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Beat Crazy

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This article is about the album. For the song, see Beat Crazy (song).
Beat Crazy
Studio album by
The Joe Jackson Band
Released10 October 1980[1]
Recorded1980
StudioBasing Street, London
GenreNew wave, punk rock, ska
Length45:40
LabelA&M
ProducerJoe Jackson
The Joe Jackson Band chronology
I'm the Man
(1979) 		Beat Crazy
(1980) 		Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive
(1981)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Robert ChristgauB[3]

Beat Crazy is the third album by Joe Jackson, released in October 1980 and credited to the Joe Jackson Band.[4] It was a relative disappointment commercially, peaking outside the Top 40 in both the UK and the United States, with its singles failing to chart.[5] One reason for the reduced sales in the U.S. may have been that the group did not tour to support it there.[5] Nevertheless, the Joe Jackson Band was successful and toured extensively.[5] This would be the last studio album released by the Joe Jackson Band's original line-up until 2003's Volume 4.[6]

Background

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Beat Crazy was intended to be a stylistic departure from Jackson's first two albums. However, as he recalled, the band lacked a clear direction during the recording. Jackson later stated that he felt the record "didn't really work".[7] He explained,

The stereotypical difficult third album, in which we tried to change the formula a bit without quite knowing how. It's darker than the first two and the reggae influence is more pronounced. There's some good stuff on it (I especially like the title track and 'Biology') but it’s not quite the triumphant swan song of this band.[8]

Musically, the album saw the band take in reggae and ska influence as seen on songs such as "In Every Dream Home", "Mad at You", and "Pretty Boys".[2]

Track listing

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All songs written, arranged and produced by Joe Jackson.

No.TitleLength
1."Beat Crazy" (lead vocal by Graham Maby)4:15
2."One to One"3:22
3."In Every Dream Home (A Nightmare)"4:31
4."The Evil Eye"3:45
5."Mad at You"6:03
6."Crime Don't Pay"4:24
7."Someone Up There"3:47
8."Battleground"2:33
9."Biology"4:31
10."Pretty Boys"3:41
11."Fit"4:45

Personnel

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Musicians
  • Joe Jackson – vocals, keyboards, melodica
  • Graham Maby – bass, vocals, lead vocal on "Beat Crazy"
  • Gary Sanford – guitars
  • David Houghton – drums, vocals
Production

Charts

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Chart (1980) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 82
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[10] 32
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[11] 47
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 42
US Billboard 200[13] 41

References

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  1. ^ "Joe's Beat" (PDF). Record Mirror. 4 October 1980. p. 3. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Beat Crazy". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  3. ^ "CG: Joe Jackson Band". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  4. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 485–486. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
  5. ^ a b c "Biography by William Ruhlmann". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  6. ^ Luerssen, John D. (24 June 2002). "Joe Jackson Reunites "Sharp" Band". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Interview: Joe Jackson reflects on 'Fast Forward,' his earliest work and the dangers of nostalgia". The Republic | azcentral.com. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  8. ^ Jackson, Joe. "Beat Crazy". joejackson.com.
  9. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 151. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Joe Jackson – Beat Crazy" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Charts.nz – Joe Jackson – Beat Crazy". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Joe Jackson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
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