I'm The Man [CD]

The searing opening track On Your Radio is an instant highlight as Jackson vents his spleen in the name of revenge to Dave Houghton's galloping drum track and some harmonica. This was always a good live number and the production well captures that here on this album, especially with a neat change of pace towards the end.

This frenetic pace is deftly switched with the downbeat faux reagee tones of Geraldine And John, featuring some biting lyrics about a loveless marriage of an unendearing pair which is kept afloat for the sake of their social standing.

Kinda Kute follows and slightly strikes a wrong note, being a rather pleasant but slight happy-go-lucky pop number(inexplicably included in some of JJ's Best Of collections)in what is overall a rather fierce and sharp record. However, matters are rectified by Jackson's famed Its Different For Girls, which enjoys a rather haunting quality thanks to some typically well considered bass work from Graham Maybe.

The title track of the album marks the half way point and is a witty lampooning of people's readiness to spend their hard earned cash on any old tat which is given the hard sell by advertisers or aspiring Del Boy types (hence Jackson the spiv on the front sleeve). Musically its no slouch of a song either, with some almost irritatingly catchy backing vocals in the chorus.

The Band Wore Blue Shirts again completely alters the pace and is a wearily cynical look at the life of a lounge room ivory tinkler (perhaps a in reference to Jackson's own past?). Again, though, the tempo is brillantly lifted; this time by the undisputed highlight of the record Don't Wanna Be Like That. Lyrically as angry a anything Elvis Costello was penning at the time, it also demonstrates some supreme bass work from Maybe who more than makes up for the lack of a second guitarist, and some soaring and effectvely clipped playing from actual guitarist Gary Sanford during an exhilirating instrumental break.

Again the tempo is allowed to dramatically dip with the number Amatuer Hour, which cannot match the sheer brilliance of the preceeding track but is nevertheless a solid addition in the same way The Band Wore Blue Shirts was. The genuine let-down on the latter half of this record is Get That Girl, which is really nothing more than fluffy pop (pap?) filler and a much lesser effort than the earlier blemish Kinda Kute.

No matter, I'm The Man close with the rousing mini-punk anthem Friday, complete with a couple of eye-oppingly speedy guitar licks and high -pitched yelp of a vocal from an in-form Jackson. It proves a fitting end to an all too short record (only ten songs) which improves on Jackson's impressive first album and gives us more snappy tunes to remember. If I was being entirely frank the rating would stand at four and-a-half stars due the weakness of the two lighter weight songs and the brevity of the album's ten tracks, but the sheer and unqualified excellence of around half-a-dozen of the remaining cuts make this record worthy of more than a mere four stars.