Sound Affects

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Side one ends with “That’s Entertainment,” a song Paul Weller wrote in ten minutes after getting pissed at a pub, pissed off by the damp on the walls of his flat and disgusted at the squalor of working-class neighborhoods in London: British album certifications – The Jam – Sound Affects". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 14 November 2020. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Sound Affects in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter. Sinclair, Paul (23 October 2012). "The Jam / Classic Album Selection". Super Deluxe Edition . Retrieved 25 March 2021. The 80 Greatest Albums of 1980 What came out of all this was, arguably, the greatest year for great albums ever". Rolling Stone. 11 November 2020 . Retrieved 12 November 2020. Another terrific review of another terrific Jam album. Sound Affects has always been my favorite because of its musical and lyrical consistency (with one glaring exception, which you note and dismiss as appropriate) and the brighter production is a good choice for an album referencing Revolver — which is my favorite album by anyone ever. The denser production of Setting Sons wouldn’t have worked as well here. I would give a bit more credit to Set the House Ablaze, probably the most propulsively angry anti-fascism song ever recorded, but you are right that Weller’s vocals do get a bit buried in the mayhem. He is much easier to understand in the equally fiery live version on Dig the New Breed.

There cannot be much more said about the album’s masterful centerpiece 'That’s Entertainment' that hasn’t been already. It’s a piece of urban art in league with Banksy – about finding beauty in the little noticed and sometimes maligned details of the grey mood and mundane routines of city life. The unsubtle words are accompanied by simple acoustic instrumentation, all appropriately stripped down for a tune that needs no bells and whistles. However, even this monster tune is not without influences worn brazenly. The lyrics take inspiration from a poem by the young poet Paul Drew called 'Entertainment' and Weller favourites The Small Faces’ 'Itchycoo Park' lends the spinal chords to the intro. Selected items are only available for delivery via the Royal Mail 48® service and other items are available for delivery using this service for a charge. Sound Affects (liner notes). The Jam. Polydor Records. 1980. POLD 5035. {{ cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) ( link)

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a b c d Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrateded.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p.153. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Do you know where I learned that moths have the best hearing of any animal on the planet? Snapple bottle caps. I wonder what title they give to the person who comes up with those essential bits of knowledge. Man, I would love that job. Okay, a Jam album seemingly cut to my exact measurements. A group who always wore their influences like they were medals, Sound Affects has the Jam asking to be rewarded for quoting Gang of Four and and Wire. And I'm perfectly happy to give them such a nod, considering that this is rather fabbo. On that note, it’s probably best to start an appreciation of the album with the tune that both encapsulates Weller and that also most shamelessly shows off its roots. Jam - Down in the Tube Station at Midnight". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 13 October 2023.

Top Selling Albums of 1981 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand . Retrieved 1 February 2022. Besides these firm 60s roots, Sound Affects stands up superbly over many of its now-dated contemporaries. In fact, the opening stabs of guitar in 'Music For The Last Couple' (the only song here credited to all band members) is just waiting to be snapped up by one of these post-post-punk, new-new-wave groups like Chapel Club and the melody of Weller’s ode to human nature 'Man In The Corner Shop' was even used by The Strokes in 'You Only Live Once'. Sinclair, Paul (27 July 2017). "The Jam / 1977 five-disc box set". Super Deluxe Edition . Retrieved 25 March 2021. King, Ian (7 August 2015). "The Jam: About the Young Idea: The Very Best of the Jam". PopMatters . Retrieved 25 March 2021. This Is the Modern World peaked in the British charts at number 22, yet it received criticism for repeating the sound of the debut. The band began a headlining tour of the U.K., yet it was derailed shortly after it started when the group got into a nasty fight with a bunch of rugby players in a Leeds hotel. Weller broke several bones and was charged with assault, although the Leeds Crown Court would eventually acquit him. The Jam departed for another American tour in March of 1978 and it was yet another unsuccessful tour, as they opened for Blue Oyster Cult. It did nothing to win new American fans, yet their star continued to rise in Britain. Bands copying the group’s mod look and sound popped up across Britain and The Jam itself performed at the Reading Festival in August. All Mod Cons, released late in 1978, marked a turning point in The Jam’s career, illustrating that Weller’s songwriting was becoming more melodic, complex, and lyrically incisive, resembling Ray Davies more than Pete Townshend. Even as their sound became more pop-oriented, the group lost none of their tightly controlled energy. All Mod Cons was a major success, peaking at number six on the U.K. charts, even if it didn’t make a dent in the U.S. Every one of the band’s singles were now charting in the Top 20, with the driving “Eton Rifles” becoming their first Top Ten in November 1979, charting at number three.Jam - The Bitterest Pill I Ever Had to Swallow". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 25 March 2021.

While The Jam were firmly embedded in Punk from a music perspective they stood apart from just about all of their contemporaries by wearing smartly tailored suits; the very epitome of a Mod revival band, in looks, if not in music. With Paul Weller’s songwriting ability and guitar playing, along with Bruce Foxton’s clever driving bass lines, they had a sophisticated sound that seemed deceptively simple, yet was complex in thought and style.The Jam were seen as the centre of mod revival culture during the 1970s to the 1980s, and the lead singer of the band, Paul Weller, was seen as The Modfather. The band separated in 1982, following ten years active, and five years of success. Shortly after the band's break-up, Weller went on to form The Style Council, before embarking on a solo career and releasing his first studio album, which was self-titled, in 1992.