Customer Reviews

All Mod Cons [Vinyl]

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I have always been a bit bothered by the fact that 1978's All Mod Cons is considered by many to be The Jam's best record. If nothing else, this misjudgement steals the thunder of their actual best record, 1979's Setting Sons. AMC is simply not consistently impressive enough to qualify for this distinction. Granted, it was the record that sprung the band back to life after the critically and commercially lackluster This Is the Modern World. Thus, it allowed them to secure a legacy with even greater follow-ups. So while I agree that AMC was the most important album of The Jam's career, it only consistently pretty to really good, and indisputably great in only one case.

The trio of songs that open All Mod Cons includes the vitriolic title track, with verses that stumble over themselves as the guitar, bass, and drums stomp along in unison. "To Be Someone" seamlessly goes from dreams of stardom, to its realization (including guitar-shaped pools and cocaine), to its disappearance, all in the course of 2-1/2 minutes: "And the bread I spend is like my fame - its quickly diminished". Thankfully, Jam leader Paul Weller doesn't sound the least bit glib until "Mr. Clean", one of the weakest spots on the record. It's not that great of a song to begin with, but it is also unjustifiably venomous toward the square community. (Not everyone can be a cool, rich, devil-may-care rock star like you, Paul.)

The record picks up slowly but very surely after this. "David Watts", sung by bassist Bruce Foxton, is too faithful to the original version to be any sort of revelation, but it is enjoyable for the very same reason. It is also a subtle indication that Weller's main influence for the time being would be Ray Davies, not Pete Townshend. Still, the jaunty pop tune "It's Too Bad" - also a very enjoyable but not revelatory song - sounds like a re-write of The Who's "So Sad About Us", which The Jam also covered. (The more you get to know The Jam, implicit and explicit homages to The Who abound. For example, not only did The Jam cover a few Who songs, they also covered songs that The Who themselves covered, like "Heat Wave" and "Batman".) Weller also tosses in a few beautiful and affecting acoustic love songs, "English Rose" - the original name and inspiration for the band that would become The Stone Roses - and "Fly". Finally, there is the impassioned manifesto "In The Crowd", which is part of Weller's live show to this day, the punky "Billy Hunt", and the Clash-y, staccato "A-Bomb in Wardour Street".

AMC closes with a mini-mini-opera, the frightening hate crime tale "Down In the Tube Station at Midnight". This is one of Weller's two or three finest songwriting moments. His conviction is genuine, the music is sparse but rock solid (with Foxton's bass mimicing menacing footsteps), and the lyrical imagery is vivid from start to finish, with brilliant lyrics like "They smelt of pubs, and Wormwood Scrubs, and too many right-wing meetings". Weller, showing a keen ability to read the news one day and recreate it in song the next, comes so completely into his own on this song that it squashes all claims that he was a Pete Townshend wannabe or a punk poseur, which were baseless to begin with. (But I must say that he sings with such force that his English accent, which is perfect for The Jam's blend of punk/pop/mod-rock, might sound a bit unintelligible to American ears.)

The Jam's All Mod Cons had to happen. As evidenced by their subsequent string of top 40 hits, including four #1s, they simply had too much great stuff in them for their career to be stillborn by a sophomore slump. Weller's lyrics on AMC were more trenchant than before, and he, Foxton, and drummer Rick Buckler benefited more than ever from being great players, which was more important to their sound than being great musicians. And even if Weller's songwriting slips in a few spots (eg, "Mr. Clean", "The Place I Love"), one should keep in mind that he was barely 20 years old when the album was being recorded. All Mod Cons was where The Jam became great, but over the next few years, they would become even greater.

The Jam never really made it big outside the UK. Unlike their punk peers The Sex Pistols, The Jam were more than just a blast of heavy guitars and meaningless lyrics thrown together to sound good. The Jam had something deeper to talk about, and they perfected this on "All Mod Cons", their third and arguably best album.

This album is a blast of superb punk intelligence. Following the brief opening title track, we are led into one of the trio's best songs, "To Be Someone" - a statement from songwriter Paul Weller about the excesses of being a popstar. We lead straight into "Mr. Clean", with its classic guitar riff refusing to overpower the brilliance of Weller's lyrics, an attack on the British class system. We follow with a cover of the Kinks' classic "David Watts", which despite sounding brilliant, is probably the only song close to a throwaway on the album.

The album takes a brief mellow turn here, following with one of Weller's most poignant ballads, "English Rose". We head straight back into epic territory with the classic "In the Crowd", and just before we think the trio are getting soft on us, they blast us away with "Billy Hunt", yet another character in this marvellous album.

Following with a trio of gorgeous pop ballads, we end the album with a duo of songs that show the world that these guys can still rock hard, and make a masterpiece in the process. "'A' Bomb in Wardour Street" is what I consider the entree to the epic finale, "Down In The Tube Station At Midnight", arguably the Jam's best lyrical and musical offering ever released. What makes this song so amazing is how the lyrics have been written to fit the music and the music has been written to fit the lyrics simultaneously. We are left with a masterpiece that shows extraordinary power both lyrically and musically. The bass and guitar at the start sets the tension, and the tension is kept at a peak while Weller narrates a tail of bloody violence and fear into the mind of the listener. By the time it is over (with an extraordinary fade-out and fade-in remniscent of "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" by The Smiths), we are left breathless, and gasping for more. Unfortunately this is where the album decides to end.

Many consider "Sound Affects" to be The Jam's best album. I find that album terribly overrated, and how anybody can possibly rate it above this one is beyond me. This is the trio at their peak, musically and lyrically. And in the process they released one of the greatest albums ever made.

After the vibrant energy of their debut ("In the City"), their second album ("This is the Modern World") was something of a disappointment. One had to wonder if Paul Weller really only had one good album in him. This third LP put that wonder firmly to rest.

