Joe Jackson's original band has made three fantastic albums and one good one. It would have been nice if two entire decades didn't pass in between albums three and four and we had not been subjected to his pseudo jazz, pseudo classical and even pseudo Joe Jackson Band efforts.
Still, open arms should greet "Rain," which Rykodisc will release on Jan. 29. Joe continues to work with the "Sunday Papers"/"I'm a Man" crew of bassist Graham Maby and drummer Dave Houghton. Album was  recorded in Berlin, where Jackson now lives. Their last album, "Vol. 4," earned strong reviews as did the shows that supported it.   
Joe's quote on the four-year break between albums:  "I wasn't in a hurry to make a new album. I promised  myself  that  I  wouldn't  make a record until I had an album's worth of songs that were the best  I could do. I think  several  of  these  songs  are  the  best  songs  I've ever written, and I wanted to have 10 or 12 songs that I felt that  way about before I put out another album. I used to be a bit of a  workaholic, but I am now much more patient. The quantity has gone down, but the  quality has gone up."
Band will tour shortly after the album's release date; they already have five dates booked for March in Europe.
I remember Jackson's first U.S. tour quite well. With my buddies Eddie and Don, we rushed the stage at the Barn at Rutgers U and Jackson even gave me the mic to sing "Ain't That a Shame" during the encore. I missed my spot to enter and he actually held the mic until the music came around and I got to bellow.
His set that night was rather similar to the one he played on Oct. 20, 1979 at Park West in Chicago:

Look Sharp! / On Your Radio / The Band Wore Blue Shirts / Sunday Papers / One More Time / Friday / It's Different For Girls / Is She Really Going Out With Him? / Baby Stick Around / Don't Wanna Be Like That / Happy Loving Couples / I'm The Man / Got The Time / I Can't Give You Anything / Ain't That A Shame