Saturday Morning Records: #7 — Night and Day by Joe Jackson

A new series for paying subscribers — celebrating favourite albums for the weekend

About 20 years ago, Joe Jackson blew through town. And I did not go. People often ask me about gigs I regret missing — this is high on the list. I feel like I’d really only just properly clocked his music; which is to say I knew so many of the songs from the radio growing up, and loved them — spotted others from popular film soundtracks (There’s Something About Mary must have really helped out at a good time, financially). But it was the early 00s when it all fell into place for me. Joe Jackson was a beast. Phenomenal writer, singer, player, bandleader, soundtrack composer.

He was dismissed by a few as some “cut price Costello” but why not both? What is with these binaries of pitting people against each other to create phoney, low-stakes culture wars? Fuck all that. And why isn’t he the Costello with better quality control, if anything?