The Jam's CD All Mod Cons - a review

Cafe Society
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I kinda like music :stuck_out_tongue: but there is way too much music and too little time. So one thing I have resigned myself to doing is reading up when folks “look back” to various eras where they cite music which seem to “make the cut” - i.e., be an enduring work. If a particular artist, CD or song hits my radar often enough I go back and check it out.

As a result, bands like Big Star, The Replacements, Television, My Bloody Valentine, The Stone Roses and countless others have ended up getting much heavier rotation than they had before. I feel a little silly confessing that I wasn’t on top of bands like these when they first came out, but I suppose I can live with that… :wink:

Anyway, fellow Doper **An Arky ** has stated in several threads that he loves The Jam’s All Mod Cons. Since The Jam never broke in the U.S. I never invested time past hearing a few singles, but have always been curious, given how big they were in the U.K. and where they seem to fit musically.

So I went ahead and got the CD - bottom line: If you like early Joe Jackson or Elvis Costello, tinged with a bit of early Who, you would really, really like this CD. A few points:

[ul]Very melodic – lots of catchy melodies and chorus hooks, similar to Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson - you find yourself humming along on very upbeat tunes, only to realize that they have biting lyrics[/ul]
[ul]It includes some conspicuous Musical quotes – one song replicates the piano riff from the Stones’ Let’s Spend the Night Together; another copies the descending guitar chords in She Loves You (the ones that sound like George is playing the Yeah, Yeah, Yeah melodic hook). It is so obvious that it has to be intentional - I would be curious as to how those cribs were perceived back in the day - a cool homage or a rip-off…I hear cool homage, but that’s me[/ul]
[ul]They have that Angry Young Man thing going that JJ, Elvis and other Brit songwriters from the early 80’s had. The anger is more literary vs. JJ – you can tell that Paul Weller of the Jam has similar literary ambitions to Pete Townshend.[/ul]
[ul]Sonically, the biggest diff is the bass – both Graham Maby of Joe Jackson and Bruce Foxton play involved, cool, melodic bass lines, but Graham has the trebly, Rickenbacker-ish bass tone whereas Foxton’s is a rounder, warmer, more old-school tone…he is really a good bassist.[/ul]
[ul]On the negative side, the songs can sound a bit pretentious – they tend to frame a character, only to dismiss them as middle-class tools – e.g., Mr. Clean and David Watts - by the way, were either David Watts or Billy Hunt (both featured in songs here) real people? I can’t tell if they are specific references or a character created for the song. Oh, and one other nit - at the end of the chorus of the song English Rose, he sings “no one is as good as SHE” – I can’t abide by that kind of pronoun trouble :slight_smile: [/ul]
[ul]To me, the best songs = Down in the Tube Station at Midnight, Billy Hunt for their sheer hummability that also opens up into great lyrics[/ul]

Good stuff - definitely worth a listen. Thanks, **An Arky ** - what do you think? How in line is my review with how you approach it?

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Cool review, I agree with all of your points. I’m a huge fan of the band but I actually think All Mod Cons is their weakest effort. (In case anyone cares, from best to least best: The Gift, tie: Setting Sons and Sound Affects, In the City, This is the Modern World, All Mod Cons). If you’re looking for more Jam, the box set Direction Reaction Creation is a good purchase-- you can get essentially their entire studio output for around $50-60.

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The Jam are awesome- them (and the Stranglers) not having a single hit in the US is one of the great injustices in rock history. I’ve heard the “too British” bit for both, but don’t buy it.

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Hey WordMan - havent heard this album for 26/7 years but wore it out back in the day. English Rose was the 1st song I ever worked out on my old Eko . Ahhh.

David Watts is a Kinks song - Weller was a bigger admirer of Ray Davies than Townsend as he has said many times.
Interviewed on C4 in the UK recently Weller said that AMC was their make or break album with their label - they’d rejected a batch of songs saying he wasnt trying hard enough.
It was big and very influencial in the UK - the musical ‘quotes’ you mentioned were in general wanked over and ‘English Rose’ in particular was held up as proof of the genius of the then 19/20 yr old writer. (I really have lots of affection for the song but even then wondered how someone with broader chordal knowledge and better playing chops could make it sound) The deification of Weller really started with this album and in some parts of the british press still continues.
My faves are the 2 that were released as a double a-side ‘Tube Station’ and ‘A-Bomb in Wardour St’

Foxton exclusively played a Ricky at the time IIRC.

Thanks for bringing it up.

MiM

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Good thread!

I can agree with a lot of what you observed, WordMan, so I’ll be brief…

As far as undigested musical references go, The Jam definitely was walking that line. BTW David Watts is not only a real person, but also a Kinks song. And what’s funny is that the Kinks took a bit of guff for having the piano part like Let’s Spend the Night Together back in the day.

But some of the brashness and negativity in that album, as well as the influences, were a product of a 20 year old working class kid. To me, it captures the uncertainty/aggression sentiment of the late teen years well.

Weller had an attitude going in to this album, as well. After their first, well-received album, they fairly rushed out a second, and it wasn’t as successful. They worked on songs for a third, but the record company told them they were shite and to try again. Weller basically holed up in his bedroom and came up with a lot of this in a short amount of time.

ETA: **Made in Macau ** beat me to the punch with similar thoughts…curses!

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No idea, but that’s a cover. The original is by the Kinks, from one of their best albums, Something Else by the Kinks. Worth checking out if you like that sort of stuff.

edited to add: Argh! Spent too much time looking for the CD title on my rack and was beaten to the punch :D.

