Joe really has some devoted fans, I must say. Personally, I don't have much use for his music after Night and Day. Joe's a very limited singer, whose voice doesn't always fit the material he sings. He's also fairly pretentious, giving a lot of his material an academic dryness. To me, this is what prevented Body and Soul from being fully successful. And Big World was where I gave up -- to my ears, it's a dry and flat recording, that nearly makes Steely Dan seem as loose as early Replacements. As he went further along, he became yet another pop artist who really didn't like to make his songs too pop -- I still have my copy of Laughter and Lust, but I'm not sure why, since it's not exactly awash in memorable tracks. Having said all this, I still adore the first two albums, think Beat Crazy is fun and appreciate Jumpin' Jive. I'm all for artistic growth, it just doesn't take in all cases. Mike Bennett Chicago Pop Show Report on Yahoo Groups: http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/chicagopopshowreport/?yguid=162827291 Music reviews: http://www.fufkin.com