The Album Review Club - Week #192 (page 1292) - 3ft High & Rising - De La Soul

[Bill Walker]

My son lives in Melbourne, and I went to the Peter Hook gig with him prior to the FA cup final in the pub
In December I saw Morrissey with him
He reckons there’s a huge retro following of alternative/new wave / britpop underground following in various venues every Fri in Melbourne
And these are driven by students/19, 20 year olds

My son lives in Melbourne too.
His wife is a fan of Morrissey. Me and my son are bewildered by it :)

 

[jonah62]

My son lives in Melbourne too.
His wife is a fan of Morrissey. Me and my son are bewildered by it :)

Sounds like the wife is a keeper!

 

[threespires]

Hmmm, time to bump the average score up I think! There's already been some great reviews and responses to them from benny so I'm not going to revisit those, suffice to say I agree wholeheartedly with the comments about Foxtons basslines. I think their decision early doors to swap instruments was erm instrumental in their distinctive sound.

In polls of best British bands The Jam regularly place well below the likes of Blur, The Stones Roses and The Oxfordshire Voldemort and his crew of musical death eaters. But then so do Joy Division and New Order which to any right minded person would show these list are mostly bollocks :-). Anyway I think The Jam are one of our great bands and Weller is underappreciated. It's like he's always been around and it's a bit too easy to take what he's achieved for granted.

Take this album for instance. Weller was was 20 when it was released, and Foxton and Buckler still in their early twenties, but it was their third album. I mention this because for all the talk of angry young men etc this is actually a remarkably mature album and captures much more than a bit of angriness but without at any point sacrificing the vitality and energy of youth. It's not always that sophisticated musically or lyrically but in terms of it's overall structure and pacing I think it's belies the ages of it's creators. Bimbo mentioned it felt mellow and even safe and though I disagree I can see where he's coming from. For a still very young song writer I think there's a decent amount of light and shade across the album, shifts of pace and mood whilst as a whole still retaining a cohesive sound and identity. That's something that even highly experienced bands struggle to get right to this day

Maybe it's an age thing, but to me it's both very much of it's time whilst still sounding fresh enough today. Though I think there's a couple of better songs on Setting Sons, I think this hangs together better as an album.

Though there are great songs on here I don't really think of it in those terms, I like to listen to this as a whole. It sonically captures the idea of youth brilliantly...full of vibrancy, quite cocksure of itself and sometimes even right, open to new ideas, developing your own world view but still being a bit endearingly gauche at times. It also, in its final track, has two of my top 100 lines in popular music but that's by the by. Whilst other bands are held up as innovators The Jam tend to get bracketed as revivalists but I think that does them a disservice as they are one of the most recognisable and distinctive bands these islands have produced and for me this is up there as a great British album. 9/10

 

[OB1]

I was never a Jam fan; quite the opposite as a kid, when I would normally describe them as a poor man's Who, who I still consdier to be vastly superior; as I do The Kinks.

My biggest problem with The Jam is how Weller sings, and the pity is that he could have been so much better as he prove as a solo artist. I saw him do a short set recently at Roger Daltrey's final Teenage Cancer gig and he was enjoyable, even finished with a Jam song (That's Entertainment).

Thought English Rose was rather sweet. The beginning of It's Too Bad reminded me of She Loves You by the Beatles!

I'll go with 6/10.

 

[The Lightbowne Cowboy]

I was never a Jam fan; quite the opposite as a kid, when I would normally describe them as a poor man's Who, who I still consdier to be vastly superior; as I do The Kinks.

My biggest problem with The Jam is how Weller sings, and the pity is that he could have been so much better as he prove as a solo artist. I saw him do a short set recently at Roger Daltrey's final Teenage Cancer gig and he was enjoyable, even finished with a Jam song (That's Entertainment).

Thought English Rose was rather sweet. The beginning of It's Too Bad reminded me of She Loves You by the Beatles!

I'll go with 6/10.

Bit harsh that OB, The Who and the Kinks are two of the greatest bands of all time(and not just British) to compare the Jam with them two colossals isn't fair in my book. I know Weller was massively influenced by both of these bands and took quite a lot from them both( So much Kinks influence on this album especially) The thing is, Kinks,Who,Beatles etc inspired most bands that followed them, I just think the Jam were brilliant at making their own sound whilst nickin bits of this and that along the way. For me, they were the best British band in that late 70s early 80s era. This album is dynamite! There isn't a weak track. I personally love In the crowd, yes, Weller ripped a massive rift from Johnny Thunder by the Kinks but he did it in style. Mr Clean is Weller at his angriest best and to finish the album on A bomb on Wardour St is to finish in style. A truly majestic album which along with Setting Sons, is in my top 10. The only minor gripe I have with it is David Watts. Now for me,this version is possibly even better than the original(more edgy/angry) but I wish he'd of written one himself instead of(possibly) using a filler..just like Heatwave on Setting sons. Don't come much better in my eyes. 9.5/10.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

Hmmm, time to bump the average score up I think! There's already been some great reviews and responses to them from benny so I'm not going to revisit those, suffice to say I agree wholeheartedly with the comments about Foxtons basslines. I think their decision early doors to swap instruments was erm instrumental in their distinctive sound.

