Joe Jackson
Saturday, November 15, 2008
The Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater
Joe Jackson has always occupied an upper strata in the world of rock, an artist who’s daringly dabbled in a variety of seemingly disparate genres and pulled each off with convincing aplomb. He took flight in the New Wave world of the late ‘70s, one of a seemingly endless succession of angry young men -- a fraternity whose roster also included the likes of Elvis Costello, Graham Parker and Paul W
It's time to rank the best of what went around and came around again.
BILLY JOEL
The Stranger
(Columbia/Legacy)
As punk and disco exploded, the Piano Man's deeply unhip 1978 breakthrough proved that top-shelf Broadway/Brill Building songwriting could still sell - and, occasionally, rock. "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" and "Anthony's Song (Movin' Out)" remain priceless snapshots of Annie Hall-era NYC, the title track bares real teeth, and the Kenny Chesney fave "Only the Good Die Young"
