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Joe Jackson‘s first new release since 2008’s Rain is a live album featuring the same trio of Jackson on vocals and piano, Graham Maby on bass and Dave Houghton on drums that was recorded at various spots in Europe over the past few years.
The track list pulls more from Jackson’s past as opposed to Rain (the only album recorded with this lineup) with Night and Day stalwarts like “Chinatown,” “Another World” and of course “Steppin’ Out” along with traditional set closer “A Slow Song” all making appearances. The rather unimaginatively titled Live Music also consists on no less than 3 cover songs, including previously unreleased versions of Ian Dury‘s “Inbetweenies” and David Bowie‘s “Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)” that Jackson has no problem making his own. His version of The Beatles‘ “Girl” and “Still Alive”, a Steely Dan-esque song from his 2003 album Volume Four that’s redone in a Latin-esque style here that fits with the Night and Day material, may be the disk’s highlights. There are other surprises here, too, like the appearance of “Tomorrow’s World”, a little known album track from 1989’s Blaze of Glory.
Like with most live albums, though, this one isn’t for novices. Those who don’t know the original versions should seek them out before acquiring this. However, for longtime fans, this is a surefire treat.
