What I've always liked about Joe is that he never seems to be satisfied with a single approach.
The "Live 1980/86" album is a case in point. They tired or playing the same songs the same way on tour, and so started rearranging them to keep things fresher for them. There's three versions of "Is She Really Going Out With Him" because he couldn't decide which to leave out. (And for
@mhardy6647 they rework "Steppin Out") It also documents part of last show of the original band.
The album "Big World" was recorded live, direct to two track. The concept was to capture the energy of a live recording but preserve the structure of a studio recording. To that end they requested the audience stay quiet after the end of songs.
"The Duke" album features musicians that wouldn't normally be associated with that kind of music. The last release, "Fast Forward" was recorded in three segments in different locations with different groups of musicians that included Bill Frisell and Brian Blade. I'd read that he wanted to release three separate albums, but saner heads prevailed.
I missed my first opportunity to see him live in about 1979. Aside from still being in high school I was also washing dishes
professionally, which is why I had to pass. My first concert was the "Blaze of Glory" tour in '89 which had the full band + horn section and percussion. Wonderful show. It took until 2016 to see him again in Calgary on the "Fast Forward" tour, four piece band and a great show. He mentioned then that it had probably been 30 years since they played here, and remarked more than once he didn't expect the welcome they received. Lots of long time Joe fans and it was packed.
