Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive
	Produced by Joe Jackson
	Released on June 1981
	UK CHART POSITION #14 . . . US CHART POSITION #42
	Find it at GEMM
SP-4871 cover [high resolution photo]

N ope. Didn’t see it coming. This album of swing standards proved to be an unexpected delight, the first of many left turns from an artist who just a short time ago had been accused of tailgating Elvis Costello and Graham Parker. Here Jackson and his swingin’ new sextet (bassist Graham Maby is the lone holdover) exhume a dozen dusty classics and breathe life into them. The swing/new wave connection might seem like a stretch (well, it is), but what could be more alternative than embracing the music that our parents rejected? In rediscovering these songs, listeners aren’t just getting a history lesson but a faithful recreation of the rebellious spirit that originally informed swing. While I was familiar with some of these songs already, a lot of Jumpin’ Jive is new to me: “How Long Must I Wait,” “We The Cats (Shall Hep Ya),” “Jack, You’re Dead.” They’ve since entered the collective jukebox that runs through my head, moreso than most Joe Jackson songs. I’ll fall short of calling this my favorite Joe Jackson because (1) it’s so different from anything else he’s done and (2) Look Sharp and Night And Day purchased the credibility so crucial to a Jumpin’ Jive. However, it never fails to put me in a good mood, and ranks as one of my favorite party records. At the time, it smacked of commercial suicide, but the mainstream success of rockabilly soon after proved that Jackson was onto something. Oddly (or perhaps not so given his myriad musical interests) Jackson didn’t return to swing again. He has a natural affinity for it, and I’d love to hear a Jumpin’ Jive Revisited some time, but for now this single, wonderful anomaly will have to do.

SP-4871 back cover

TRACK LISTING

1. JUMPIN' WITH SYMPHONY SID    (Clarence Beeks/Lester Young)    2:42
2. JACK, YOU'RE DEAD    (Dick Miles/Walter Bishop)    2:45
3. IS YOU IS OR IS YOU AIN'T MY BABY    (Bill Austin/Louis Jordan)    5:02
4. WE THE CATS (SHALL HEP YA)    (copyright control)    3:18
5. SAN FRANCISCO FAN    (M. More)    4:28
6. FIVE GUYS NAMED MOE    (Jerome Bresler/Larry Wynn)    2:14
7. JUMPIN' JIVE    (Cab Calloway/Frank Froeba/Jack Palmer)    2:42
8. YOU RUN YOUR MOUTH (AND I'LL RUN MY BUSINESS)    (Louis Armstrong)    2:32
9. WHAT'S THE USE OF GETTING SOBER (WHEN YOU'RE GONNA GET DRUNK AGAIN)    (Bubsy Meyers)    3:48
10. YOU'RE MY MEAT    (Skeets Tolbert)    2:55
11. TUXEDO JUNCTION    (Buddy Feyne/Erskine Hawkins/William Johnson/Julian Dash)    5:19
12. HOW LONG MUST I WAIT FOR YOU    (copyright control)    4:06
    
    All songs arranged by Joe Jackson

CREDITS

JOE JACKSON -- voice and vibes, horn arrangements, design
DAVE BITELLI -- tenor sax and clarinet, backing vocals, horn arrangements
GRAHAM MABY -- bass, backing vocals
RAUL OLIVIERA -- trumpet, backing vocals, horn arrangements
PETE THOMAS -- alto sax, backing vocals, horn arrangements
LARRY TOLFREE -- drums, backing vocals
NICK WELDON -- piano, backing vocals
Norman Mighell -- engineer, associate producer
Anton Corbijn -- photography, design
Pete Convington -- logo

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