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All good comments - thanks. And it sounds like perhaps David Watts might have been a Kinks song? :slight_smile: Are you all sure it wasn’t on Rio by Duran Duran? (Insider Doper humor: there was a thread where someone was asking about that CD and, like 20 Dopers replied with the correct answer at once…)

Foxton played a Ricky? Interesting - well, it sounds like he had the Tone control rolled off a LOT - I get a big thick tone, not the trebly, sinewy bass tone I hear when Graham Maby plays on Baby Stick Around, One More Time or Look Sharp…they are approaching their playing in similar ways, but the sounds are very different and since the bass is so important with both bands, the tonal differences really stand out to my ear…

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He did eventually move on from Rickenbackers. The cover of AMC has a Fender Precision on it, I believe.

There are other albums which deserve a mention, while we’re on the subject…I’ll give a pithy breakdown of the Jam’s albums:

In The City: Very Mod/Punk, with obvious 60s influences. This probably was the beginning of the skinny tie phase.

This Is The Modern World: Got Who If You Want It. This album has really good slam/bang riffs, and is good for teenage pop/punk. Not any truly standout songs other than the title track, perhaps.

All Mod Cons: Suddenly the teenage mod punkster has had a bit of a lull in songwriting and almost gets written off; responds with a clearly evolved, but more introspective sound. I love the backward guitar solo on In The Crowd.

Setting Sons: Jam singles are regularly hitting the top ten in England and they are touring incessantly. Weller conceives of a concept album around three lads making the transition to adulthood. Ends up with other stuff thrown in…a lot of good stuff, but too bad they didn’t spend enough time developing it before hitting the studio…or maybe that’s what actually makes it better; I can’t decide.

Setting Sons: The influence of Revolver is well in evidence, but there’s a lot of really good songs on here. Going Underground had been recorded, released and hit number 1 in England between Setting Sons and this album.

The Gift: Motown is great, Motown influenced music can be great. Pasty English white boys taking Motown too seriously make Arky flap lips and say bah! Probably 4 or 5 great songs nestled in a big brown pile wonky dance music. I would probably say the same about Sandinista!

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Forgot to mention that The Jam’s recording career was about 5 years, 1977-1982, when Paul Weller was age 19-24. I think that if you look at similar age for a lot of “classic” artists, their output was not all that much better.

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Glad to see “the greatest fucking band in the world” (as Weller’s dad always used to shout when he introduced them on stage) getting some recognition across the water at last.

I had the privilege of seeing them in the reasonably early days, before their first single, “In The City”, was released. They were always at their best in small pubs and clubs - the first time I saw them (Red Cow, Hammersmith, March 1977) it cost me 50p; the second time, a couple of weeks later, (Nashville Rooms, West Kensington) it was free!

If pushed, I’d say “Setting Sons” was my favourite of their LPs, though “In The City” pretty much repreduces how great they were before Weller started getting all poncy. I’m afraid “The Gift”, to me, just isn’t them.

I also had the pleasure of bumping into Bruce Foxton and his missus (?) around about New Year 1997/98 in a tiny village in Cornwall called Fowey. Bloody nice bloke.

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I know have had Down in the Tube Station running through my head for the last hour or so…

They smelled of pubs, and Wormwood Scrubs and too many right wing meetings…"

I seem to remember Bruce Foxton playing for Stiff Little Fingers when they came to Philly a few years back.

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Yeah, fine, go ahead and brag. Wanker.

I’m envious

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I love the Jam. I first heard them about 20 years ago when I got a copy of In the City when I first got into the punk scene in my high school days. I loved that album, but was not as impressed by This is the Modern World, so mentally I filed them with the great list of punk bands who had one great LP in them.

Big mistake on my part, because a few years later when I decided to try their other albums, I was blown away. I love the mix of Townshend’s guitar style and Ray Davies’ lyrical bent. (and for those of you scoring at home, “David Watts” is the opener of Something Else by the Kinks as well as a hit single)

I think All Mod Cons, Setting Sons and Sound Affects make a great trio of albums, each featuring wonderful musicianship and creative songwriting. I agree with some others that The Gift, while containing a few great songs, sounds like a completely different band.

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As I clutch my My Bloody Valentine ticket to my chest (and search for earplugs), can I ask what you’d recommend from The Replacements? I’ve seen them referenced tons, but I don’t think I’ve heard them, and I trust your judgement music-wise.

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I’ve always been meaning to explore this band a little more closely. “To Be Someone” is one of my favorite songs by any band from that era. I’ve also been a huge fan of “Life From a Window” (off This is the Modern World). Great songwriting all around.

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Oooo - you’re going? I’m jealous but would be afraid for my hearing. If you haven’t read the 33 1/3 Book Series’ edition on MBV’s Loveless (Amazon link), it is one of the better examples of books from that series.

As for the Replacements, well, as a start, it is very easy to recommend their Best of, Don’t You Know Who I Think I Was? (Amazon Link). Really great stuff - starts off with their edgier pure punk, but by the time you get to I Will Dare, Answering Machine and Here Comes a Regular - man, you will totally respect Westerberg as a songwriter and the band’s delivery of his songs.

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Yes, at the Barrowlands. Woo! I hope Kevin is reined back a bit by Belinda and Deb though, because the last time I saw them was painfully loud on a tour with The Jesus and Mary Chain, Blur and Dinosaur Jr. The time before that was at the Barras too, and they were unbelievably - truly utterly fantastically - good. Right up there with The Smiths, Pixies and Leftfield as my favourite gigs, ever.

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Sorry! I had no control over my being 17 years old and living in London at the time: it was an accident of birth.

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…and I was 14 and living in a small town in Arkansas by a lovely freaking accident of birth as well. Rock magazines were the only way I had of knowing about what was going on in London, NYC, etc. at the time. :frowning: