The Jam - In the City / This Is the Modern World - 1977

 

Sorry for missing my post, yesterday.  I've had this horrible head cold and it's seeped down into my lungs.  I came home from work last night and collapsed on the couch, and fell asleep.  I got up about 11pm just to take some medicine and take my clothes off, and then went to bed.  I'm feeling better today, but I'm still in bad shape.  So, because I missed yesterday, and because these albums are so short (and because I had already planned it this way ;) ) I am posting the first two albums by our beloved Jam. 

I didn't get into the Jam until I got a two-fer album from Collector's Choice music about 15 years ago.  Back then, as the internet was just becoming popular, I started exploring different genres of music as my tastes developed.  I liked Punk, but I had always been very particular about which bands I listened to.  I had never heard The Jam before then, that I remember, so I thought I'd give it a shot.  Two albums for the price of one sounded good.

As many of you already know, getting two Jam albums for the price of one is an outright steal, as these albums are like gold.  I fell in love with them almost instantly.  Every song is full of pophooks and full of energy.  Weller's voice, instantly recognizable, fits the music perfectly.  It's not whiny and nasally, and he doesn't have to scream.  He actually sings.  And you can tell, that he and the band are really having a lot of fun.

There were only a few singles from these albums, and just a couple b-sides.  I also put the non-album single All Around the World on there, too, just to give it a home.  The covers were cut-and-dried, straight forward covers.  Nothing special.

Now, back to the couch...

The Jam - In the City - 1977

The Jam - This Is the Modern World - 1977 

The Jam - The Gift - 1982

Back in 2003 or 2004, I got hooked on Collectors Choice Music, an online music store that sells re-issues from almost every era and genre of music.  They pull some really obscure stuff out that is impossible to find on CD, and in perfect digital quality.  This is where I found the CD releases of The Vapors, Peter Schilling, and The Jam.  They released the first two Jam albums on one CD as a twofer set.  I knew who The Jam was, but I had previously lumped them all into the punk music of that era, and I felt that if you had heard one, you had heard them all.  Boy, was I wrong.

Of course, I found the albums to be awesome, and all of the songs were perfect little pophook ditties.  After that, I had to build my Jam collection.

This is their last album, and it's one of my favorites.  They were still punk, but there were strong Post Punk overtones, and Weller's R&B interests were starting to peek out in brief instances.  The b-sides, demos and alternate versions were all great, too.  A wonderful group, I think they got overshadowed by the Clash.  I think they are definitely better than the Clash, but that's simply my opinion.  Your thoughts?

The Jam - The Gift - 1982