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Joe Jackson – Body and Soul
Album | 14/03/1984 | A&M Records
45:24 | 9 tracks | Vinyl/CD/Cassette
Jazz Pop / New Wave
Burton-upon-Trent, England / Brooklyn, NY, USA
The Lodge Sessions
Joe Jackson’s relocation from London to New York in 1982 was a crucial part in the artist’s career. The days of the Joe Jackson Band were over, and the British musician began to spread his wings. With the release of the album Night and Day in 1982, Jackson had a good start in New York, but the film score Mike’s Murder (1983) turned out to be a flop. Thus, new ideas were needed. It is said that Joe Jackson and David Kershenbaum had sushi in Los Angeles when they talked about the neccessity of new ways of recording. The solution was found in the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, a freemasons‘ lodge used by Vanguard Studios. In a hall made from wood and stone, with high ceilings, Joe Jackson and his session musicians got what they wanted: a sound that resembled a live recording as much as possible.
Settling in
But not only was the sound an important aspect for the success of Body and Soul. Furthermore, Joe Jackson has massively refined his songwriting and approach to composition. His seventh studio album finally paved the way for Jackson to enter the halls of art music. Without neglecting his pop appeal, Joe Jackson created a soundscape that reaches from Film Score to Jazz and from Funk to New Wave. And paying to both Sonny Rollins and Coleman Hawkins, he put extra emphasis on the Jazz part. Body and Soul is a timeless classic, an album that brims over with emotions and colourful expression.
8/10 Mangoes
Next week in this series:
Shape of Despair – Illusion’s Play (27/09/2004 | Spikefarm Records)
We will dance again
Mia Schem
