Joe Morris & Elliott Sharp Realism (2025)

Look Sharp! is the second studio album by the Swedish rock duo Roxette. It was recorded at EMI Studios in Stockholm and at Trident II Studios in London between March and June 1988. The album was released on 21 October 1988, two years after their debut Pearls of Passion (1986). The album became an international hit, reaching #1 in the group's native Sweden and being certified 6x platinum. In the United States, the album reached #23 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum. It spawned the major hit singles "The Look" (U.S. #1), "Listen to Your Heart" (U.S. #1), "Dressed for Success" (U.S. #14), and "Dangerous" (U.S. #2). Because of the worldwide success of the album and its singles, Look Sharp! is considered as Roxette's breakthrough.

While heavily influenced by Art Tatum, this performer was hardly considered a heavyweight pianist during his career. Born Louis F. Bush, or Busch depending on the source, the keyboard maestro who would also make heavy use of the stage name of Joe "Fingers" Carr managed to make it into Leonard Feather's Encyclopedia of Jazz, but with the following disclaimer: "A novelty performer rather than a jazz artist." The novelty itself was a kind of heavily sexed-up ragtime piano style that caught on in the very dawn of the hi-fi era. The invention was in sharp contrast to lounge music and would most likely have the opposite effect than a seduction if played in a bachelor pad. Carr began driving his piano this way while working as an A&R man for Capitol. In a brainstorm based on a sharp analysis of current trends, he decided to sign himself up as the mysterious "Fingers."