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The Jam - The Sound Of The Jam ( ^ 188mb)
 The Jam formed in Surrey, England in 1972 in Woking. The line-ups were fluid at this stage, consisting of Weller on guitar and lead vocals together with various friends, the line-up began to solidify in the mid 1970s with Weller, Foxton, guitarist Steve Brookes and drummer Rick Buckler. In their early years, their sets consisted of early American rock and roll covers. They continued in this vein until Weller became fascinated with mod music and lifestyle. They went out and bought black suits and started playing Motown, Stax and Atlantic covers. Eventually Brookes left the band, and was not replaced, inviting Weller to develop a combined lead/rhythm guitar style. In the following two years, The Jam gained a small following around London, becoming one of the new lights on the nascent punk scene. Though they shared an "angry young men" outlook, short hair, crushing volume and lightning-fast tempos, The Jam wore neatly tailored suits where others wore ripped clothes, played professionally where others were defiantly amateurish. They really stood out from their punk peers. They were signed to Polydor Records by Chris Parry in early 1977. On 29 April 1977, Polydor released The Jam's debut single,"In the City", which charted in the Top 40 in England. In early May, the band released their epinomous debut album. Like those of The Clash and the Sex Pistols, the album featured fast, loud and pointed songs. After the non-LP single "All Around the World" nearly reached the UK Top 10, The Jam, having achieved a notable following in such a short time, was pressed to produce more material quickly. Their second album, This Is the Modern World, was released later in 1977. Despite displaying more stylistic variety than before, including some ventures into introspective pop, This Is The Modern World was not widely praised. However, when John Peel first heard the album, he played it in its entirety on one show In March 1978, the band released "News of the World", a non-album single that was both written and sung by Foxton. It charted at #27 in the UK, and was the band's second biggest hit to date. The Jam released their next single, the double A-side "David Watts" b/w "'A' Bomb In Wardour Street". "David Watts" was a cover of the bouncy Kinks classic; Weller and Foxton traded lead vocals throughout the song. It wasn't until their next single, "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight", that The Jam really regained their former critical acclaim. The song was a dramatic account of being mugged by thugs who "smelled of pubs and Wormwood Scrubs and too many right-wing meetings." Around this time, The Jam slimmed their team of two producers to one, Vic Coppersmith-Heaven, who helped develop the group's sound with harmonised guitars and acoustic textures. The Jam released their third LP, All Mod Cons in 1978. The Jam released "The Eton Rifles" in advance of their new album. It became their first top 10, rising to #3 on the UK charts. November of 1979 saw the release of the Setting Sons album, another massive UK hit, and their first chart entry in the U.S. The album began life as a concept album about three childhood friends, though in the end many of the songs had political overtones. The band's first single of 1980 was intended to be "Dreams of Children," due to a labelling error, however, the a- and b-sides of the single were reversed, resulting in the more conventional "Going Underground", the single's planned flipside, getting much more airplay and attention than "Dreams of Children". As a result, only "Going Underground" was initially listed on the charts, although the single was eventually officially recognised (and listed) as a double A-side by the time the release reached #1 in the UK. Sound Affects was released in 1980. It was influenced by current post-punk bands such as Joy Division and Wire. Paul Weller said that he was influenced by The Beatles' Revolver and Michael Jackson's Off the Wall also. Weller allegedly wrote "That's Entertainment", in around 15 minutes upon returning (under the influence) from the pub. Despite being only available as an import single, it peaked at #21 on the UK charts, an unprecedented feat. It is now arguably The Jam's most celebrated song and despite the group's lack of commercial success in America, it even made Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. The album was a #2 hit in the UK and peaked at #72 on the US Billboard charts, their most successful American album. The 1982 release The Gift — the band's final LP — was a massive commercial success, peaking at #1 on the UK charts. It featured several soul, funk, and R&B-stylized songs; most notably the #1 hit "Town Called Malice," which boasts a Motown-style bassline somewhat reminiscent of The Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love". The song included organ work by Steve Nichol, who later became well known as a member the R&B group Loose Ends. When "Town Called Malice" reached number one the group had the honour of performing both it and its double A-side, "Precious" on TOTP - the only other band to be accorded this honour being the Beatles. After the string-laden soul ballad "The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had to Swallow)" peaked at #2, the band followed with their finale and another #1, "Beat Surrender". The Beat Surrender EP had success in the British charts, and both its graphic design and music resembles early Style Council releases. After a farewell tour of the UK Weller disbanded the group. Weller, who felt he had done all he could with The Jam, then formed The Style Council with Mick Talbot of The Merton Parkas. After they split up in 1989, Weller went on to pursue a solo career. 01 - In The City (2:19) 02 - Away From The Numbers (4:03) 03 - The Modern World (2:31) 04 - David Watts (2:56) 05 - Down In The Tube Station At Midnight (4:01) 06 - It's Too Bad (2:37) 07 - To Be Someone (2:30) 08 - Mr. Clean (3:29) 09 - English Rose (2:50) 10 - The Butterfly Collector (3:09) 11 - The Eton Rifles (3:59) 12 - Private Hell (3:51) 13 - Thick As Thieves (3:40) 14 - Smithers-Jones (3:01) 15 - Saturdays Kids (2:53) 16 - Going Underground (2:56) 17 - Start! (2:31) 18 - Liza Radley (2:32) 19 - Pretty Green (2:37) 20 - Boy About Town (2:00) 21 - That's Entertainment (3:34) 22 - Tales From The Riverbank (3:26) 23 - Town Called Malice (2:54) 24 - Ghosts (2:10) 25 - Carnation (3:29) 26 - Beat Surrender (3:25) Link |