In polls of best British bands The Jam regularly place well below the likes of Blur, The Stones Roses and The Oxfordshire Voldemort and his crew of musical death eaters. But then so do Joy Division and New Order which to any right minded person would show these list are mostly bollocks :-). Anyway I think The Jam are one of our great bands and Weller is underappreciated. It's like he's always been around and it's a bit too easy to take what he's achieved for granted.

Take this album for instance. Weller was was 20 when it was released, and Foxton and Buckler still in their early twenties, but it was their third album. I mention this because for all the talk of angry young men etc this is actually a remarkably mature album and captures much more than a bit of angriness but without at any point sacrificing the vitality and energy of youth. It's not always that sophisticated musically or lyrically but in terms of it's overall structure and pacing I think it's belies the ages of it's creators. Bimbo mentioned it felt mellow and even safe and though I disagree I can see where he's coming from. For a still very young song writer I think there's a decent amount of light and shade across the album, shifts of pace and mood whilst as a whole still retaining a cohesive sound and identity. That's something that even highly experienced bands struggle to get right to this day

Maybe it's an age thing, but to me it's both very much of it's time whilst still sounding fresh enough today. Though I think there's a couple of better songs on Setting Sons, I think this hangs together better as an album.

Though there are great songs on here I don't really think of it in those terms, I like to listen to this as a whole. It sonically captures the idea of youth brilliantly...full of vibrancy, quite cocksure of itself and sometimes even right, open to new ideas, developing your own world view but still being a bit endearingly gauche at times. It also, in its final track, has two of my top 100 lines in popular music but that's by the by. Whilst other bands are held up as innovators The Jam tend to get bracketed as revivalists but I think that does them a disservice as they are one of the most recognisable and distinctive bands these islands have produced and for me this is up there as a great British album. 9/10

I assume recency bias is why The Jam (and NO/JD) are ranked below some of those other acts. Ridiculous Blur would be anywhere near the top; Stone Roses too given their output is so limited.

Historic reading suggest the debate about the evolution toward mature songwriting vs. a dissipation of their earlier energy was going on when this was released too. In fact I think AMC is the biggest step-up The Jam made (from TITMW) in maturity.

I completely agree that this hangs together better as a record than SS but there are some better songs on SS -- IMO, Saturday's Kids and Eton Rifles and, especially, Smithers-Jones -- still my favo(u)rite song of theirs.

I've never really thought of them as revivalists though I can see how it'd be easier for English folks to see/feel that. My issue has always been Weller isn't hooky enough, and I still think that, and that every record of theirs is a little uneven song-quality-wise. But if you think in "whole record" terms, as you do here, that makes them even more like The Who, who were also known to include a clunker or two in pursuit of an overall impact.

 

[bennyboy]

I assume recency bias is why The Jam (and NO/JD) are ranked below some of those other acts. Ridiculous Blur would be anywhere near the top; Stone Roses too given their output is so limited.

Historic reading suggest the debate about the evolution toward mature songwriting vs. a dissipation of their earlier energy was going on when this was released too. In fact I think AMC is the biggest step-up The Jam made (from TITMW) in maturity.

I completely agree that this hangs together better as a record than SS but there are some better songs on SS -- IMO, Saturday's Kids and Eton Rifles and, especially, Smithers-Jones -- still my favo(u)rite song of theirs.

I've never really thought of them as revivalists though I can see how it'd be easier for English folks to see/feel that. My issue has always been Weller isn't hooky enough, and I still think that, and that every record of theirs is a little uneven song-quality-wise. But if you think in "whole record" terms, as you do here, that makes them even more like The Who, who were also known to include a clunker or two in pursuit of an overall impact.

I have never liked an Who album the whole way through.
A best off does me.
Usually 4 great songs on each album then I struggle with the rest.

 

[southamptonblue]

Sounds like she's always miserable!

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

I have never liked an Who album the whole way through.
A best off does me.
Usually 4 great songs on each album then I struggle with the rest.

And I am the opposite though I typically like more than 4 Jam songs per record. Yet I can deal with the ups and downs of Quadrophenia in deference to the entire concept quite easily; it's one of my favo(u)rite albums and even nudges out Who's Next, which is saying something given my favo(u)rite song of all time is on WN. Meantime I am quite sure I listened to Snap more than any other Jam record when living with my Jam-obsessed college roommate.

