Well, the musician deaths start to pile up again. Roberta Flack is gone, but so is Rick Buckler, drummer of the inimitable Jam. So I planned on posting something different, but as usual when the grim reaper reaps, plans change. I don't have anything specific for Flack, but I probably at some point would have posted All Mod Cons anyway because it's such a great rock'n'roll album. Some might prefer In The City for its pure Who-esque attack, and there might even be some who prefer Setting Sons' sophistication (no one in their right mind has Sound Affects as their favorite). But for me, The Jam's masterpiece is All Mod Cons, a building block of every respectable rock'n'roll record collection.
All Mod Cons clearly shows the influence of Ray Davies and the Kinks on Paul Weller's story songs about "David Watts" or "Billy Hunt". The latter's frantic rhythm, the delicate balladry of "English Rose", the snarling, punk-ish "(Didn't We Have) A Nice Time" - this album is classic after classsic after classic. Not a minute wasted, not a bad song on the album - what more can you ask for?
So, without much ado, maximum rock'n'roll from PaulWeller and the gang...
All Mod Cons
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And you didn't even mention the highlight and real masterpiece of the collection ('Tube Station'). Did you know that the US reissue of the album has replaced Billy Hunt with Butterfly Collector which in my view is the far better song than the original choice?
ReplyDeleteAnyway that's the view of someone from 'Setting Sons' camp. I just think three or four of the track's arrangements on All Mod Cons are a bit awkward and forced. Clumsy if you like. That said it is still a fine album and a certainly better than Sound Affects and even more so The Gift. It was beginning of what possibly is Weller's most inspired period of writing which carried on all the way through to 'Going Underground' and 'Dreams Of Children' and includes almost all of the Jam's greatest songs within it.
Yeah, I have almost forgotten The Gift which is Weller already trying to transform The Jam into The Style Council.
DeleteOf course, 'Tube' is great, but I thought it too obvious to mention. Fair point in preferring Setting Sons which I think is their second best, but I think All Mod Cons really is the great convergence point between the more simplistic power of their Who-leaning beginnings and the sophisticated pop writing Weller was drawn to in the future.
Ahem, I think the reason for "David Watts" sounding so Kinks-like is that it was actually written by Ray Davies....just sayin'.
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Stranger, that is...a very good point!
DeleteTo be fair, out of the big 60s pop bands I'm probably the least versed in The Kinks. I like most of the stuff I heard, but don't own many albums from them.
Great record. With a lot of the "class of 1977" "punk" bands, there was that moment when you heard something by them that showed they could have a career and create something other than the fast-tempo three-chords and an attitude music that occupied the first few years. For the Jam, this was that record.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder to give them some more airplay. One of the bands I know I should be a lot more familiar with (have most of their albums, just don't listen to them)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Jam share a band I have never really got into so I will give this album a solid listen Regards
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