h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Big Red - I notice from 'what music are you listening to' that you're going to see Joe Jackson. I saw him in Edinburgh and Glasgow in June and London on the warm up tour last September and he is absolutely superb.

The set's all very old and very new songs (with one or two surprises each night!) but all good stuff!

Let me know what he's like in Washington.

- still trying to get 'Beat Crazy' for a reasonable price on eBay....

Hello, Psycho: This will be my second time seeing Joe on this tour. Saw him in D.C. in April, and this week he'll be in a college town called Towson in the state of Maryland, about 90 mins from here. Well worth the drive!

Dunno if you saw my second post that I was glad he'd gotten over his "the audience must be silent" mood that he sported in the '80s, back in the "Night and Day" era. He played at such a volume that it wouldn't have mattered if we were all shouting, anyway (which we were).

Yeah, it was a great show, and he really seemed to be enjoying himself. I think touring took 15 years off his face.

Re "Beat Crazy," if the censors don't whack this out, I will make you a CD copy off my vinyl in exchange for a Marillion pirate. I've never even heard of them!

Well I'm bidding on a couple of copies of Beat Crazy on eBay at the moment, it's going for around the $25-$30 range so hopefully I'll get one of them. It's the only CD I need to complete my JJ collection.

Marillion are a British band and nothing like Joe Jackson at all, but if you like Joe's 'stranger' stuff (like Night and Day 2 and Night Music) then you might want to give them a try. I'd recommend their latest CD 'Anoraknophobia' to start with, but my favourite albums are 'Brave' and 'Afraid of Sunlight'.

If you're interested, their website has samples on it - www.marillion.com, or I'd be happy to pass you a 'sampler' - you can email me through my website at www.psychochicken.com.

There's a few Marillion entries in H2G2. The best of these is probably at A580349, covering the band since their current singer joined in '89.

Thanks! I'll check it out.

I have several holes in my JJ collection, many of them deliberate, from about late '80s on.

Tomorrow night's the night! I hope we get "Different for Girls" instead of "Blaze of Glory" this time, though I did like it better live. (That's one of the albums I didn't get after listening to a friend's. I'd rather Joe sang all his own stuff.)

..b..b..but Blaze of Glory's my favourite JJ album....! Still, they're all different and that's why we like him

yes, it is! I don't think I could pick a fave, but I have and love "Look Sharp," "Beat Crazy," "Jumpin' Jive," "Night and Day," "Big World" and "Laughter and Lust." Have "Body and Soul" but am not crazy about it. Have "I'm the Man" on tape only and can't FIND it but remember loving it. Became very wary from "Willpower" on.

Off to lunch; more later.

Oh dear.... 'Body and Soul' is a close second to 'Blaze of Glory' for me - I absolutely love it. 'Look Sharp' is unbeatable for sheer bounce value though. I do have some 'issues' when he goes all classical on us, like on Will Power and that damn Symphony thing. Hmmm.

Ach well, variety makes the world go round. Or something.

I do love "Be My Number Two" from "Body and Soul," and in fact I should give the whole album a listen again, because it's been a good long while.

Well, where do I start with the concert last night? He opened with "One More Time," naturally, and closed with "I'm the Man," also naturally. And did "Got the Time" for his last encore, same as in D.C.

His solo song-by-another-artist for the night was Steely Dan's "Any Major Dude," and I had JUST PLAYED that album last week. (We've been having '70s vinyl nights at our house. Great fun.)

We got "Different for Girls" this time, YES!!! He seemed chagrined that many of us at last night's show also had been at April's Washington show, and said, "S***, I should have checked the set list and made sure there was enough that was different!"

As if any of us would have minded that.

You won't believe that I still haven't bought the new album yet (pure laziness plus addiction to satellite radio is responsible) but he did several numbers from it, of course ("Take It Like a Man," "Awkward Age," "Chrome" -- don't really like "Chrome" so you probably love it -- "Love at First Light," "Fairy Dust" and a very funny one called "Thugs Are Us." I don't know if you have kids like those described in the song in the U.K., but we sure do here!

He did "Down to London" just for you, and you weren't there to hear it. A sweet acoustic version of "Home Town." His acoustic version of "Steppin' Out." "Beat Crazy." I'm using his discography on the Web to refresh my memory of what he played last night. "On Your Radio," "Sunday Papers," "Is She Really Going Out With Him" and "Look Sharp."

In short, another *great* show from Joe.

Sounds great - and I got 'Down to London' in Edinburgh so was well chuffed . He was very good when he played Glasgow (only 50 miles away) and did quite a different set, realising that there were a lot of the same people there.

Like here, a lot from the first couple of albums and the new one, which makes sense really. I remember 'Don't Wanna Be Like That' as a brilliant singalong in Glasgow.

You don't have the new album??? Shame on you! And you a fan of the early stuff too 'Awkward Age' is my favourite off the new CD, but 'Love at First Light' has just typically wonderful JJ lyrics. Fantastic stuff! And I think Thugs R Us is a universal song - it was written by an Englishman who's lived in the US for a long time so it makes sense on both sides of the pond!

Yes, and I noticed he's losing his accent. He was coming down pretty hard on those final R's. I bet it gets stronger when he's over there, though.

OK, OK, I'll go buy the album! This weekend for sure. I like "Awkward Age" a lot too.

This is why I married him: My husband stuck "Volume 4" into my lunch bag this morning and I discovered it when I got to work.

My fellow JJ fan at work downloaded it and is playing it on her computer right now (she has better speakers than I do). By the way, she says Marillion is terrific.

Aww. Ain't that nice.

Your coleague is clearly a lady of taste and distinction - a JJ fan and a Marillion fan too! Demand to borrow some Marillion stuff and see what you think.

Good idee. After all, she just got my "Volume 4" for free.

I'd recommend trying 'Anoraknophobia' first. That's the latest one, and one of their best ever - it's also probably the most accessible to a newcomer.

'Brave' is my absolute favourite, but can be a bit much for some people - it's incredibly powerful. 'Afraid of Sunlight' is also absolutely amazing.

Have fun!

Did you get any Marillion stuff from your colleague?

I don't think she actually has any herself. I will ask to be sure. I keep thinking about Marillion from time to time but haven't actually done anything about hearing them yet.