 

[journolud]

Seems I'm not as familiar with the Jam's albums as I thought I was, having spent the last week playing them all in chronological order the only one I can really remember is Setting Sons with smatterings of the Gift. Vague memories of finding This is the Modern World a bit dull (my brother had it) and losing interest although something must have reignited it as I did have Setting Sons on vinyl. Possibly a cheapy from Sifters...

You can see the bands developments across all the albums, the first two pretty much the same and then beginnings of trying something else on this one. I would say each album was better than the last as well.

I frequently play the Jam's Compact Snap when I'm looking for something easy for driving and there isn't a bad track across that album, I think I'm right in saying they are all singles. So they were either very good at choosing which tracks to release as singles or they just couldn't sustain any quality across a whole album as on each of the ones I listened to the singles were the best tracks. The other option of course is that familiarity with them has allowed them to embed themselves in my consciousness.

So it is with this album, the singles are far and away the best tracks, yes even David Watts. I liked it then and I like it now.

English Rose I'm sorry to say I think is a bit of a stinker although fair play to him for trying and he developed that side of his songwriting to great effect later in his solo career. You'd have to say his voice matured as well. The Fly suffers from it as well.

There are some other decent middling tracks, In the Crowd and unlike others I didn't mind Billy Hunt.

There is a side to the Jam that I was always a little uncomfortable with, exemplified by Mr Clean and later Smithers-Jones. Maybe just my take to find them mean spirited, understandable given the age of Weller maybe and maybe I knew I'd always grow up to be one of the middle class stiffs that those songs seems to despise. In a similar era XTC for one seemed less barbed in their digs at those who lived on Respectable St and then the likes of Squeeze and Elvis Costello brought more humanity and understanding to the trials and tribulations of well, living ordinary lives.

Was interesting to listen to this and all their albums, I even progressed onto Style Council (nah not really for me thanks) and Wildwood (more of that please) to complement the one Wewller solo album I have in my collection. Yesterday's pick on the song thread suggested he hadn't totally kicked the inconsistency though.

Not a great album but not bad. 6 from me.

 

[journolud]

And I am the opposite though I typically like more than 4 Jam songs per record. Yet I can deal with the ups and downs of Quadrophenia in deference to the entire concept quite easily; it's one of my favo(u)rite albums and even nudges out Who's Next, which is saying something given my favo(u)rite song of all time is on WN. Meantime I am quite sure I listened to Snap more than any other Jam record when living with my Jam-obsessed college roommate.

My brother was a big Who fan and tried to educate me to their greatness which I naturally resisted. Nowadays though I think Quadrophenia is a great album but like the Wall has to be listened to in its entirety. I can quite happily cue up a playlist of Who songs though to while away an hour or so.

 

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

I have never liked an Who album the whole way through.
A best off does me.
Usually 4 great songs on each album then I struggle with the rest.

Who's Next is my favourite of theirs from start to finish.

After finding only a few tracks from there on one of their GH compilations, I made my own which included the rest of the album. Not a clunker on there, IMO.

 

[mrbelfry]

How do the Whovians feel about Boris the Spider?

 

[journolud]

How do the Whovians feel about Boris the Spider?

It’s better than Squeeze Box

 

[mancity2012_eamo]

My brother was a big Who fan and tried to educate me to their greatness which I naturally resisted. Nowadays though I think Quadrophenia is a great album but like the Wall has to be listened to in its entirety. I can quite happily cue up a playlist of Who songs though to while away an hour or so.

Quadrophenia is class. I agree it needs to be played in its entirety.
I like The Wall but always thought one side was well below par. Think it’s the third from memory.

 

[Jamshopbridge]

A lot of my write up on this will revolve around Foxton's basslines which were imo completely integral to The Jam's success. I get where Foggy's coming from re. Weller not being a particularly hooky writer in terms of his melodies but then he didn't need to be because often the bassline provided that. Just as an example off this album, think about Down In The Tube Station without that baseline.

It's quite staggering the number of prominent bass lines Foxton came up with. The perfect testimony to Bruce is the amount bass intros The Jam had.....Start!, The Eton Rifles, Pretty Green, Monday, A Town Called Malice, Private Hell, Funeral Pyre to name but a few. I can't think of another band that used so many bass intros.

As for All Mod Cons standing as a an album? Well as a body of work its stood the test of time well IMHO. Consider this.........all the songs bar one were written by a 20 year old in the back garden of his mum and dad's council house in suburban Woking. Weller was a truly precocious talent, the rhythm section complimented the songs perfectly. Also a mention should be given to Vic Coppersmith-Heaven's production, he double tracks the guitars and adds lots of extra layers into each song.
Highlights for me:
Tube Station
Fly
In The Crowd
English Rose

Its one of my favourite albums.

