This Week's Forgotten Gem of the '80s - Joe Jackson's "Breaking Us in Two"

For music listeners looking for something just a little bit different during the early-'80s rush of new wave as it melted into the rise of pop metal, British singer-songwriter Joe Jackson certainly provided an option to fit that bill. Though his early work had been lumped in with new wave and fit there pretty well with its angry lyrics and punkish, guitar-driven snarl, Jackson fairly quickly began to explore classical styles and his adventurous piano playing on subsequent albums.

One of many satisfying results of this stretching-out process is most definitely the elegant "Breaking Us in Two", which climbed to No. 18 on the pop charts in 1983. That's actually a somewhat surprising figure given Jackson's propensity for complex musical compositions and dense, literate lyrics, but in this case pop music fans confirmed that good songs can find their way to appreciative listeners even if they don't fit into a comfortable box of classification.

• Sample or download "Breaking Us in Two" here.
• Top 8 Joe Jackson Songs of the '80s
• Compare prices on Joe Jackson CDs here.
• Joe Jackson Archive Website