Sound Affects [Import, Original recording remastered]

The Jam | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 9, 2004)
• Original Release Date: 1980
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Original recording remastered
• Label: Polydor
• ASIN: B000006TZB
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #87,577 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Digitally remastered reissue of their fifth album. Originally released in 1980, it features the hits 'Start!', 'That's Entertainment' and 'Pretty Green'. 1997 release. Standard jewel case.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The pinnacle of The Jam's career, November 2, 2000

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Sound Affects (Audio CD)

It's amazing to find this album out of print in the US. The Jam's fifth (and penultimate) studio album, is a much more fitting swansong than the album that would follow (1982's "The Gift"). Weller and company return to the muscular, yet polished, mod-fed pop of "All Mod Cons," while continuing to stretch lyrically and intellectually.

As on "All Mod Cons," Weller explores elements of his life and environment, but two years further along his lyrics take a more abstract and poetic approach. Brilliant songs like "Man in the Corner Shop" meditate on class envy through a linked series of vignettes, while "That's Entertainment" brings the world's ills to the foreground with its scathing sarcasm.

Musically the band is as sharp as they got. The energy of their earliest works is channeled in a way that makes the rage simmer just on the edge of boiling, rather than exploding. The result is a more fervent and sustained backing for Weller's singing. Think of Revolver-era Beatles minus the psychedelic excess and plus the introspection of their White Album lyrics.

While other Jam LPs hit brilliant peaks here and there, "Sound Affects" sustains their genius from start to finish.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the Crown Jewel of the Jam's illustrious career, July 20, 2001

By 

punkviper (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sound Affects (Audio CD)

In The City introduced The Jam as a brash young hipster band with one foot in the UK punk underground and the other in America's R&B past. Then came This Is The Modern World, a rushed attempt at cash-in success that failed. Then All Mod Cons, a typical Jam album, solid if unspectacular. Setting Sons, the pseudo-concept album followed with its poppy sounds and glossy production. Then, the skies parted, and Sound Affects was bestowed upon the world, and everything was perfect.

Weller's poetic/sarcastic wit combine with edgy but poppy tunes to really make this The Jam's standout album. I don't believe there is a bad song on the album, and at least 3 songs (Pretty Green, That's Entertainment, & Man In The Corner Shop) rank among the best they've ever done. It's a top-notch album that deserves a lot more notoriety than it receives. Though the sad truth is that it was all downhill for The Jam after this one.

And though I can't say they were better than The Clash (The Only Band That Matters, even after all these years) The Jam were better than most. This CD proves it. An undisputed classic.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic..., March 9, 2006

By 

Lovblad (Geneva, Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sound Affects (Audio CD)

Ok this was completely breat-taking back when it came out. The Jam had progressed musically in a way that was almost unprecedented in all of rock's history. Going from simple punk rock beginnings (or pub rock actually) to this masterpiece was quite an incredible achievement. Sonically and melodically it is also the most accomplished record of the New Wave era (even if now many would disagree on calling it that but back then all post-punk bands were labelled so). Unfortunately the Jam would somehow disappoint with their later recordings and never would fill out the promise heard here. They could have become the best rock group ever. However Paul Weller chose to explore more r'n'b or jazz paths later on...with in my opinion less success. Boy about town, that's entertainment, are simply fantastic songs. My favourite remains the powerful Pretty Green.