The British musician Joe Jackson has announced a new album, his follow-up to 2019’s Fool. It’s purported to be an album that, per a press release, revives “the songs of enigmatic early 20th-century English music hall artist Max Champion.” Though I’m no expert on English music hall, various searches have turned up no evidence as to the existence of a Max Champion. Instead, Jackson seems to have invented a relation to the real-life Harry Champion, who was indeed an extremely popular performer, and channeled the essence of music hall into an album of his own, which Jackson arranged with a 12-piece orchestra. It’s called Mr. Joe Jackson Presents Max Champion In ‘What A Racket!’, and it’ll be out in November.

“These were wonderful songs in their time, but they’re surprisingly modern, too,” Jackson said in that press release. “Sometimes it’s almost as if Max is speaking, from his London of the early 20th century, directly to us in the early 21st.”

Hmm … Listen to “Health & Safety” below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “(Overture): Why, Why Why?”
02 “The Sporting Life”
03 “Dear Old Mum – A London-Irish Lament”
04 “Monty Mundy (Is Maltese)!”
05 “The Shades Of Night”
06 “What A Racket!”
07 “The Bishop And The Actress”
08 “Think Of The Show! – A Thespian’s Lament”
09 “Never So Nice In The Morning”
10 “Health & Safety”
11 “Worse Things Happen At Sea”

Mr. Joe Jackson Presents Max Champion In ‘What A Racket!’ is out 11/24. Pre-order it here.