Very Best Of The Jam, The - Jam (The) > Reviews > Lets Jam!

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Snapshot of The Jam's entire Career
Disadvantages:	Singles only -  lacks some great album tracks and B sides

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This CD was my first foray into The Jam after being indoctrinated into the great music. As a youngster in my parent's car.

It contains all the singles ever released by The Jam starting with the early releases; 'In The City', 'All Around The World' and 'The Modern World'. These are epitomised by Weller's voice which brims with youthful anger at the world and complemented by Foxton and Bucklers powerful drum beat and snappy bass lines.

The early songs often portray a young man who needs to escape the narrow confines of conservative authority, be they teachers or music critics.

Following with 'News Of The World' the band turn their attention to the media and deliver a tongue in cheek expose of the newspapers.
Whilst the band's musical talent was never in question you can almost hear them maturing musically and lyrically throughout the CD.

The next two singles; 'David Watts' and 'A-Bomb in Wardour Street' were released as a double A-side and a prelude to the band's third album. They complement each other well, David Watts with it's cheerful, wishful thinking lyrics and piano; and A-Bomb… with it's heavy drum beat, morbid guitars and even more morbid growled lyrics, mirroring the nuclear paranoia of the age.

The next song; 'Down in a Tube Station at Midnight' starts with a sample of the London underground and builds to a towering crescendo, telling stories of the tube over commanding baselines.

'Strange Town' continues the formula with story like lyrics and again, domineering bass and drums. 'When You're Young' mellows the tone slightly although still continuing the formula to a degree. By this stage it becomes clear that Weller is rapidly maturing as a songwriter, singing "The world is your oyster but your future's a clam" and other such gems.

The real genius behind the band seems to be Weller with his unique insight and vitriolic, yet intelligent manner; he portrays much anger at the system whilst keeping the songs melodic and tuneful.

'Eton Rifles' and 'Going Underground' show that Weller's political consciousness is growing at a pace with his musical ability. On the former he sings of the deep class divides so despised by his punk peers and on the latter (The bands first, long overdue Number One) he returns to the subject of nuclear suspicion and alienation from society. As is so often the case with Jam songs, the song includes heavy drums and thundering bass, highlighting Weller's voice and lead guitar.

As Weller's political awareness grows so does his confidence and ability to articulate poetic lyrics and combine them with ever more complex song structures. This is clear in 'The Dreams of Children', almost an experimental song, harking back to more psychedelic eras.

'Start!' indicates another change in the band's direction with it's distinctive style and, as ever, bright and insightful lyrics.

Next comes a song which was hailed as a masterpiece yet Weller claimed it was written in ten minutes on his return from the pub. 'That's Entertainment' presents a montage of scenes of 80s England to the listener and lowers the tone slightly after the energy of the previous songs.

'Funeral Pyre' and 'Absolute Beginners' take the band in another, equally valid, direction introducing jazz influences which would later become more prominent. Some people saw this a low point and indication of Weller's song writing capacity reaching it's limit, however they would be proved wrong by the next offering; 'Town Called Malice'. Made famous to a new generation by the film Billy Elliot, the song introduces a new sound which almost equates to funk and empowers anyone who listens to dance. This single proved that the band was far from dead.

The other song on the Double A-Side which was 'Town called Malice' was 'Precious' and this song truly reinforces the bands new jazzier direction. Personally, I prefer the rawer, more guitar based sound of the earlier singles.

'Just Who Is The Five O' Clock Hero?' lowers the standard again for me, indicating that the band was rapidly nearing the end of it's success. But this is followed up by the layered complexity of 'The Bitterest Pill I Ever Had To Swallow'. Including piano, strings and the vocalist Jenny McKeown, this song builds to a towering climax and would be a fitting end to the CD.

Unfortunately there is one more single; 'Beat Surrender' and, although packed with energy and sounding similar to The Divine Comedy this single doesn't really do it for me and frankly is a relatively poor ending to an otherwise great CD

Throughout this album the progression and evolution of The Jam and it's members is clear. From the early 'punk' singles to the later jazzy and artsy songs it is clear that The Jam are a remarkable band and stand out from their peers. Their musical influence is obvious in many bands today and this album serves as an excellent snapshot and introduction to their varied career.

The CD also contains a booklet with a brief history of the band.