"Obvious Song" is a song by British singer-songwriter and musician Joe Jackson, which was released in 1991 as the second single from his ninth studio album '' Laughter & Lust''. The song was written by Jackson, and produced by Jackson and Ed Roynesdal. The song's music video was directed by

Marcus Nispel Marcus Nispel (born 26 May 1963) is a German film director and Film producer, producer, best known for several high-profile American remakes such as ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003 film), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' (2003). He has also di ...

and produced by Marc Rosenberg.

Background

As Jackson's US debut single for

Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

, "Obvious Song" was selected by the label as a track they believed would generate play on album, alternative and college radio. Diana Fried, product manager for Virgin, told ''Billboard'' of the label's decision to release it: "They felt Joe had had a long, illustrious career, but without a whole lot of radio successes in his recent past. To come out with a more pop single right off the bat might not be the best way to let the fans know he's got a new album out, and also might limit where we go with it." The song reached No. 2 on the US ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

and No. 28 on ''Billboard''

Album Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" fo ...

charts.

Critical reception

On its release, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' described the song as "rebellious social commentary that gains credibility from the singer's distinctive phrasing." They added: "A ringing '60s style guitar arrangement combined with horns and piano lines make this rhythmically dynamic tune a must for modern and album rock formats." In a review of ''Laughter & Lust'', John Everson of the ''

Southtown Star The ''Daily Southtown'' (formerly ''SouthtownStar'') is a newspaper of the Chicago, Illinois, United States, metropolitan area that covers the south suburbs and the South Side neighborhoods of the city – a wide region known as the Chica ...

'' wrote: "Kicking off with the wryly labeled "Obvious Song," Jackson spits out observations that are obvious, but seldom acted on." Mark Lepage of '' The Gazette'' wrote: "When ''Laughter & Lust'' works, it is as brisk, invigorating, tuneful and concise as "Obvious Song"." Roger Catlin of the ''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is advertised as the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven and ...

'' commented: "The punchy "Obvious Song" and "It's All Too Much" are worthy rockers with pithy jabs." Parry Gettelman of the ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

'' considered the song to "perform the difficult task of combining social commentary and pop craftsmanship without sounding preachy or pretentious". Elysa Gardner of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' described the song as a "straight-ahead rocker" which "takes aim at an American rock star who drives around in a gasguzzling limo while preaching to a foreigner who makes his living by cutting down trees".

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was more critical of the song, describing it as "preachy", with Jackson "com ngacross as a swollen, whiny

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...

Track listing

;CD single (US promo) #"Obvious Song" (Edit) - 3:47 #"Obvious Song" - 4:11

Personnel

* Joe Jackson - vocals, keyboards * Tom Teeley - guitar, backing vocals * Joy Askew - keyboards, backing vocals *

Graham Maby Graham Maby (born 1 September 1952) is an English bass guitar player. He has recorded and toured with Joe Jackson since his first album, appearing on most of Jackson's albums and tours. Maby was born and raised in the central south coast town ...

- bass *

Dan Hickey Daniel Hickey (born May 30, 1957) more commonly known as Dan Hickey, is an American drummer, who performed with the rock band They Might Be Giants from 1997 to 2003. Early life and career Birth Daniel Hickey was born in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, ...

- drums * Sue Hadjopoulos - drums, percussion Production * Joe Jackson - producer * Ed Roynesdal - producer * Dan Hersch - editor on "Edit" version * Larry Alexander - engineer *

Bob Ludwig Robert Carl Ludwig (born December 11, 1944), is a retired American mastering engineer. He mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists, including Led Zeppeli ...

- mastering

Charts

References

{{Joe Jackson 1991 songs 1991 singles Songs written by Joe Jackson (musician) Joe Jackson (musician) songs Virgin Records singles