punk.cat: THE JAM

Wednesday, 5 February 2014

THE JAM

"in the city"
Year: 1976
Country: UK
City: London
Label: Universal
Format: CD, LP
Tracks: 12
Time: 35 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Mod Punk

The Jam, the band that didnt really fit into the punk rock standards, The Jam didn't want to be placed there. They did it their own way... and so brilliant good!! Presented by Paul Weller. On their debut, the Jam offered a good balance between the forward-looking, "destroy everything" aggression of punk with a certain reverence for '60s beat and R&B. In an era that preached attitude over musicianship, the Jam bettered the competition with good pop sense, strong melodies, and plenty of hooks that compromised none of punk's ideals or energy, plus youth culture themes and an abrasive, ferocious attack. Even though the band would improve exponentially over the next couple of years, In the City is a remarkable debut and stands as one of the landmark punk albums.

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"this is the modern world"
Year: 1977
Label: Universal
Format: CD, LP
Tracks: 12
Time: 36 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Mod Punk

The Jam were an English Mod Revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped clothes, and they incorporated a number of mainstream 1960s rock and R&B influences rather than rejecting them, placing The Jam at the forefront of the mod revival movement. They had 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1982, including four number one hits. As of 2007, "That's Entertainment" and "Just Who Is the 5 O'Clock Hero?" remained the best-selling import singles of all time in the UK. They released one live album and six studio albums, the last of which, The Gift, hit number one on the UK album charts. When the group split up, their first 15 singles were re-released and all placed within the top 100. The band drew upon a variety of stylistic influences over the course of their career, including 1960s beat music, soul, rhythm and blues and psychedelic rock, as well as 1970s punk and new wave. The trio was known for its melodic pop songs, its distinctly English flavour and its mod image.

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"all mod cons"
Year: 1978
Label: Universal
Format: CD, LP
Tracks: 12
Time: 36 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Mod Punk

THE JAM regrouped and refocused for "All mod cons", an album that marked a great leap in songwriting maturity and sense of purpose. For the first time, Paul Weller built, rather than fell back, upon his influences, carving a distinct voice all his own; he employed a story-style narrative with invented characters and vivid British imagery à la Ray Davies to make incisive social commentary -- all in a musically irresistible package. The youthful perspective and impassioned delivery on "All mod cons" first earned Weller the "voice of a generation" tag, and it certainly captures a moment in time, but really, the feelings and sentiments expressed on the album just as easily speak to any future generation of young people. Terms like "classic" are often bandied about, but in the case of "All mod cons", it is certainly deserved.

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"setting sons"
Year: 1979
Label: Universal
Format: CD, LP
Tracks: 10
Time: 34 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Mod Pop

This is perhaps one of the most underrated and almost forgot The Jam album, but the most. But the true is this is not a bad at album at all, but maybe some kind of disappointment for those who hope its best album due it was recorded during 1979, the year of the Mod Revival in UK but also in the rest of the world. The band here sound farest of punk rock and closer to 60's pop music and new wave, so softer, more melodic with a cleanest sound and clearest voices. Despite of this melodic tendance, this is still a very good The Jam album... as always