Consumer Guide Album

Joe Jackson: Small World [A&M, 1986]
He's even more adenoidal than his worthy forebears Graham P. and Elvis C., so how come he's the one with the gold records? Must have something to do with keeping it simple, don't you think? Not that he sticks to simple subjects--the guy actually has a sense of history--but that he makes their ironies seem straightforward. And maybe he's got something--I'm not going to tell you there's any inherent truth value in bitterness or paradox. I just wish he weren't so adenoidal. B−