Big World
{{Other uses}}
{{EngvarB|date=January 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox album|
| name = Big World
| type = Live album
| artist = Joe Jackson
| cover = Big World cover.jpg
| alt =
| released = 24 March 1986{{cite magazine|date=22 March 1986|title=New Albums|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1986/Music-Week-1986-03-22.pdf|magazine=Music Week|page=9|access-date=11 September 2022}}{{cite magazine|date=14 March 1986|title=New Releases|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/FMQB-Album/1986/FMQB-1986-03-14.pdf|magazine=FMQB Album Report|page=38|access-date=11 September 2022}}
| recorded = 22–25 January 1986 (except "Man in the Street" recorded in rehearsals on 22 January)
| venue = Roundabout Theatre, East 17th Street, New York City
| studio =
| genre = Pop rock
| length = 60:47
| label = A&M
| producer = David Kershenbaum, Joe Jackson
| prev_title = Body and Soul
| prev_year = 1984
| next_title = Will Power
| next_year = 1987
}}
{{Album ratings
|rev1 = Allmusic
|rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r10066|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic review]
}}
Big World is a 1986 live album of original songs by Joe Jackson.{{cite book
| first= Martin C.
| last= Strong
| year= 2000
| title= The Great Rock Discography
| edition= 5th
| publisher= Mojo Books
| location= Edinburgh
| pages= 485–486
| isbn= 1-84195-017-3}} The album was recorded in front of an invited audience at the Roundabout Theatre, East 17th Street in New York City on 23, 24 and 25 January 1986 (except "Man in the Street", recorded during rehearsals on 22 January). The songs are loosely linked by lyrics covering a general theme of post-World War II international relations and global travel.
Production
Jackson's intent for the recording was to capture the intensity and spontaneity of a live performance, but without the distraction of noise from the crowd. He requested that the audience remain silent while the performances of his band were recorded.
Unlike most other pop music recordings, which use multitrack recording techniques, no post-recording mixing or overdubbing was performed on the album. The music was mixed live from microphones on each musical instrument, then sent directly to a two track stereo digital tape recorder.
Regarding the album, Joe says: ‘I want to clear up two myths about this record which still crop up all the time. Myth 1: During the live recording of the album, the audience was forbidden to applaud. Fact: There was plenty of applause. We were just playing a lot of unfamiliar material, and recording it for an album, so the audience were asked to hold it until they were sure a song was finished. They understood this and there was no problem. Myth 2: It’s a double album with a side missing. Fact: This was my first album to be released on CD, where the running time was not an issue. I was having a hard time deciding what to leave out for the LP, though, and I suggested making a 3-sided one, and selling it for the price of a regular album. Much to my surprise, the record company said yes. So rather than a side missing, you got an extra side. Critics, of course, hadn’t had to pay for it.’{{cite web|url=http://joejackson.com/music?page=music&album_id=36852|title=Official Joe Jackson Website : Audio - Big World|website=Official Joe Jackson Website|accessdate=17 November 2017}}
Release
The LP release was a double album, but only three sides had music. The fourth side label stated "there is no music on this side", and the record had a groove containing approximately 30 seconds of silence that quickly led to the inner to prevent stylus damage.{{cite web |title=Side 4 of Joe Jackson's Big World |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezsDLV7MyHY |access-date=11 December 2023}} The CD release contained the same 15 tracks on one disc.
The front cover of the album (work by Serge Clerc) features the phrase "Big World" in French, Persian, Mandarin Chinese, Greek, Dutch, Korean, Thai, Russian, Irish Gaelic, Armenian, Hindi, English, Hebrew, Indonesian, Arabic, and Polish. The back cover features the same phrase in Vietnamese, Swedish, Swiss German, Turkish, Spanish, Swahili, Italian, Danish, Finnish, Welsh, and Hungarian.
The album included an eight-page booklet which included the lyrics to all fifteen songs and recording information in English, German, Japanese, French, Italian and Spanish.
The original South African LP release featured all 15 songs on one disc, however did not include the booklet.
