Blaze of Glory (Joe Jackson album)

Blaze of Glory is the tenth studio album by English rock musician Joe Jackson, released in 1989.^[7] Jackson has stated that the album and the songs themselves were an examination of his generation as the 1980s were ending, ranging from the optimism of the 1950s ("Tomorrow's World") to the politics of terrorism ("Rant and Rave") and the Cold War ("Evil Empire"), to yuppies ("Discipline") and rockers who are well past their prime ("Nineteen Forever").^[8] The title track compares the legacy of a classic rock musician who died young ("...went out in a blaze of glory") with the current wannabes ("They're just cartoons" who "think they're Superman" but "can't even fly").

Blaze of Glory
Studio album by Joe Jackson
Released	17 April 1989[1]
Recorded	November–December 1988
Studio	Bearsville (Woodstock, New York) RCA (New York City) Electric Lady (New York City)
Genre	Rock
Length	57:10
Label	A&M
Producer	Joe Jackson
Joe Jackson chronology
Tucker (1988) Blaze of Glory (1989) Stepping Out: The Very Best of Joe Jackson (1990)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
New Musical Express	6/10[3]
Q	[4]
Record Mirror	[5]
Rolling Stone	[6]

Although Blaze of Glory was a modest seller, the resultant single "Nineteen Forever" reached No. 4 in the US Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart.^[9] Jackson felt the album was one of his best efforts and toured to perform and support it with an eleven piece band in the U.S. and Europe from June to November 1989, and was disappointed with both the critical and commercial reaction as well as his record label's lack of support.^[9]

Critical reception

Upon its release, Nick Robinson of Music Week summarised, "By taking a reflective but by no means dated look at his past work, Jackson has come up with a definitive collection of musical styles and moods that flow gracefully – each one showing a different side to his songwriting character."^[10] Kevin Murphy of Record Mirror considered it to show Jackson "back to his adventurous and ambitious best" with a "diverse collection of moods that knit together to tell the story of his life from quizzical child to cynical adult". He added that the album is "typical Jackson – all jazz-tinged Sixties brass, string-swamped sentimentality and glimpses of pub rock theatrics – but done with a greater confidence and richness."^[5]

Track listing

All songs written, arranged and produced by Joe Jackson.^[7]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Tomorrow's World"	4:30
2.	"Me and You (Against the World)"	4:14
3.	"Down to London"	4:14
4.	"Sentimental Thing"	6:09
5.	"Acropolis Now"	4:21
6.	"Blaze of Glory"	6:02
7.	"Rant and Rave"	4:45
8.	"Nineteen Forever"	5:48
9.	"The Best I Can Do"	3:10
10.	"Evil Empire"	3:45
11.	"Discipline"	4:32
12.	"The Human Touch"	5:11

Personnel

Musicians

• Joe Jackson – lead vocals (1, 2, 7, 8, 11, 12), organ (1), acoustic piano (2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12), harmonica (3), synthesizers (4), synth solo (5), backing vocals (6, 8, 11), acoustic piano solo (7), harmony vocals (8), all vocals (9, 10), keyboards (11)
• Ed Roynesdal – synthesizer programming, sampling, Kurzweil K250 sequencer, drum programming, synthesizers (6, 8, 9), acoustic piano (7, 9), vibraphone (7), Hammond organ (8), keyboards (11), violin (12)
• Tom Teeley – guitars (1, 2, 3, 5, 8), electric guitar (6), backing vocals (8, 11), acoustic guitar (10)
• Vinnie Zummo – 12-string guitar (1, 2), guitars (4, 11), acoustic guitar (5, 6, 10, 12), electric 12-string guitar (5), electric sitar (8), nylon guitar solo (10), nylon guitar (12)
• Graham Maby – bass (1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 12), lead vocals (1), backing vocals (8, 11)
• Rick Ford – bass (5, 11), 6-string fretless bass solo (9), fretless bass (10)
• Anthony Cox – acoustic bass (6)
• Gary Burke – Kurzweil drums (1, 2, 3, 6), drums (5, 7, 8, 10, 11)
• Sue Hadjopoulos – congas (7, 10)
• Tony Aiello – flute (1), tenor saxophone (2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 11), tenor sax solo (8), soprano saxophone (11)
• Steve Elson – alto saxophone (2), baritone saxophone (3, 7, 11)
• Chris Hunter – alto saxophone (2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 11)
• Charley Gordon – trombone (2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 11)
• Tony Barrero – trumpet (2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 11), second trumpet solo (7)
• Michael Morreale – trumpet (2, 3, 6-9, 11), first trumpet solo (7)
• Gene Orloff – string conductor (4)
• Glenn Dicterow – violin solo (4)
• Charles McCracken – cello (12)
• Joy Askew – lead vocals (1, 2, 11), backing vocals (1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12)
• Drew Barfield – backing vocals (1, 7, 8, 11, 12), lead vocals (2, 4, 7, 11)

Production

• Joe Jackson – producer, arrangements, art direction
• Ed Roynesdal – associate producer
• Joe Barbaria – engineer, mixing
• Paul Goodman – string recording (4)
• Thom Cadley – recording assistant
• Bridget Daly – mix assistant
• Scott Hull – digital editing
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Masterdisk (New York City, New York) – editing and mastering location
• Richard Frankel – art direction
• Pat Gorman – art direction
• Frank Orlinsky – art direction
• Manhattan Design – design
• Sandra Haber – photography
• Laura Levine – band photography
• Martin Kirkup and Steve Jensen with Direct Management Group – management

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Blaze of Glory Chart (1989) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 31 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[12] 43 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 12 European Albums (Music & Media)[14] 36 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 27 Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)[16] 20 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 22 UK Albums (OCC)[18] 36 US Billboard 200[19] 61

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Blaze of Glory Chart (1989) Position Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[20] 85

References

1. "New Albums" (PDF). Music Week. 15 April 1989. p. 26. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
2. "Joe Jackson - Blaze of Glory Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
3. Swift, David (29 April 1989). "Long Play". New Musical Express. p. 33.
4. Beattie, Rob. "Refreshed" [Blaze of Glory review]. Q. May 1989.
5. Murphy, Kevin (22 April 1989). "33". Record Mirror. p. 32. ISSN 0144-5804.
6. "Rolling Stone review". Archived from the original on 2 June 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
7. Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 485–486. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
8. Hochman, Steve (30 August 1989). "Pop Music Reviews". Los Angeles Times.
9. "Biography by William Ruhlmann". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
10. Robinson, Nick (22 April 1989). "A&R: LP Reviews". Music Week. p. 28. ISSN 0265-1548.
11. "Australiancharts.com – Joe Jackson – Blaze of Glory". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
12. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6381". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
13. "Dutchcharts.nl – Joe Jackson – Blaze of Glory" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
14. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 20. 20 May 1989. p. 25. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
15. "Offiziellecharts.de – Joe Jackson – Blaze of Glory" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
16. "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 15 July 2022. Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Blaze of Glory" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
17. "Swisscharts.com – Joe Jackson – Blaze of Glory". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
18. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
19. "Joe Jackson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
20. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1989" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 15 July 2022.

External links

• Blaze of Glory album information at The Joe Jackson Archive