"Getting pissed at the annual
office do.
Smart blue suit and you went to
Cambridge too.
You miss page 3, but the Times is right
for you.
And mum and dad are very proud of you,
Mr. Clean"
from Mr. Clean
All Mod Cons is the Jam's third album
release and represents, to me, how the band managed to reconnect with
a successful concept and move forward with it after a disappointing
follow-up to an amazing debut.
While The Jam came onto the scene in
the late 70's, their sound is more reminiscent of the mid-to-late
60's mod groups than anything. Sure, they weren't unaffected by the
rise of new wave and punk but the sound is definitely "moddish"-
strong guitar riffs echo through the twelve 3-minute-songs. The
guitar moves between soft and dreamy all the way up to hard and fast
and sounds really good, while the bass and drums are both mixed to be
surprisingly quiet; a shame, especially since the bass doesn't follow
the guitar as closely as it often does in these older rock albums.
Much like classic mod acts, Weller's
lyrics seem to take pride in discussing both politics and the
mundane- on several songs he manages to do both. The general tone of
the album is one about Great Brittain and the underlying social
issues of that time- social issues that remain alarmingly relevant to
this day.
High point of the album: Down In The Tube Station At Midnight
Low point of the album: It's Too Bad
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