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Joe Jackson hopes to reap the wages of sin
October 1, 1997
Web posted at: 11:01 a.m. EDT (1501 GMT)From Correspondent Paul Scheerer
Though he's poured his heart and soul into it, Joe Jackson says his latest album "Heaven & Hell" is the kind of project he never really cared for -- a concept album.
"I suppose in a way I wanted to make a concept album, even though the idea of a concept album is pretty horrible," Jackson says. "But I like the idea of a theme holding the whole thing together, so (it was) just a question of finding a theme that interested me."
The theme he sought is hardly new. "Heaven & Hell," explores the Biblical seven deadly sins -- pride, envy, lust, gluttony, sloth, avarice and wrath, "which I got very interested in two or three years ago," Jackson explains.
The singer "did two or three years' worth of soul searching, research and sinning, of course," he says. "But I've been sinning for 40 years."
The album boasts a variety of musicians and styles in seven compositions -- one per sin. Operatic soprano Dawn Upshaw and pop singer Suzanne Vega provide the voices of lust.
Classical violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg offers the instrumental signature of Satan, the album's tour guide. The deep bass voice of the Crash Test Dummies' Brad Roberts is sloth.
"It's a bit like a collage, because there are a lot of different elements from a lot of different genres, but they're all there for a reason," Jackson says.
Jackson, like fellow pop stars Paul McCartney and Billy Joel, is looking to shift from pop star to composer. "Heaven & Hell" is a step in that direction.
"I wanted to be a composer, and got sort of alienated from that world, and plunged into the rock world," he says. "It was a lot more exciting, and you were really connecting to people. I don't have any regrets about that at all."
"But I've gone through being a pop song writer to being a composer again, which is what I wanted to be in the first place."
Jackson fans can hear and see "Heaven & Hell" on PBS' new music series, "Sessions at West 54th," this weekend.
Watch a preview 1 min., 55 sec. VXtreme streaming video
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