Will Power (album)

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Will Power
JoeJacksonWillPower.jpg
Studio album by
Joe Jackson
ReleasedApril 1987[1]
Recorded1987
GenreClassical, rock
Length42:06
LabelA&M[2]
ProducerJoe Jackson
Joe Jackson chronology
Big World
(1986) 		Will Power
(1987) 		Live 1980/86
(1988)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic2/5 stars[3]
Robert ChristgauC+[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music3/5 stars[2]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide1/5 stars[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide2/5 stars[6]

Will Power is the eighth album by Joe Jackson.[1] Released in 1987, it is his first experiment with classical music, continued in later albums including Night Music, Heaven and Hell, and Symphony No. 1.

The album peaked at #131 on the Billboard 200 album chart.[7]

Critical reception[]

Reviews for Will Power were very mixed. The New York Times called the album "a major step forward by an English composer and performer who has never remained in one place for long."[8] While praising Jackson's compositional skill (including his "flair for lovely melodic passages and unpredictable, often shimmering arrangements" involving "stunning cascades of sound reminiscent of contemporary composer John Adams"), the Los Angeles Times also wrote that "the lengthy, meandering 'Symphony in One Movement' is as colorless and pretentious as the title suggests."[9] Chris Woodstra of AllMusic dismissed Will Power as "a good exercise in self-indulgence but little of anything else";[10] while Trouser Press described the album as "redolent with unrestrained pomposity... (a) trivial self-indulgence", commenting that "while Jackson may be impressed by his ability to convince an orchestra to play his melodramatically panoramic music, it’s unlikely anyone else will find this exercise especially rewarding."[11]

Track listing[]

All songs written, orchestrated and produced by Joe Jackson.[1]

No.TitleLength
1."No Pasaran"6:07
2."Solitude"9:37
3."Will Power"5:52
4."Nocturne"4:25
5."Symphony in One Movement"16:14

Personnel[]

  • George Manahan - conductor
  • Ed Roynesdal - synthesizer (Kurzweil K250), electric piano
  • Gary Burke - drums
  • Pat Rebillot - piano (except on "Nocturne")
  • Vinnie Zummo - guitar
  • Anthony Jackson - bass guitar (on "Solitude")
  • Neil Jason - bass guitar (on "Will Power")
  • Tony Aiello - soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, clarinet (solo on "Symphony")
  • Chris Hunter - alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
  • Steve Slagle - soprano saxophone (on "Solitude")
  • Michael Parloff, Laura Conwesser, Andrew Lolya - flute, piccolo
  • Susan Trainer - piccolo (on "Solitude")
  • Roger Rosenberg, Ray Beckenstein, Charles Russo, Dave Tofani - clarinet, bass clarinet
  • Henry Shuman - oboe
  • John Campo - bassoon
  • Paul Ingraham, Jerry Peel, John Clark, Donal Corrado - French horns
  • Michael Morreale, Mel Davis - trumpets
  • Dave Taylor, Tom Malone - trombones
  • Sue Evans, Dave Carey, David Freidman - percussion
  • David Nadien (concertmaster), Charles Libove, Barry Finclair, John Pintavalle, Jan Mullen, Marti Sweet, Arnold Eidus, Richard Sortomme, Matthew Raimondi, Marin Alsop, Gerald Tarack, Regis Iandiorio, Joseph Rabushka, Lew Eley, Jean Ingraham, Marilyn Wright, Masako Yanagita, Al Rogers, Louanne Montesi, Richard Henrickson, David Davis - violins
  • Lamar Alsop, Ted Israel, Maureen Gallagher, Carol Landon, Julien Barber, Harry Zaratzian, Sol Greitzer, Sue Pray, Jean Dane - violas
  • Charles McCracken, Richard Locker, Warren Lash, Seymour Barab, Jacqueline Mullen, Fred Zlotkin, Jean Leblanc, Diane Barrere, Alla Goldberg - cellos
  • Homer Mensch, John Miller, John Beal, Joe Tamosaitis - double bass
  • Andrew Zurcher - vocals (on "Solitude")
Production

Charts[]

Chart (1987) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[13] 67
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] 25
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 58
US Billboard 200[16] 131

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 485–486. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Volume 4: MUZE. p. 532.CS1 maint: location (link)
  3. ^ AllMusic review
  4. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: joe jackson". www.robertchristgau.com.
  5. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 583.
  6. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 350–351.
  7. ^ "Joe Jackson". Billboard.
  8. ^ Holden, Stephen (22 April 1987). "THE POP LIFE; ORCHESTRAL EXPRESSIONS IN JOE JACKSON ALBUM (Published 1987)" – via NYTimes.com.
  9. ^ "* * * * Great Balls of Fire , * * * Good Vibrations , * * Maybe Baby , * Running on Empty : JOE GETS SERIOUS". Los Angeles Times. 19 April 1987.
  10. ^ "Joe Jackson - Will Power". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  11. ^ "Joe Jackson". Trouser Press. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  12. ^ Thompson, Clifford (7 October 2020). Contemporary World Musicians. Routledge. ISBN 9781135939618 – via Google Books.
  13. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 151. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Joe Jackson – Will Power" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  15. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Joe Jackson – Will Power" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Joe Jackson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 July 2021.

External links[]

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