shouting song titles he said, “I used to play piano bars when I was 20, and people would make requests. I don’t have to do that anymore.”
Still, he did play many of his most popular tunes, including early rockers “One More Time” and “On Your Radio,” given a quieter slant with his piano replacing lead guitar. The mid-’80s hit “You Can’t Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)” was likewise stripped down to a nearly a cappella arrangement, putting the infectious melody upfront. And his most enduring nonrock album, 1982’s “Night & Day,” was mined for three numbers, including the closing epic “A Slow Song.”
Most encouraging were the five unrecorded numbers he introduced. The woozy “Drunk Song” proved Jackson’s sense of humor is back; and “Citizen Sane” and “Too Tough” boasted sharp lyrics on two of his favorite topics - disaffection from society and the pitfalls of relationships. All had strong melodies with hints of Beatles and Bacharach. If the loud rockers on Jackson’s last album felt a little forced at times, these new ones sounded natural and were his strongest batch in a long while.
Notably missing was anything from the cabaret album, the symphonic album or his other left-field projects of recent years. It’s tempting to say Jackson’s come to his senses; but he’s at least returned to the tuneful and literate songwriting he’s always done best.
Joe Jackson. At the Somerville Theatre, Wednesday night.
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