The Jam

General music discussion.
Marky Dread
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Re: The Jam

Post by Marky Dread »

Heston wrote:
Dr. Medulla wrote:I don't see them as vital to discussions about cool music, '76-'82.
They made some of the coolest music ever written in that period.

I expect back-up from the Limeys.
OK they are better than KISS.
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Marky Dread
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Re: The Jam

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Dr. Medulla wrote:
Marky Dread wrote:
Dr. Medulla wrote:Sad to say, but I find the Jam less interesting whenever I go back. By no means awful, but I don't see them as vital to discussions about cool music, '76-'82. I suspect Snap and Extras would be enough for me at this point.
I would've thought Sound Affects would be more your thing as Weller took influence from Wire, Gang of Four, and Joy Division and stripped back The Jam sound.
At one time, yes. But they haven't aged as well for my personal tastes. Nothing ideological or formal about my change of opinion, only that they don't generate much wow in me anymore.
I do understand this point of view totally. They are a lot more conservative than their contemporaries. Excellent musicians studio and live but always a bit too safe sounding no real danger. Weller was a fine writer but did not really stray from the Mod / Soul sound or as he once famously described The Jam as Tamla Motown meets the Sex Pistols.

It sounds trivial now but at the time The Jam were the safe bet the band your mum and dad could relate to. A lot of Jam fans / Mods were too bloody shy to be punks and so The Jam became their band.

I like all their output and have it all, but rarely play it these days because I have heard it so often everywhere radio, supermarkets, adverts and so on. I don't think this diminishes the bands legacy but just take a look at the number of Jam compilation albums in the racks it seemed like there was one released every bloody month.

Other bands from that era seem somewhat more dangerous sounding. Weller was very nieve politically and like a lot of kids his age looked towards Strummer for ideals, which more often than not were extremely floored.

While all the punk bands took something from the previous generation Weller stole from it the most. The first album is all The Who and Wilko Johnson. Compare that to the first Clash album and I know which wins in capturing the times best. The second Jam album is ok but no real great shakes and Weller by his own admission was already losing direction. It's only when The Jam get to All Mod Cons that they find their feet but again it owes so much to the mod bands of the sixties and Ray Davies in general. Ironically The Clash are stepping back even further with the Rock 'n' Roll of London Calling but are cotemporary in lyrics with topics like three mile island. But The Clash are forever changing incorporating all styles while The Jam play it safe all the way. It's only when they reach Sound Affects that weller for the first time reaches for new inspiration from contemporaries such as Wire, GO4, Joy Division and even throws in a little reggae.

Even as late as the Funeral Pyre single The Jam can be found still covering The Who with the B-Side Diguises.
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Marky Dread
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Re: The Jam

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Every Jam single a hit every Jam single on TOTP's. They played it very safe no wonder they were voted number one in the music polls year in year out.
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101Walterton
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Re: The Jam

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All Mod Cons is alomost as perfect as COL.

Marky Dread
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Re: The Jam

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101Walterton wrote:All Mod Cons is alomost as perfect as COL.
If only COL had been stretched to album length with the GEER tracks recoreded at the same session and no Pearlman.
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Re: The Jam

Post by dd_ »

Heston wrote:
Dr. Medulla wrote:
Marky Dread wrote:
Dr. Medulla wrote:Sad to say, but I find the Jam less interesting whenever I go back. By no means awful, but I don't see them as vital to discussions about cool music, '76-'82. I suspect Snap and Extras would be enough for me at this point.
I would've thought Sound Affects would be more your thing as Weller took influence from Wire, Gang of Four, and Joy Division and stripped back The Jam sound.
At one time, yes. But they haven't aged as well for my personal tastes. Nothing ideological or formal about my change of opinion, only that they don't generate much wow in me anymore.
Or in other words, you're Canadian.
For me, The Jam have aged nicely, but maybe it is only because of nostalgic reasons. The Clash and The Jam were my two equal favourite bands from 78-82 (along with EC,GoF,Talking Heads,Ramones) and I was 18-22 during that period. I saw all of these bands live in that period and a few more (U2, Pretenders, B52s) and mostly in small venues. My North American version of Setting Sons was played as much, if not more than some Clash albums at times. I also had Modern World but it was not the masterpiece that Setting Sons was, in my opinion. I now have the Extras, Compact Snap and DRC. From the later I have a created some great sub-era playlists which I still listen to today on a regular basis. Maybe because of Setting Songs and the great show I saw is the reason The Jam still have a special meaning to me. Great band , great times. </canadian>

