The first Joe Jackson song I ever heard was “Steppin’ Out.” I saw the video on MTV back in 1982. There, Jackson portrays a song smith in some kind of New York nightlife story. Back in 2003, I picked up a 20th Century Masters “best of” Joe Jackson that spanned his career. The first two songs on the best of collection were from his debut album, Look Sharp!. I never ventured further into Jackson’s catalog, but Look Sharp! was as good of a place as any to start. 

Produced by David Kershenbaum and released on March 5, 1979, Look Sharp! sold over 500,000 copies in its initial commercial run. Look Sharp! contains the singles “Is She Really Going Out with Him?” and “Sunday Papers” as well as the anthemic “Got the Time,” which metal band Anthrax covered on their 1990 album Persistence of Time.

I imagine if I were a record connoisseur in 1979, I might compare Look Sharp! to something by Elvis Costello & the Attractions. But with time, and when viewed through a long lens, I find Jackson’s debut as more of a precursor than a clone of Costello. Something about Look Sharp! is much more smug than Costello’s work. If smug rock were a thing, we could trace it back to this record as its origin. 

My favorite part of Look Sharp! is the guitar arrangements, which comes as a bit of a surprise, seeing as how Jackson was the piano player in his own group. There isn’t as much piano on his debut album as with later offerings. I’m glad I included this album on my exploration of albums I had not yet heard. His “best of” collections are superb, but Look Sharp! is a masterpiece in its own right.