On "All Mod Cons" Paul Weller finds a truly original lyrical voice, based heavily on the English storytelling tradition well-worn by the likes of Ray Davies, and the band kicks in with a tremendous jump in sophistication. The love/hate of "To Be Someone" and miserable circumstance of "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight" capture the emotion of 20-something London with a closeness, a personalness, that few achieved before or after. Weller would go on to even greater brilliance (e.g., the "Sound Affects" LP), but many of his gems are here.

The band's musical muscle may have been born on their debut, but "All Mod Cons" in the genesis of Paul Weller's songwriting genius.

All mod cons is wellers dive into manhood and away from the jams early sound. Its more polished but not in a bad way. This is where the modfather would begin to prove his weight in gold- the songwriting is fantastic for someone so young and would continue for years to come. The anger is now laced under character studies ala Ray davies- the rickenbacker not only barks but weaves great double tracked lines- great use of reverse guitar in "in the crowd" This is the start of a great set of albums- Setting Sons- Sound Affects and the final offering of the Gift. All these albums should be in your collection- the Jam were the only band to give the clash a run for its money( the jam were more popular in the uk) and over the long haul weller has proved to be the class of 77's greatest songwriter. Among the best albums of the 70's!!

After two albums of motown-flavored punk, this is where Paul Weller starts to branch out a bit. Moving from Pete Townshend influenced songwriting, Weller finds influence in Ray Davies' storytelling. 'English Rose', 'Billy Hunt', and 'Down in the Tube Station at Midnight' show more of a cerebral tilt, as opposed to the petal to the metal songs from 'In the City' and 'This is the Modern World.' From 'All Mod Cons' on, the Jam begin to show the variety in song style that was equaled only by their contemporaries, the Clash.

Just before this album was made the Jam were in the studio trying to pull together a collection that would eventually become the third album - coming of the back of a less than impressive 'Modern World' Chris Parry (who signed the Jam) apparently wandered in one day and said "This is s..."... They abandoned what they had recorded. Feeling understandably low Paul went back to Woking, Surrey to his mum and dads where he composed most of this album. A batch of work released in 1978 that still today remains an accurate snapshot of England during the time. 'Down in the Tube Station' was meant to be a short TV play that fitted into a 3 minute slot, the picture is vivid. 'Mr Clean' gives us a clear understanding of Wellers attitude to the class structure in the UK at the time, 'English Rose' presents some relief from the anger and energy of a brilliant work. What more can I say, I don't believe Paul has ever sung like this since. Almost as if this album was cathartic and necessary for him.

I'd call this my favorite punk album, but the truth is it's about as far from punk as you can get. There's only one fast, furious rocker, and it's the strongest song here: the emotional, hook-filled punk ballad "To Be Someone (Didn't We Have a Nice Time)" is probably the most rewarding song in the Jam's catalogue. Of course, I've only heard two of their albums, so I can't say squat about their whole catalogue, but I do really enjoy the song. There's also a mid-tempo punk song, "A-Bomb on Wardour Street", and its guitar solo makes it a high point too. Anyway, this is a very diverse album: there's demented new wave ("Mr. Clean"; "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight"), folk (the lovely, touching "English Rose"), folk-rock ("Fly"), music hall (A tremendous cover of the Kinks' satirical "David Watts"), Beatle-esque pop-rock ("It's Too Bad", with a funny interpolation of "She Loves You"; "The Place I Love", with a Creedence-like riff). Not only do they try all of these styles, they do well with each one: it's an ambitious, eclectic disc with strong songwriting that never forgets about the importance of the melody, even on the nastier songs ("A-Bomb"; "To be Someone"). This is nominal punk for people who don't think they don't like punk, but it's more than that: it's far-reaching, well-crafted, intelligent, funny, quirky, and a must-have by any standard.

This started the ball rolling in a major way. They already had two albums and a few singles under their belt, but with "All Mod Cons" what followed was a string of many hits and huge popularity, along with critical admiration. Just how confident this album is, is readily illustrated by the the punk aggression and energy of the title track and "Billy Hunt", appearing with the psychedelic, reverb-soaked fade out to "In the Crowd". For the most part, this sounds like a band totally in control. The music is more shrewd than before, with Weller showing his admiration for Ray Davies' songwriting by making many of the songs character based, such as in the excellent "To be someone", a possibly self-cautionary tale about an old, faded rock star reminiscing about better times: "There's no more swimming in a guitar-shaped pool, no more reporters at my beck and call". If I have one criticism, it is that the cover of Davies' "David Watts" is a bit flat. Throughout the album, there are some remarkable lyrics from a man barely in his twenties. Of course, a great deal of this album (and the Jam's) appeal comes from the superb, intricate bass playing (and useful backing vocals) of Bruce Foxton, along with the intense, rock-solid drumming of Rick Buckler. I should point out that I am a bit too young to remember anything about the Jam, but a few listens of "All Mod Cons", and their later albums, along with a decent hits compilation (I suggest Polydor's 1997 "Very Best of"), will inform as to why this band gained so much attention, for the brief period (1977-82) of their recording career.

All Mod Cons is undeniably the best album released by The Jam. Some may argue that Setting Sons is, but in my mind All Mod Cons, sums up the essence of The Jam. Paul Weller's writing on this album was huge departure from the 2 albums released prior to it and this album clearly demonstrated the classic Jam sound. This is a 'must have' album for any fan of The Jam, or any Mod fan for that matter.

Sure, their first album (In the City) was like a hammer to the head, but this one has LEGS! Apart from the sentimental "English Rose," you can hear the frontier being pushed back.They weren't just "another BritBand." This is the album that sent me back to the store to buy all of the rest. Get it, you won't regret it.