The Jam

Floyd

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Enthused by both the advent of new wave and 60s mods such as The WHO, SMALL FACES and The KINKS, The JAM trio peddled their own unique amphetamine charged retro R&B, and rode in on the first wave of punk’s brave new musical world. Led by their charismatic singer/guitarist, PAUL WELLER, the group amassed a raft of Top 30 gems between 1977 and 1982, including `Down In The Tube Station At Midnight’, `The Eton Rifles’, `Going Underground’, `Start’, `Town Called Malice’ and their fourth chart-topping curtain call, `Beat Surrender’.

Formed while still at school in Woking, Surrey (late ’73) by Weller, bassist Bruce Foxton, drummer Rick Buckler and initial 4th member Steve Brooks (guitar), this short-lived version first gigged mid-‘74, progressing to the likes of London’s Marquee, the 101 Club and the Red Cow by late ’76; Brooks had now departed. Incendiary live performances had generated a loyal following and considerable record company interest; the band signing with Polydor early the following year via A&R man Chris Parry.

In Spring ‘77, their debut `In The City’ cracked the UK Top 40, while an album of the same name, IN THE CITY {*8}, following a month later. Image wise, the band were kitted out in unashamed allegiance to the mod master-plan of yore; sharp suits, parkas, scooters, etc., another factor that set the band apart from the anti-fashion of punk. Something Weller did share with his glue-sniffing peers was anger; yep, before Weller the “red-wedge” soul smoothie and Weller the patron of “Dad Rock” came Weller the angry young man, so angry in fact, that he professed to voting conservative. Politics aside, the album was a cut above the average three chord punk thrash, bristling with adolescent fury yet possessed of an irresistible melodic verve. Apart from the ill-advised inclusion of the `Batman Theme’, Weller songs like the aforementioned title track, `Art School’, `Away From The Numbers’, `Slow Down’, `Takin’ My Love’, `Sounds From The Street’ and `Bricks And Mortar’, identified The JAM as the youth of the day’s real saviours. The non-LP track `All Around The World’ proved they were here to stay as it climbed to No.13 in August ’77.

Pity then that THIS IS THE MODERN WORLD (1977) {*5} was a hastily recorded follow-up, and it showed. Only the pounding title track (aka `The Modern World’ and backed by a cover of Arthur Conley’s `Sweet Soul Music’) really hit the target, the rest of the album pointlessly recycling WHO riffs ad nauseam. The obligatory R&B rendition came via WILSON PICKETT’s `In The Midnight Hour’, but it was the capital’s concrete jungles that came in for introspective flak by way of `London Traffic’, `Life From A Window’ and `In The Street Today’.

With ALL MOD CONS (1978) {*9}, however, The JAM were onto something big, Weller’s cutting social reportage and songwriting genius translating into such gems as `Down In The Tube Station At Midnight’, a cover of The KINKS’ `David Watts’ and its double-A flip `“A” Bomb In Wardour Street’, indicating the heights and characters he was aiming for. Something akin to the social commentary of TOWNSHEND, DAVIES and MARRIOTT late 60s mini-rock opera periods, the “voice of a generation” Weller spoke through the likes of gemstones `Mr. Clean’, the romantic `English Rose’, the chunky `Billy Hunt’ and `The Place I Love’. To whet the appetite of their legion of fans, Top 20 single addendums were the order of the day through `Strange Town’ and `When You’re Young’.

Come SETTING SONS (1979) {*8}, and with the bile-spewing `The Eton Rifles’ in particular, Weller came pretty damn close to updating RAY DAVIES’ class-conscious agenda for a harsh new age. The single gave The JAM their first Top 3 success and the album achieved a similar feat upon its release a month later. Originally intended as a concept set about a triumvirate of bygone childhood buddies growing up to fight in the British army, songs such as `Thick As Thieves’, `Little Boy Soldiers’ and Foxton’s `Smithers-Jones’ highlighted the theme in full; the need for a tagged-on B-side take of MARTHA & THE VANDELLAS’ `Heatwave’ was both mystifying and ill-advised.

In February of the following year, the band went straight in at No.1 with `Going Underground’, a snarling critique of the establishment. The band followed this up with `Start!’, a virtual re-make (well, intro definitely) of GEORGE HARRISON/BEATLES’ `Taxman’; quite why there’s never been a court case over the matter remains a mystery. Still, the single marked a move into more ambitious musical territory, Weller penning his most accomplished tune to date in the lilting, understated ennui of `That’s Entertainment’ (an import 45 that soared to No.21 in the charts). Parent album SOUND AFFECTS (1980) {*8} confirmed the shift away from powerchord aggression with the use of horns and more obviously black music-derived rhythms. By this point, The JAM were one of, if not the, biggest band in Britain although, despite repeated attempts, the American market was apparently impossible for the band to crack. Then again, it’s not hard to see that their defiantly British sound just didn’t translate in the States, in much the same way as, a decade later, BLUR’s idiosyncratic Englishness has precluded US recognition. `Monday’, `Pretty Green’, the whistling `Set The House Ablaze’ and the Carnaby Street sheen of `Boy About Town’ were sounds for Londoners and other Brits who liked their pop-rock spiky and sharp. In October ‘81, Paul instigated his own record company, Respond, signing acts such as with a foot in the mod-past like The Questions and Tracie.

The JAM were again No.1 in early 1982 with the heavily Stax-influenced `Town Called Malice’, flipped with the funky Northern Soul of `Precious’; THE GIFT {*5} album being released the following month. It was to be the band’s studio swansong as Paul, at the peak of the band’s fame later that summer, announced he was to break the group up to explore his soul fixation with The STYLE COUNCIL. The 1982 set marked a transitional period for The JAM, and gone was their trademark chunky licks and stop-start rhythms, in was a polished and jarring JAM, willing and able to bend and shape itself into a new modern world – `Just Who Is The 5 O’Clock Hero?’, `Running On The Spot’ and `Happy Together’ the exceptions.

After a final kiss-off with `The Bitterest Pill’ and the brilliant `Beat Surrender’, the trio were no more, a live set DIG THE NEW BREED (1982) {*6} drew their last breaths. While WELLER went on to a undergo many musical rebirths, there was no such joy for solo Foxton, who later joined aging punks STIFF LITTLE FINGERS. Buckler, meanwhile, forsook the evils of the music business for furniture restoration. Thankfully, with no reunion so far, and the possibility of one rather slim, the legend of The JAM remains intact.

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