And yet, he says, I still dont really believe it.
has been busy readying his crackling, newly released albumFool.
EWchatted with Jackson about the new album and how hell be switching up the set list on the road.
Credit: Official Joe Jackson Website
(Spoiler alert: Die-hard Jackson fans may be surprised to hear how he is ending his shows.)
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Did you happen to be in Boise so you chose to record there?
I kind of love it actually.
EARMUSIC
Its kind of boring.
I was thrilled to do it in Boise.
I enjoyed being there.
Its a nice town.
For that recent tour, you chose secondary markets that you dont normally hit.
But I will say that the last few years Ive been doing a lot of touring.
And Ive been amazed at the strength of support thats out there.
I didnt really expect to be selling out venues in places like Boise, Idaho.
On that same tour we went to several places for the first time.
We went to Halifax, Nova Scotia and it was sold out, so, Im thrilled.
Because, like I said, I start from the assumption that nothing will happen at all.
No one will show up.
I think its healthier to have zero expectations.
The first single Fabulously Absolute is another in a long line of great list songs.
When you write those do they come out fully formed, stream-of-consciousness?
Or do you do a lot of editing?Nothing comes out fully formed.
Its just experimenting and trying different things and scrapping them and starting again.
I think Im more particular now than I was in the very early days.
Im not gonna be scared.
The narrator is offering some good advice.
You know, Im at the point where, well, Ive been around the block a few times.
And thats a sense of humor.
Friend Better is a toast to friendship and Fool is a toast to humor basically.
Its all a personification of humor which is this figure of the fool, the jester.
Hes a necessary person even when hes screwing things up.Hes absolutely essential.
Its very interesting actually.
Recently theres been a lot of talk about applying political correctness to comedy.
And I think thats completely wrongheaded.
I mean, the whole point of humor is to not have any bloody respect for anyone.
Otherwise it doesnt work.
Now that youve given yourself this five-album parameter, how will you be making your setlist?
How do you figure out which songs to sacrifice?Its the same way I do everything.
I can only describe it as following your intuition.
So thats my other reason for drawing on those particular albums.
But well also do some stuff thats not on those five albums as well.
Youre famous for reinventing your hits.
Does that help keep them fresh?They have been reinvented quite a lot.
So we might do that, but I always like to change things around.
And two of the albums we are featuring,Night & DayandRain,have no guitar on them.
I mean, we might do that too.
[Laughs]
For years now, youve ended your shows with A Slow Song.
[Laughs]I mean it works really well, which is why we keep doing it I guess.
But I think there are other things that will work too.
[Laughs]Not really, no.
Well, I do think that sometimes.
I mean not during a show Im immersed in, you know, doing the show.