 

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

All Mod Cons - The Jam

Thanks @BlueHammer85 for this link, as I typically find these quite informative, especially as is the case this week.

After reading most of the reviews here this week, I think I'm in a unique category of one: I've never have heard any song from this album, much less have heard of this band. There, I've said it, and now that that is out of way, we know what that usually means when it comes to reviews. I remember what I was doing as a pre-teen in 1978, and it wasn't listening to this.

There are four distinct aspects of this album that stand out to me in not having any history that summarize my feelings on the songs:

1) the writing and the lyrics - first and foremost, this part required multiple (more than 3) non-distracted listens to really get some of the themes to this. "English Rose" was the first song that really stuck out to me, and might be my favourite here. Just beautifully written and performed, it really was arranged on the album in such a way to bridge the more faster band driven Mod tunes that were the staple. After that, "Down In The Tube Station at Midnight" was a perfectly written and performed closer too. The imagery conjured up in the song is one any listener can probably relate to, the storytelling in that song was top notch. Pull out the Queen, too many right wing meetings, the curry's gone cold, just really well done. "Fly" was another nice interlude track and a well crafted song.

2) the UK angle of the underdog band - The Kinks were one of my 70's bands too, more than the Who, but I was fans of both over the Clash and other punk bands at the time. "David Watts" was one song a buddy of mine would listen to off his Kinks album and I was introduced to the genius of Ray Davies. The Jam do a good version of this, even if I still prefer the original. Accompanying songs such as "To Be Someone (Didn't We Have A Nice Time)" and "In The Crowd" were all songs of yearning and expressed a desire to be more than they were, and all honestly written, going back to point 1. I can see why this band and Paul Weller are considered UK icons - they present honest lyrics and a straightforward rock approach, and they certainly sound like nothing I remember hearing from their time. More like that 60's Mods vibe they are trying to capture, just a decade later.

3) the Bass - as @Coatigan and others have noted, it really is pronounced and certainly carries more than a few songs. I'd argue Bruce Foxton is the unsung hero of the group, but others can correct me if he's gotten his due amoungst the true fans who 'get it'. The bass shines throughout, but in particular on "All Mod Cons", more than a few songs I've mentioned, and "Mr. Clean".

4) the sound effects - certainly inspired by other bands that effectively used them (The Who in Quadrophenia in particular), I thought they really did a great job of adding this at the start of "English Rose" and "Down In The Tube Station at Midnight".

I can see how this band would be revered and popular in the UK, and yes, it's a shame it took me this many years to finally hear of them, but... I like what I heard, and hope to hear more. I've been binging on Biffy and Idlewild from the Playlist thread after some recent discussions there along with other new releases - always hard to fit it all in.

For me, this would be a 6.5 not having the context or memories, but given the strong appreciation for the lyrics and the UK impact, I'm giving it a 7.5/10 overall. I'm glad to see this album in particular has brought out some new postings from fans who have a much better context than myself. It's helpful for those like myself without the background on this selection.

 

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

Supported Blue Oyster Cult in 1978 over in the States.
That was never going to work for them.

I'm re-reading all of the posts I really didn't really 'get' prior to listening to this album.

I'm sure those opening shows was a brutal experience given the difference of tastes of the fans there to see BOC ("More cowbell!"?), and it was mentioned in the YT video on this album that this was before this album was recorded, and there was a giant leap forward with All Mod Cons. But those tastes were never going to align.

This week's nominator is @bennyboy, who had this to say about his choice:-

Seemingly based on the Ray Davis and the Kinks but I know nothing about their music but there is a cover of a Ray Davis song on this.

I was a bit shocked to see this admission after hearing this album given how much the Kinks inspired Weller and the Jam.

The Kinks are a band worth checking out, but not sure I'd be the right one to nominate them. Where have all the good times gone? ;-)

 

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

This is not an album that I would put on with my wife or play in the background in company. It is very much a male album of its time and of its time I would say it’s better than INXS.

That was very well said, even if it took me nearly a week to have the context to agree totally with first-hand experience. While driving around the Pacific NW over the past weekend enjoying a break from the southeastern US heat wave, I didn't dare try this one out for the missus after my first listen prior.

Know. Your. Audience. In. The. Car.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

That was very well said, even if it took me nearly a week to have the context to agree totally with first-hand experience. While driving around the Pacific NW over the past weekend enjoying a break from the southeastern US heat wave, I didn't dare try this one out for the missus after my first listen prior.

Know. Your. Audience. In. The. Car.

My wife, oddly enough, really enjoyed this record and remembered a lot of it from college too. Of course we went to the same school and had the same friends so . . .