1986 album for A&M, deleted in the U.S. A pure digital recording, the CD contains all 15 tracks from the 60 minute release (originally released as a three-sided LP) and the original booklet with the lyrics in six langu... more »ages! A top 40 album in the U.S., it includes 'Right And Wrong', 'Wild West', 'Soul Kiss' and '(It's A) Big World'.« less
1986 album for A&M, deleted in the U.S. A pure digital recording, the CD contains all 15 tracks from the 60 minute release (originally released as a three-sided LP) and the original booklet with the lyrics in six languages! A top 40 album in the U.S., it includes 'Right And Wrong', 'Wild West', 'Soul Kiss' and '(It's A) Big World'.
garyb1@hotmail.com | Fort Myers, Florida | 07/21/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Recorded live at a small venue in Manhattan, you will not hear an audience because they were asked to remain quiet. A friend who attended the show said aside from a few false starts, what you hear is what he heard, no remixing. Not many artists write with such feeling and perform with such emotion. Bare bones and raw, this is Joe Jackson at his best...which is truly an achievement. Buy this CD and you will find the songs to be infectuous. This "album" stayed on my turntable for months. Unfortunately, the record company did not do a good job of promotion and the record withered. I have never written a review before this, but feel compelled to as this collection should not go un-noticed."
Big Fan Review-JKlay
Jonathan Klay | Granada Hills, California | 02/25/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is one album that is a must for every J.J.fan however, non regular fans will love it also. J.J. uses a great three piece backing band to deliver a tremendously rounded performance. If the album has a live feel to it read the liner notes to find out the unique way it was recorded to give it this sound. The songs are flat out awesome, and are delivered with great passion. Pay particular attention to the last two songs "Man in the Street" and "Hometown", which are aabsolutely stellar. J.J. uses so many different styles and textures on this disc that one cannot help but wonder why this brilliant artist is so easily overlooked. Buy this disc, have a good listen and you too will be hooked!"
You just won't believe how good this is.
katzstone@yahoo.com | Maryland | 02/26/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"For those who don't know... This album was recorded live in two nights, though it is not a "concert" album. The audience was asked to remain quiet during the performance, which was captured direct to two-track. What you hear in this amazing collection of songs is really Joe Jackson, really the band, with no fancy tweaking in the studio after the fact. For those who thought musicianship was dead...it ain't!Besides the technical accomplishment, these are brilliant and beautiful songs, smart songs covering a range of subjects and emotions. Buy this one, truly. You'll thank yourself."
Joe Jackson - Overlooked Album That Was His Best Up To This
Steven Sly | Kalamazoo, MI United States | 10/09/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ever the chameleon Joe Jackson pulled another complete 360 with the release of "Big World" in 1986. On this album he pulls away from the sound of his previous two (very successful) albums, puts together a basic rock combo (Keys, bass, drums, guitar) and records the whole thing in front of a live audience. All audience noise has been edited out, so it sounds like a studio disc. When the album came out on vinyl it spanned 3 discs, and on CD it fits in at right around 1 hour. Along with "Laughter And Lust" this is definilty one of Jackson's most underrated albums. Much of it comes across almost as AOR rock which one would not think would be Jackson's forte, but he pulls off everything admirably here. "Big World" would unfortunately start a commercial slide for Jackson as it would only chart in the high 30's. The only single to do much was the song "Right And Wrong" which would get some airplay on mainstream rock / AOR radio, but then faded away fairly quickly. This is too bad as I think this might have been Joe's best album up to this point in his career. There are 15 tracks on this disc and just about all of them feature prime Joe Jackson songwriting. I am not going to go through all of the tracks, but suffice to say that I don't think there is a weak one in the bunch. This album tends to get overlooked in the cannon of Joe Jackson's catalogue, but if you are at all a fan, this along with "Laughter And Lust" are two must own albums that are often sadly underappreciated."