Album: Joe Jackson

Rain, RYKODISC

"Can you hear me now/As I fade away/Maybe you'd like to know/What I'd have to say/If I was still around". As a statement of intent, opener "Invisible Man" is everything you would hope for from Jackson's first album with his original band since 1980's 'Beat Crazy'. Since then, there have been jive orchestras, Grammy nominations, film soundtracks and a body of work that makes you think that if only Jackson had been a bit more comfortable with himself, we might have been a bit more comfortable with him. And, sadly, "Invisible Man" is so good that everything else on 'Rain' struggles to live up to it. Shame.