The Jam “All Mod Cons”

sfilzen — Thu, 14 Jan 2021 18:38:39 +0000

The Jam “All Mod Cons” 1978. The Jam’s third album, All Mod Cons went to #4 in the UK and several British publications rank it among the best British albums ever released (it failed to crack the main US charts). I’ve had Britain/London on my mind all week so spinning The Jam seemed pretty obvious, with Paul Weller (“The Modfather”) the recipient of the “Best British Male” award (twice!) and a huge influence on the 90′s Britpop resurgence. All Mod Cons is a pop celebration and commentary on England, and London in particular, with tracks like “English Rose,” “David Watts” (a cover of the Kinks, The Jam’s version went to #25 in the UK as a double-A-side single with “’A’ Bomb in Wardour Street” which also appears on All Mod Cons, named for a street in Soho, London; the track mentions the Vortex Club location the street, a venue where punks and new-wavers performed at the time) and “Down in the Tube Station at Midnight.” “Down in the Station” went to #15 in the UK and was a song I found myself singing (under my breath) several times a couple of summers ago in London while riding the tube (though technically never at midnight, that’s way too late for me!). The flip-side to the single was a cover of the true Modfathers The Who’s “So Sad About Us.” I also really love “Billy Hunt” and the title track “All Mod Cons” which is a play the British advertising phrase for modern conveniences and The Jam’s position as mod revivalist heroes.

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The Jam “In the City”

sfilzen — Fri, 25 May 2018 19:14:58 +0000

The Jam “In the City” 1977. Today, May 25th, is Paul “The Modfather” (and two-time winner of Best British Male award) Weller’s 60th birthday (b. 1958). Now that the cat has finally vacated his perch on top of the turntable, I’m able to spin In the City, The Jam’s debut album.

The Jam released one single from their debut album, the title track “In the City” which hit #40 on the UK charts. The song (and the entire record) celebrates a resurgence of 60′s-inspired mod and youth culture (the song was influenced by The Who, even borrowing the title from their “In the City”) while blending in 70′s punchy punk attitude and politics (“In the city there’s a thousand men in uniform and I hear they now have the right to kill a man”). The early Who/mod sound appears on most of the album like “Art School” and “Sounds From the Street” There are also two cover songs on In the City that are less mod: “Slow Down,” a rockin’ rhythm-and-blues track originally by Larry Wiliams from 1958 (also covered by the Beatles) (that early rock-n-roll sound reappears on the b-side to the “In the City” single: “Takin’ My Love”) and a punked up “Batman Theme,” which is hilarious.

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The Jam “All Mod Cons”

The Jam “In the City”