Look Sharp! (Joe Jackson album)
| Look Sharp! | ||||
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| Studio album by Joe Jackson | ||||
| Released | 5 March 1979 | |||
| Recorded | August 1978, Eden Studios, London, England | |||
| Genre | New wave, post-punk, punk | |||
| Length | 36:28 | |||
| Label |
A&M AMLH 64743 A&M/PolyGram Records 214 743 A&M/Universal Records 586 194 (2001 reissue) |
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| Producer | David Kershenbaum | |||
| Joe Jackson chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Look Sharp! | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  |
| Rolling Stone | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  |
| Smash Hits | 7/10 |
| The Village Voice | B |
Look Sharp! is the debut album by Joe Jackson, released in 1979. The album featured one of Jackson's most famous songs, "Is She Really Going Out with Him?," as well as the title track "Look Sharp", "Sunday Papers" and "One More Time."
The cover, featuring a pair of white shoes, ranked number 22 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest album covers of all time.
Joe Jackson and his band, using money earned by Jackson from touring with the cabaret band Koffee 'n' Kream, began recording the album from fall 1977 to spring 1978 in a studio in Portsmouth. However, after producer David Kershenbaum heard a demo tape from Jackson, he signed Jackson to A&M Records in 1978, after which Jackson and his band quickly rerecorded the album. This was then followed by a tour to promote the record.
"Is She Really Going Out with Him?" was released as a single in the UK prior to the release of Look Sharp!, but it, as well as follow-ups "Sunday Papers" and "One More Time," failed to make an impact on the charts. Look Sharp! also stalled upon its initial release, but upon the re-release of "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" in Britain (as well as a single release in the US), the album grew in popularity, reaching the top #20 in America. After the performance of the first album, the band quickly recorded a follow-up, I'm the Man, which has been described by Jackson as "Part Two of Look Sharp!" since its release.
Jackson's opinion on the album was mixed, with Jackson later claiming that I'm the Man and 2003's Volume 4 were better albums overall. He later said on his website,
What can anyone say about something they did so long ago?! I'm not embarrassed by it, or not by most of it, anyway. It positively reeks of London 1978–79 and, well, it is what it is. I'm glad people liked it, and still like it, though I think some of that is nostalgia and a tendency to romanticise peoples' first albums, as though later ones must somehow be less 'authentic'. For a first album, this one's not bad, but I was only 23 when I made it and it would be pretty weird if I didn't think I'd done better things since.
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