The Jam - Greatest Hits

The Jam | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 8, 1991)
• Original Release Date: October 8, 1991
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B000001G1U
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #123,016 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. In The City

2. All Around The World

3. The Modern World

4. News Of The World

5. David Watts

6. Down In The Tube Station At Midnight

7. Strange Town

8. When You're Young

9. The Eton Rifles

10. Going Underground

11. Start!

12. That's Entertainment

13. Funeral Pyre

14. Absolute Beginners

15. Town Called Malice

16. Precious

17. Just Who Is The Five O'clock Hero

18. The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow)

19. Beat Surrender

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great collection from a criminally neglected band, January 15, 2005

By 

John Alapick (Wilkes-Barre, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Jam - Greatest Hits (Audio CD)

During the punk movement of the late-70's and early-80's, bands such as the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, and especially the Clash had gained commercial success and loads of critical acclaim for their stripped down approach to music. In Britain, this movement was even larger with a band called the Jam leading the charge along with the Clash. Sadly, while the Clash have gained legendary status in the U.S. and even have their songs endorsing products for major companies, the Jam have remained unknown here unless you watch Alternative Nation on VH1 Classic.

The Jam's Greatest Hits shows a band that could be just as angry and focused as the Clash and having tons more musicianship than either the Ramones or the Sex Pistols. It also shows the exceptional songwriting skills of Paul Weller. The track listing is chronological showing the band maturing from a straight ahead punk band to a band which could jump between several genres and still write excellent songs. The opening tracks "In the City", "All Around the World", "The Modern World", and "News of the World" are energetic punk songs with tight musicianship and great backing vocals. The track "David Watts", originally done by the Kinks, is one of the few cases where the cover is actually better than the original. After these tracks you see the growth of Weller's songwriting. Tracks such as "Strange Town", "Going Underground", and "When You're Young" retained the energy of their earlier efforts but were more melodic offering a prelude to the punk-pop which would dominate the charts in Britain and the U.S. in the 90's. The songs "Eton Rifles" and "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight" showcase Weller's excellent lyrics which often spoke of British social issues. The acoustic "That's Entertainment" is arguably their best song sporting excellent harmonies and simple yet memorable melodies. The diversity continues with the snappy horns in "Absolute Beginners" and the Motown sound of "Town Called Malice." The track "Precious" is an excellent funk song with a repetitive bass line and Weller's slashing guitar work. "Just Who Is The 5-Clock Hero" shows the band branching into ska while the ballad "The Bitterest Pill" and "Beat Surrender" are excellent pop songs that effectively closed the band's career. Other great songs here are the Beatles-influenced "Start" and the gloomy "Funeral Pyre" with its rockabilly guitar and Rick Buckler's hyperactive drumming. What's worth noting is that while both the Jam and the Clash both bounced among several genres throughout their short careers, the Clash's results, while often good, weren't nearly as consistent as the Jam. This is an outstanding collection of a band which never received its due in America. Highly recommended.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of British, November 5, 2000

By 

"redcraze" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Jam - Greatest Hits (Audio CD)

The Jam get my vote as best UK band of the late '70s and early '80s. Like Elvis Costello and the Attractions, they managed to combine incendiary playing with truly memorable melodies, leaving behind a marvelous fusion of '60s British pop, punk, new wave and later, soul, that has aged extremely well.

Weller's growth as a songwriter and even as a singer can be traced through this CD, which appears to be the equivalent of the album Snap! released here in the 1980s. While Weller is an original, the influence of celebrated predecessors Pete Townshend (down to the Rickenbacker and Union Jack) and Ray Davies (a thoroughly English writer), are evident. You even get some Revolver-era Beatles (complete with granny shades)and American soul thrown in for your money. With songs in his arsenal like 'Down In The Tube Station At Midnight', 'The Eton Rifles', 'Going Underground' 'Dreams Of Children', 'That's Entertainment', 'Man In The Corner Shop' and 'Town Called Malice', to name just a few, Weller deserves a place in any list of the best British songwriters. It probably helped that he had a disintegrating Britain under Thatcher to inspire him, though he did enrage plenty of followers with some confused musings on life under the execrable Iron Lady. Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler provide a tight and punchy rhythm section for Weller's furious guitar work and powerful singing, and the band rarely sound anything less than exciting. Best of all, the explosive playing cannot hide Weller's unerring ear for a melody.

While its generally wise to steer clear of 'greatest hits' packages - a particularly incongruous title in this instance - this CD is packed with so many superb songs it's hard to go past. Highly recommended.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars In The City There's A Thousand Things I Want To Say To You, June 1, 2001

By 

David Bradley "David Bradley" (Sterling, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Jam - Greatest Hits (Audio CD)

As cocky and short-sighted as Oasis with twice the energy, the Jam was completely ignored in the USA. That's a shame, because America missed out on one of the best short careers in Rock.

Their early career was hobbled by fairly blatent attempts to recreate the first 2 or 3 Who LPs, but when they hit their stride the Jam was hard to top. On this Greatest Hits package, the change begins with "Down In The Tube Station At Midnight," and carries right through a series of fantastic singles that raced up and down the British charts: "The Eton Rifles," "Start!," "That's Entertainment," and "Going Underground," possibly the greatest Pop/Rock single never heard by most Americans.

Latter-day Jam dipped a little too heavily into blue-eyed soul and French pop for my taste, but the representative singles here--especially "The Bitterest Pill" and "Beat Surrender"--are still better than most of what you heard on American radio at the time.

Was the Jam a Who knock-off or the second coming of Mod? And does it make any difference? Debate that if you want, but enjoy the music.