the jam

the Polydor compilationTHE SOUND OF THE JAMcontains a good selectionof great songs.THE JAMoverview from trouser press:How ironic that the band from the class of '77 that seemed to stand least for the tenets of punk at the outset should wind up the one that remained truest to them over the long haul. The Jam's refusal to compromise their ideals and integrity during a six-year career tends to polarize reactions to them. In the end, once-common complaints about unoriginality and Paul Weller's lack of vocal prowess are overshadowed by their accomplishments as songwriters, musicians and commentators, but mostly by the Jam's living proof that a band's commercial success need not divorce it utterly from its fans or sense of purpose. The trio's parting at the end of 1982 can be looked at as symbolic of victory (a courageous decision not to become pointless dinosaurs in the UK, where they were virtually superstars) or failure (they were never able to achieve more than modest success in America, despite plenty of effort on the part of both the Jam and their label) or just as an indication that Weller's ever-changing moods had led him away from the Jam's rock'n'soul aesthetic towards more "stylish" pursuits. Regardless, the Jam left behind a recorded legacy as important as any the new wave produced.Black mohair suits, smart white shirts, skinny ties, stylish razor-cut hair, Rickenbacker guitars — on In the City the Jam were the new mods, emerging from a sea of spiky-haired leather-and-chain-clad punks. They may have looked different, but their energy level gave no ground, as Weller's jagged, choppy double-tracked guitar led the attack over Bruce Foxton's busy, melodic bass lines and Rick Buckler's stiff-backed drumming. The songs themselves are as taut and well manicured as the group, but match the explosiveness and attitude of the punks easily enough to establish an indisputable kinship to bands like the Sex Pistols and Clash.