Track listing
All songs written and arranged by Joe Jackson. Produced by Joe Jackson and David Kershenbaum.
{{Track listing
| title1 = Wild West
| length1 = 4:37
| title2 = Right and Wrong
| length2 = 4:35
| title3 = (It's A) Big World
| length3 = 4:44
| title4 = Precious Time
| length4 = 3:23
| title5 = Tonight and Forever
| length5 = 2:31
| title6 = Shanghai Sky
| length6 = 5:10
| title7 = Fifty Dollar Love Affair
| length7 = 3:38
| title8 = We Can't Live Together
| length8 = 5:25
| title9 = Forty Years
| length9 = 4:26
| title10 = Survival
| length10 = 2:19
| title11 = Soul Kiss
| length11 = 4:44
| title12 = The Jet Set
| length12 = 3:50
| title13 = Tango Atlantico
| length13 = 2:58
| title14 = Home Town
| length14 = 3:12
| title15 = Man in the Street
| length15 = 5:05
}}
This is the track sequence for the compact disc and LP. The cassette release has the same tracks, but in a slightly different order.
Personnel
; Musicians
- Joe Jackson - piano, recorder, accordion, melodica, vocals
- Vinnie Zummo - guitars, vocals
- Rick Ford - bass, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Gary Burke - drums
- Joy Askew, Nikki Gregoroff, Peter Hewlett, Curtis King Jr. - extra backing vocals
; Production
- Joe Jackson and David Kershenbaum - producer
- Michael Frondelli - recording engineer
- Guy Charbonneau - remote recording technician
- Dave Roberts - onstage technician
- Dave Hewitt - remote recording production coordinator
- Eddie Ciletti - digital tape technician
Covers
- Amy Fox covered "Be My Number Two/Shanghai Sky" and Mary Lee's Corvette covered "Home Town" on the 2004 album Different for Girls: Women Artists and Female-Fronted Bands Cover Joe Jackson.
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Weekly chart performance for Big World ! scope="col"| Chart (1986) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report){{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|publisher=Australian Chart Book|year=1993|page=151|isbn=0-646-11917-6}}
| 22 |
|---|
| {{album chart|Canada|35|chartid=0684|rowheader=true|access-date=15 July 2022}} |
| {{album chart|Netherlands|2|artist=Joe Jackson|album=Big World|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}} |
| scope="row"| European Albums (Music & Media){{cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/80s/86/M&M-1986-04-26-OCR-Page-0013.pdf |title=European Hot 100 Albums |magazine=Music & Media |volume=3 |issue=16 |date=26 April 1986 |page=20 |oclc=29800226 |via=World Radio History}}
| 23 |
| {{album chart|Germany4|24|id=389|artist=Joe Jackson|album=Big World|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}} |
| scope="row"| Italian Albums (Musica e dischi){{cite web |url=https://www.musicaedischi.it/classifiche_archivio.php |title=Classifiche |work=Musica e dischi |language=it |access-date=15 July 2022}} Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Big World" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
| 13 |
| {{album chart|New Zealand|27|artist=Joe Jackson|album=Big World|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}} |
| {{album chart|Sweden|38|artist=Joe Jackson|album=Big World|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}} |
| {{album chart|Switzerland|18|artist=Joe Jackson|album=Big World|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}} |
| {{album chart|UK2|41|date=19860330|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}} |
| {{album chart|Billboard200|34|artist=Joe Jackson|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}} |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Year-end chart performance for Big World ! scope="col"| Chart (1986) ! scope="col"| Position |
| scope="row"| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100){{cite web |url=https://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=1986&cat=a |title=Jaaroverzichten – Album 1986 |language=nl |publisher=Dutch Charts |access-date=15 July 2022}}
| 26 |
|---|
{{col-end}}
Sales and certifications
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Big World}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Netherlands|artist=Joe Jackson|title=Big World|award=Gold|type=album|relyear=1986|certyear=1986|access-date=July 16, 2022}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.jj-archive.net/albums/bw.html Big World] album information at [https://www.jj-archive.net The Joe Jackson Archive]
{{Joe Jackson}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Joe Jackson (musician) live albums