Joe Jackson : On Your Radio
On October 5, 1979 Joe Jackson followed up his debut album Look Sharp! ten months later with I'm The Man. He would later say "This is really Part Two of Look Sharp! – it was released less than a year later. I don't know how I even had the time to write and record a slightly more mature record, but I think it is, and the best of the first three."
So I'm probably not the only one that had both albums on the same TDK 90 minute cassette.
Jackson spreads out a bit more on this album with five songs recorded at or over the four minute mark. "The Band Wore Blue Shirts" even eclipses the five minutes. He ventures into reggae on "Geraldine And John" and shows off his night club piano antics on "Blue Shirts", early signs that Jackson would get restless with the Elvis Costello/Graham Parker/ Angry Young Man mold in which he has been marketed.
Smash Hits reviewer Red Starr gave the album 7.5 out of 10 writing:
Chunky guitars, thumping bass, hard-hitting drumming--plus good vocals and piano from Joe--all set a frantic pace for this hugely energetic R+B based collection. A vast improvement on Joe's first outing--especially in the melody department--though ironically the best tracks still sound like Parker or Costello. Best tracks : "It's Different For Girls", "On Your Radio".
From Robert Christgau a C+ and a short response to the title I'm The Man :
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