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at a glance...
Hometown: Woking, Surrey, England (The Jam)
Featured artists:
Liam Gallagher
Steve Craddock
The Beastie Boys
Reef
Everything But The Girl
Heavy Stereo
Noel Gallagher
Ben Harper
Gene
Silversun
Buffalo Tom
Garbage
Paul Weller
Notes:
In 1982, The Jam were the undisputed top band in the UK. Three Number One singles and a Number One album in the space of a year, left no doubt as to their status as the kings of the British pop scene.
But apparently that wasn't enough for leader Paul Weller (the so-called "spokesman for his generation") - for in October of that year, Weller sensationally announced the end of The Jam. While Weller has gone on to produce sporadically great music with The Style Council and as a solo artist, he will always be remembered for his work with The Jam. Even though The Jam rose to prominence during the punk era, they were in essence '60s mods. Weller wanted to look like Steve (Small Faces) Marriott, play guitar like Pete (The Who) Townshend and write Beatlesque songs, but at breakneck speed and with pure white noise. The first two albums followed this method to a "T." However, with All Mod Cons, Weller proved that he was a songwriter to rival his heroes, Townshend and Ray Davies, as his songs began to explore themes of urban disaffection, alienation and claustrophobia. Setting Sons and Sound Affects continued to cement The Jam's premier status and "Going Underground" became the first Number One Jam single. However, Weller was growing restless with the direction the band were taking. The Jam's final album, The Gift was released to mixed reviews, and with the rumors of a split simmering, it was business as usual, though the string-filled balladry of single "The Bitterest Pill" had the boo-boys firmly believing that Weller had lost his mind. But the end was in sight indeed, as upon the release of "Beat Surrender," Weller confirmed that the Jam were no more.
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Various Artists
Fire and Skill: The
Songs of The Jam
Sony/Epic, Released 2000
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If you're a die-hard fan of The Jam (like yours truly) then you will curse and swear at most of the performances on this tribute album. If indeed, the songs of The Jam are all about "fire and skill," then perhaps it's inappropriate that most of the cover versions show an almost criminal lack of those qualities.
I would like to question the absence of clearly Jam-influenced bands like Blur, Supergrass, Stereophonics and Symposium, but maybe their absence isn't a valid criticism. More attention should be drawn to the flaccid treatments of arguably the most potent material of the late '70s/early '80s post-punk era. Worse yet, the bands don't attempt to imbue any personality into the equation and merely ape the original with predictably abysmal results.
The prime culprits are Reef's awful, heavy-handed rendition of "That's Entertainment," Heavy Stereo's lacklustre delivery of "The Gift," Gene's methodical "by-the-numbers" take on "Town Called Malice" and Everything But The Girl's somnolent reading of the beautiful "English Rose."
Slightly better are the contributions from Liam Gallagher and Ocean Color Scene's Steve Craddock - "Carnation;" Silver Sun's "Art School" and Garbage's "Butterfly Collector," where at least there seems to be some attempt at stamping the songs with some identity, but ultimately not enough to avoid degenerating into pastiche.
So it's left to the American contributors and a professed Jam junkie to save Fire and Skill from becoming a total disaster. The Beastie Boys' "Start!" comes across like a Style Council track and Ben Harper delivers a rambunctious "The Modern World" played with um...fire and skill. Buffalo Tom make "Going Underground" their own and (surprise, surprise) Noel Gallagher presents a frank and relevant folky "To Be Someone". Tag on the modfather, Paul Weller, paying tribute to himself with the unreleased Jam number "No One in the World" (the obligatory hidden track) and the salvage operation is complete - but only just. Stick to the originals, kids...
If you like this album, check out:
The Jam Sound Affects
The Jam All Mod Cons
The Jam This Is The Modern World
Blur Modern Life Is Rubbish
Blur Parklife
Blur The Great Escape
The Clash From Here To Eternity
Supergrass I Should Coco
The Pills Wide Awake With The Pills
-- km
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