Early in Joe's career, his band was essentially a group of somewhat sophisticated rock and rollers.  His first two albums (Look Sharp! and I'm the Man) both came out in 1979, and even though his music really didn't seem to fit the label, not in my opinion at least, the term "new wave" was often applied to it.  That buzzword is still used to describe his early catalog even today.

In any case, even though Look Sharp! may be a stronger album as a whole, the title track from I'm the Man is by far my favorite Joe song from that era.  It's just one those genuinely exciting, punch a hole in the wall tunes.

Music video for "I'm the Man" on YouTube

YouTube live performance

This is part of a week-long series on the music of Joe Jackson.

Now well into his 50s and still going strong after a 30-plus year career, English pianist/singwriter Joe Jackson has been an enormous favorite of mine for decades.  So I'm giving him a week of hero worship.

This is the guy that gave us "Is She Really Going Out With Him" and "Steppin' Out", neither of which will be posted here.  He's had a very eclectic career and his catalog has covered many different styles, and I hope to showcase as many of them as I can.

Wikipedia article on Joe Jackson