daredevil
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Re: The Jam

Post by daredevil »

dd_ wrote:
Heston wrote:
Dr. Medulla wrote:
Marky Dread wrote:
Dr. Medulla wrote:Sad to say, but I find the Jam less interesting whenever I go back. By no means awful, but I don't see them as vital to discussions about cool music, '76-'82. I suspect Snap and Extras would be enough for me at this point.
I would've thought Sound Affects would be more your thing as Weller took influence from Wire, Gang of Four, and Joy Division and stripped back The Jam sound.
At one time, yes. But they haven't aged as well for my personal tastes. Nothing ideological or formal about my change of opinion, only that they don't generate much wow in me anymore.
Or in other words, you're Canadian.
For me, The Jam have aged nicely, but maybe it is only because of nostalgic reasons. The Clash and The Jam were my two equal favourite bands from 78-82 (along with EC,GoF,Talking Heads,Ramones) and I was 18-22 during that period. I saw all of these bands live in that period and a few more (U2, Pretenders, B52s) and mostly in small venues. My North American version of Setting Sons was played as much, if not more than some Clash albums at times. I also had Modern World but it was not the masterpiece that Setting Sons was, in my opinion. I now have the Extras, Compact Snap and DRC. From the later I have a created some great sub-era playlists which I still listen to today on a regular basis. Maybe because of Setting Songs and the great show I saw is the reason The Jam still have a special meaning to me. Great band , great times. </canadian>
Setting Sons is my favorite Jam album. It's the only one I have on CD. The rest of the albums I have on the boxset. I wish the SS CD had an america version.
They only released the UK version without the extra track, Strange Town.

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Re: The Jam

Post by Wolter »

Heston wrote:
Dr. Medulla wrote:I don't see them as vital to discussions about cool music, '76-'82.
They made some of the coolest music ever written in that period.

I expect back-up from the Limeys.
Heston wrote:Anyway, fuck all the the bollocks about their early stuff. Just listen to "Burning Sky" for an example of a 21 year old guy with an uncanny understanding of older people's relationships.

I'll never understand where it all went wrong with Weller.


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Chuck Mangione
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Re: The Jam

Post by Chuck Mangione »

Weller is probably a better lyricist and songwriter in his prime than almost any other one of his British alternative contemporaries like Morrissey, Ian Curtis, etc. (In my opinion)

Proof:

Waking up at 6 A.M. on a cool warm morning
Opening the windows and breathing in petrol
An amateur band rehearsing in a nearby yard
Watching the tele and thinking about your holidays

That's Entertainment

Marky Dread
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Re: The Jam

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Chuck Mangione wrote:Weller is probably a better lyricist and songwriter in his prime than almost any other one of his British alternative contemporaries like Morrissey, Ian Curtis, etc. (In my opinion)

Proof:

Waking up at 6 A.M. on a cool warm morning
Opening the windows and breathing in petrol
An amateur band rehearsing in a nearby yard
Watching the tele and thinking about your holidays

That's Entertainment
Wriite in 5 mins on the back of a bus apparently. Actually he later admitted stealing some of those lyrics.
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Re: The Jam

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Based on a young persons poem submitted to Weller's publishing house. Weller bought the rights to it, and improved it muchly.
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Marky Dread
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Re: The Jam

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Silent Majority wrote:Based on a young persons poem submitted to Weller's publishing house. Weller bought the rights to it, and improved it muchly.
Riot Stories.

Never realised the version on Wellers hit parade album was the the Demo version from Snap! with the drums and bass removed.
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Kory
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Re: The Jam

Post by Kory »

101Walterton wrote:All Mod Cons is alomost as perfect as COL.
I prefer to think this about Setting Sons, which AMC served as a bridge to.
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Re: The Jam

Post by Heston »

Kory wrote:
101Walterton wrote:All Mod Cons is alomost as perfect as COL.
I prefer to think this about Setting Sons, which AMC served as a bridge to.
I love Setting Sons, but the cover of Heatwave spoils the conceptual theme, and it's very short. I think the record company wanted it out for the Christmas market, and there was a bit of a last-minute rush job on.
There's a tiny, tiny hopeful part of me that says you guys are running a Kaufmanesque long con on the board

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Re: The Jam

Post by daredevil »

All the Jam's albums are all less than 40 minutes.
In The City - 32 minutes
Modern World - 31.5 minutes
All Mod Cons - 37 minutes
Setting Sons - 32 minutes
Sound Affects - 35 minutes
The Gift - 32 minutes.
Back in the 80's these were short running times compared to the albums by other artists.

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