THE JAM
The Sound of The Jam (Polydor)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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Polydor's previous single disc collection, Greatest Hits, has several tracks in common with this, but it left out most of the softer side of The Jam, which this disc reveals in tracks such as "English Rose" and "Mr. Clean." The sound quality is better, too, I believe, though I admit I'm going on my memory of a long ago sold copy of Greatest hits that became dispensable when I got the 5-CD box set, Direction Reaction Creation. As a Jam freak, I would like to recommend every one of you plunk down a big huge chunk of change for that box set and get the 117 songs if offers, but I know some of you have... what's that called... uuuh, self-restraint, so let me recommend this instead. It's a good mix of The Jam when they rocked at high speed, when they played ballads so beautiful you fell in love with the nearest life form, and when they played soul so convincing it wouldn't be a surprise to see James Brown draping a cloak over Paul Weller's shoulders and shuffling offstage with him. Mmokay, it never got that funky, but "A Town Called Malice" was pretty damned soulful. This is a very nice collection of 20 songs, including the fan club version of "Tales From The Riverbank" and some cool photos in the booklet. I'd still recommend the box set, but hey... I understand. It's the economy.

Track List:

In the City * Away from the Numbers * The Modern World * David Watts * Down in the Tube Station at Midnight * To Be Someone (Didn't We Have a Nice Time) * Mr. Clean * English Rose * The Butterfly Collector * The Eton Rifles * Thick as Thieves * Going Underground * Start * Liza Radley * Pretty Green * That's Entertainment * Tales from the Riverbank * Town Called Malice * Ghosts * Beat Surrender

© 2003 - DJ Johnson