''I'm the Man'' is the second album by English musician Joe Jackson, released in October 1979. Released shortly after Jackson's breakthrough debut, '' Look Sharp!'', ''I'm the Man'' saw Jackson continue the style of his earlier album. Singles from the album included " I'm the Man" and " It's Different for Girls", the latter of which was his biggest UK

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...

single, peaking at number five on the UK Singles Chart. ''I'm the Man'' was re-released in 2001 with one bonus track, a live

version Version may refer to: Computing * Software version, a set of numbers that identify a unique evolution of a computer program * VERSION (CONFIG.SYS directive), a configuration directive in FreeDOS Music * Cover version * Dub version * Remix * ''V ...

of "

Come On Come On may refer to: Music * ''Come On'' (EP), by Elf Power, 1999 * "Come On" (Billy Lawrence song), 1997 * "Come On" (Christine Anu song), 1995 * "Come On" (Chuck Berry song), 1961; covered by the Rolling Stones, 1963 * "Come On" (CNBLUE so ...

". "Come On" was originally released as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to Jackson's single "I'm the Man", also issued in October 1979.

Background

On the album cover, Jackson appears in the guise of a particular type of petty criminal known in the United Kingdom as a

spiv A spiv is a petty criminal in the United Kingdom who deals in illicit, typically black market, goods. Spivs were particularly active during the Second World War and in the post-war period when many goods were rationed due to shortages. According ...

, a character who, in Jackson's own words, "always wears a gross polka-dot tie and a pencil-thin mustache, and he's always trying to sell you a watch or something like that real cheap. I think people always want to put a label on what you do, so I thought I'd be one step ahead of them and invent one myself - spiv rock." Jackson later explained, that the spiv character is "a silly image that I thought appalling. It's not intended to be a new musical revolution." The album was quickly recorded to follow up Jackson's successful debut album '' Look Sharp!''. Shortly after ''Look Sharp's'' release, Jackson speculated, "Compared to the first album, I think it's a bit more mature. It's getting more interesting as it goes along. The band is getting stronger. I think the band is gonna amaze people on the next album". Since then, the album has been described by Jackson as "Part Two of ''Look Sharp!''". He later said on his website, ''I'm the Man'' was also released as a 7" album (5 - 7" singles) in a package as 'The 7" Album' and included a poster.

John Rzeznik John Joseph Theodore Rzeznik (; born December 5, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and producer. He is best known as the guitarist and frontman of the rock band Goo Goo Dolls, with whom he has recorded several chart-topping hits, ...

the Goo Goo Dolls The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band based in Buffalo, New York, composed of lead vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik, bassist and vocalist Robby Takac, as well as several rotating members since its formation in 1986. After starting ...

named the album as one of the ten albums that changed his life.

Carol Decker Carol Ann Decker (born 10 September 1957) is an English singer. She is the lead vocalist of the pop band T'Pau, which had international success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Although Decker is mainly associated with the group, she also re ...

of T'Pau similarly praised the album as one of her favourites.

Singles

Jackson pushed for "I'm the Man" to be the leading single from the album, and professed bemusement when it failed to chart in the US or the UK. (It ''did'' reach the top 40 in Canada, peaking at #23.) The record label then decided on its own to release "It's Different for Girls" which went straight to the UK Top Ten. Jackson later confessed: "I was amazed when that one was a hit." The album's third single, " Kinda Kute", reached number 91 in Canada.

Critical reception

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...

'' called the music "crisp and sharp," writing that "Jackson continues his subtle satirization and serves notice he ... is not getting soft."

Track listing

All songs written and arranged by Joe Jackson, except where noted. Produced by David Kershenbaum.

Personnel

; Musicians * Joe Jackson – vocals, piano,

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usu ...

* Gary Sanford – guitar *

Graham Maby Graham Maby (born 1 September 1952) is an English bass guitar player. He has recorded and toured with Joe Jackson since his first album, appearing on most of Jackson's albums and tours. Maby was born and raised in the central south coast town ...

– bass, vocals * David Houghton – drums, vocals ; Production * Joe Jackson -

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

s * David Kershenbaum - producer *

Alan Winstanley Alan Kenneth Winstanley (; born 2 November 1952) is an English record producer and songwriter, active from the mid-1970s onwards. He usually works with Clive Langer. Early life He was born in Fulham in November 1952 to parents Ken and Doreen. ...

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproducti ...

* Aldo Bocca - mixing engineer * Neil King - assistant mixing engineer * Michael Ross - art direction * Bruce Rae - cover photography

Charts

Album Singles

Certifications

References

External links

I'm The Man
album information a
''The Joe Jackson Archive''
{{Authority control 1979 albums Joe Jackson (musician) albums A&M Records albums Albums produced by David Kershenbaum