Rain - Joe Jackson
Rain Image
Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critics What's this?

User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 8 Ratings

  • Summary: Joe Jackson's first record in four years was recorded in Germany.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 13
  2. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. Ten very good to great songs, stamped with the signature of a musician who knows what he is about. That, kids, is what we used to call an “album”, and this is a very fine one indeed.
  2. The winsome 'Too Tough' is the best song here. Like with the rest of the album, it's a joy to deconstruct the song's craft (woah! Nice interlude!), but more of one just to listen.
  3. 60
    The emphasis on Jackson's piano is obviously no problem, but his focus drifts from the punchy pop that characterised its predecessor. [Feb 2008, p.81]
  4. 60
    Most tracks are sophisticated, jazzy pop songs and ballads about relationships, but the angry young man of yore occasionally peeps over the parapet. [Feb 2008, p.102]

See all 13 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. JanC.
    10
    Rain is a beautiful album. I have been playing it repeatedly since I saw Joe Jackson in concert on Monday. The piano on this album is great. I am coming to love every song on the album but my favorites right now are Rush Across the Road and Uptown Train. Expand
  2. GoodBadboy
    9
    Any fan of Joe Jackson doesn't really need to read a review of the latest release. He or she knows it's going to be great. Joe just keeps writing and performing beautiful songs that never fit into any one genre neatly. Somehow, his style of being all over the place, taking from every musical culture, has become a style of its own. With each song, he gives back more than he has ever borrowed. This release contains 10 gems that are each as good as anything he has done before. Previous reviews have mentioned various songs as highlights. I really like them all, but I must declare there are three songs that I find to be Joe at his absolute best- The Uptown Train, Invisible Man, and the incredible Rush Across The Road. The cd could only be better (and get a 10 from me) if it had more songs on it! These wonderful ten songs left me yearning for more. I almost felt disappointed when the last song finished. Then I hit the repeat button. Expand
  3. Noreally
    8
    Great album. The score of 69 does no justice to an album so well written and so well executed by a man who knows his stuff!
  4. TimM.
    6
    At first blush, this isn't is best effort, despite using his best band. Repeated listens will likely reveal hidden pleasures. Sounds like the kind of record that will seed some great iTunes playlists in months to come. Expand

See all 5 User Reviews