Joe Jackson Album: “Blaze of Glory”

The recording industry would like to prolong, for as long as possible, that reckless period of our lives where music can absorb us completely. During that time life seems endless, infinitely extendable, and burgeoning with promise. Nothing stands in our way. Music has the ability to feed this beast while simultaneously feeding record labels that release products to prolong the illusion. It seems to work. Consequently, not many pop albums deal with the problems of growing up, and many pop artists wouldn't dare challenge the premises of youth culture. After all, "the dream" is at stake.

Maybe that explains why Joe Jackson's brilliant "Blaze of Glory" remains sorely neglected. This album smears the reality of adulthood squarely in the face of idealistic youth. It says many things that people don't want to hear, basically, that love fades, youth crumbles, technological progress may not bring us unending happiness, our country may not be what we think, and many of us fade away forgotten. This album aims to deliver a big dose of reality, but the music remains so great throughout that the rather bummer themes don't take center stage. For example, "Nineteen Forever", which hit number 16 in the US, delivers such strong pop hooks that the subtheme of denial stays in the shadows. The video featured Jackson aging rapidly and then crumbling to dust. And the amazing instrumental "Acropolis Now" flails its stinging electric guitars in the face of any questioning. But soon the questions bellow too loud to ignore.

"Tomorrow's World", the album's opener, outright mocks unchecked faith in progress: "No one will die in tomorrow's world and miracles will happen soon". But later, in stark contrast, "Sometimes I think we should be sending out an SOS, but mostly I just think of all the things that I can't wait to see". "Down to London", one of Jackson's best songs, fuels the dreams fired by the big city: "Gone down to London to be the king". Lastly, closing out the first section of the album (read the verbiage in the lower right corner of the CD's back cover), "Blaze of Glory" pits our everyday ideals against the status of legend: "but he went out in a blaze of glory and you and I just fade away." We create legends (they wouldn't exist without legions of loyal fans), feed them, sometimes destroy them, and we may also resent them because we're not them.

The second part of the album nearly encompasses four of the classic stages of grief. "Rant and Rave" spews with anger; "Nineteen Forever" deals with denial; "The Best I Can Do" features a person bargaining with a loved one; the beautiful "Human Touch" feels like a resolution full of acceptance. "Evil Empire" will play like heresy to some. It turns Ronald Reagan's reference to the Soviet Union on its head (at the time the Reagan era and the Cold War were nearly over). But it also contains themes that still resonate today. By the end of part two the idealism has faded. Dreams of immortality get replaced by resigned lines such as "You know we're nothing in the scheme of things just microchips and big machines" and "In all the universe I'm just a speck of dust but all I can do is keep trying...."

The album follows a breathtaking tour of musical styles and instrumentation as its themes flow by. In this way it slightly resembles its predecessor, "Big World". But "Blaze of Glory" presents a more unified whole both thematically and musically. The styles here meld into one another almost effortlessly until they end with a heartbreaking climax. Pop music rarely gets this good.

Joe Jackson left A&M after this album and continued his career on pretty much the same path. 1991's "Laughter & Lust" received some heavy airplay and 1999's "Symphony No. 1" received acclaim from the music world. He has also recently criticized smoking bans in New York City (which non-smokers likely won't sympathize with). His opinions on the subject are posted on the offical Joe Jackson website.

"Blaze of Glory" stands as one high point in Jackson's long varied career. Though not hailed as a classic by the music press at large, many stumble across this album on their own and become hopelessly addicted. The incredible music and poignant themes continue to speak very loudly to some.

Unless you're a pretty big Joe Jackson fan, like myself, you have probably never heard of this album. That's a shame because "Blaze of Glory" is a real gem. So many of Jackson's albums have different sounds and styles and this one is no exception. It begins with the futuristic themed "Tomorrow's World" and goes into the very up tempo "Me and You (Against the World)". Then comes one of my very favorite JJ songs, "Down to London" on which Jackson credits himself with playing the "fake harmonica". There are a couple of lesser tracks including "Sentimental Thing" and "Discipline", but with every other song being great in one way or another, those two can hardly detract from a top rating of five stars.

Joe Jackson is far from the typical new wave rocker his first 2 or 3 albums pegged him as. He's proven over time to have a versatility few of his peers can match. This album, while not as pop as Look Sharp or I'm the Man, is one of his most ambitious, every bit as wide-ranging and genre-bending as Night and Day or Big World. It's a shame it's out of print, but unfortunately, A&M lost sight of a lot of their true artsts when the company was swallowed up by Polygram. For what it's worth, Jackson himself, in his excellent book "A Cure For Gravity," names this album and Night and Day as his two best works....that alone should make it worth a listen.

I'm not sure why this album has achieved rare status even in CD format, while most of the rest of his catalog continues to thrive as currently available. This is one of my favorite albums of his, and I'm longtime big Joe Jackson fan.

Not only does it have a nice blend of his 1980's pop-style phase with his always edgy, always high quality angry songwriter's excellence, but it also contains classics that every Joe Jackson fan appreciates, such as "One to One" and "Pretty Boys". Just as important, it also contains a few Joe Jackson gems that too few people know but everyone should, as they belong right up there on the list with his best songs, including "Mad at You", possibly "In Every Dream Home (A Nightmare)", and definitely the title track "Beat Crazy".

A great combination of easy accessibility and artistic integrity. If you haven't heard it, find a copy somehow and enjoy.

I don't know if he realizes it or not but this is his best disc so far in a long career of great music. The songs flow together like a story of life and love. Nineteen forever is my most favorite song because it describes the way I felt at the time this disc came out, over 30 and feeling like I was still a teen. Tomorrow's World, Evil Empire, Down to London, this disc got me through some of the worst times in my life, living with Cancer and it's many treatments. I would just put the head phones on and go to another place. Thanks Joe for creating such a beautiful group of songs, they are all top notch.