Almost half a century after Look Sharp! announced Joe Jackson as one of the sharpest and most distinctive voices to emerge from Britain’s late-1970s new wave, he remains a musician stubbornly unwilling to live on past glories. At Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, the Hope and Fury tour provided ample evidence that Jackson is still looking forward, even while acknowledging the remarkable body of work behind him.
The tour accompanies Hope and Fury, his first album since 2023’s excursion into English music hall, Mr. Joe Jackson Presents Max Champion in ‘What a Racket!’. This time Jackson has returned to the sophisticated mixture of pop, rock, jazz and rhythmic experimentation that has characterised much of his career. The result is an evening that feels less like a greatest hits show than a conversation between the Joe Jackson of 1979 and the artist he has become nearly five decades later.
Jackson opened alone at the piano with ‘Is She Really Going Out With Him?’, immediately stripping one of his most familiar songs back to its essentials. It was an effective reminder that beneath the spiky new-wave production of those early records were always exceptionally well-crafted songs. Bassist Graham Maby, Jackson’s musical companion for much of his career, then joined him for ‘It’s Different for Girls’, before the full band arrived and the evening began to gather momentum.
From there, old and new were deliberately intertwined. The new album was represented early by ‘Welcome to Burning-by-Sea’, inspired by Jackson’s home town of Portsmouth, and ‘I’m Not Sorry’, both demonstrating that he has lost little of the observational bite and wit that made his early work so compelling.
Significantly, much of the audience appeared every bit as familiar with the new songs as they were with the old, greeting them just as warmly. One of the strengths of Jackson’s catalogue is just how difficult it is to pigeonhole. The nervous energy of his earliest records gave way to the sophisticated jazz-pop of Night and Day, while subsequent decades have taken in everything from swing and classical music to Latin rhythms and English music hall. That restlessness was reflected throughout tonight’s performance.
‘Another World’, from 1982’s Night and Day, brought to mind Ian Dury’s Blockheads, with its eclectic, high-energy fusion of new wave, jazz and funk. There are certainly shared influences at work, not least the refusal of both Jackson and the Blockheads to recognise the boundaries between musical genres.
Songs including ‘Real Men’, ‘Be My Number Two’ and ‘Fool’ further illustrated the breadth of Jackson’s catalogue, while Hope and Fury numbers such as ‘The Face’ and ‘End of the Pier’ sat comfortably alongside material written decades earlier. Jackson’s singing voice remains a remarkably powerful instrument at the age of 72.
Inevitably, there have been adjustments with age, but he retains the distinctive qualities of his younger voice and, crucially, that instantly recognisable sharpness of delivery. Just as important was the band. Long-time bassist Graham Maby remains an integral part of the Joe Jackson sound, while guitarist Teddy Kumpel, drummer Doug Yowell and percussionist Felipe Fournier gave Jackson’s arrangements both muscle and subtlety.
Inevitably, some of the biggest reactions were reserved for the songs that have followed Jackson throughout his career. ‘Look Sharp!’ retained its urgency, while the combination of ‘Target’ and ‘Steppin’ Out’ brought the main set towards its climax. The latter remains one of Jackson’s most perfectly realised songs: an elegant snapshot of nocturnal city life that somehow sounds rooted in 1982 while remaining timeless.
By the end of the main set, the audience had clearly enjoyed themselves and showed their appreciation with a standing ovation. The encore offered another glimpse of Jackson’s influences with a version of David Bowie’s ‘Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)’, before ‘You Can’t Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)’ returned proceedings to his own catalogue. Jackson finally brought the evening full circle, alone again at the piano for ‘Home Town’.
What emerged most strongly from the evening was the sense of an artist who has little interest in becoming his own tribute act. Jackson knows perfectly well which songs much of the audience has come to hear, and he delivers them, but on his own terms and alongside the music he is making now.
Hope and Fury is therefore an appropriate title for both the album and this stage of Jackson’s career. There is still fury there when he needs it, but also humour, sophistication and, crucially, plenty of hope. Nearly fifty years after asking whether she was really going out with him, Joe Jackson still has questions to ask, and he remains well worth listening to.
Opening for Jackson was Nashville based musician Conner Youngblood who played a set of songs inspired by nature and the world around him, the standout being The Birds of Finland.
Jo Jackson’s Hope and Fury tour continues and information can be found by following the link,
http://joejackson.com/tour-news
Reviewer: Adrian Cork
On: 05/10/2026
No comments:
Post a Comment