REVIEW: Joe Jackson, Night Music (Virgin)
- Dan Enright
After Laughter and Lust slid by the general population's conciousness, Joe Jackson reportedly underwent an extended period of unhappiness and depression. Out of that darkness, however, came his most ambitious and beautiful album yet: Night Music.
Three years after releasing Laughter and Lust Joe has recorded an album that expands his horizons while meeting the high standards as a songwriter/composer that his fans have come to expect. This mix of "classical" composing and "pop" songwriting ties together his career from Night and Day to his future, including a "symphony" for Virgin Classics.
Recorded almost entirely with keyboards and computers, the only additional musicians - and instruments - are symphonic (viola, oboe, clarinet, etc.) and vocalists. The album opens with a beautiful instrumental, called a nocturne, that establishes the atmosphere and structure that's to follow. Then two songs with lyrics, "Flying" - where Joe philosophically notes "The older I get/the more stupid I feel" which then becomes "The older I get/the more lucid I feel" and "Ever After" - a lullaby disguised as a lament for lost love. It's reggae beat and melody almost assure that it will be the single from this album. It's the least representative song on the album and is weakened by taking it out of context, but is needed as a single for airplay.
The second (of four) nocturne creates a break before "The Man Who Wrote Danny Boy", an interpretation of the Faust legend as only Joe could do it. The third nocturne separates that tale from "Lullaby" again disguised (though more openly) as a lament, "I watch my pen as though / My fingers could shatter / Like icicles / And before my eyes / Lie glittering and useless / On a field / Of snow."
Jackson then follows with the trepidation of "Only the Future" with the line "Something's coming / Something big / Something I can't stand/ Dark as the ocean / Secret and cruel / Something I can't command." This is followed by the last nocturne before the finale, "Sea of Secrets." Here it seems all the troubles and conflicts, the worries and doubts that are voiced earlier are resolved: "It's sinking in / No need for fear of drowning / Drift away / These monsters here / Are only faces I don't wear by day / Now and then / I can wake up, and in the mirror / Demons turn to friends..."
Is it about dreams? Is it about self reflection? These are by no means the only interpretations of this album. Night Music is dense and oblique enough to give every listener and every listen a different perspective. The restating of themes, some from previous albums, gives the album a subtle continuity that encourages repeat listenings. These words don't begin to do it justice.
Night Music is one of the most amazing albums I've ever heard, one I believe will stand the test of time. It also marks the blossoming of one of the most creative musicians working today and carries the promise of greater things to come.
