Though The Jam ended up being part of the punk scene of the late 1970s, they were different from other punk bands from the start. Paul Weller and his cohorts did play loud and fast music, but their style was something completely different. Instead of ripped clothes and ratty hair, The Jam got their style from the mods of the mid-60s. They preferred the stylish suits and haircuts of the mod era and always put old American R&B into their set lists.
Their jumping off point seemed to be The Who of the early to mid-60s, though they never covered Who songs. For their first few outings they were a very basic combo of Paul Weller on lead vocals and guitar, Bruce Foxton on bass, and Rick Buckler on drums. But, with the 80s approaching, they began looking for something different.
The Jam Prior to and During Sound Affects
Unlike in the United States, where the band was just heard on college radio, The Jam was a genuine hit maker in the United Kingdom. From the start, they consistently had hit records. Just prior to the recording of Sound Affects, The Jam had the biggest hit of their career. "Going Underground"/"The Dreams of Children" was a double-sided number one hit.
Also, unlike in the United States, singles are often released independently of albums in the UK. So, there was no connection between this single and the upcoming album.
The genesis of the album is said to have been generated with repeated listens to The Beatles’ Revolver and Michael Jackson’s Off The Wall album on the group's American tour. Certainly, a lot of Buckler's drumming is funkier than it was on their previous records.
Sound Affects also has an expanded consciousness and more sonic experimentation than The Jam's previous straight-ahead three chord outings.
The group’s previous anthemic raging is subdued. Trouserpress.com said of the album, “The rage is still there, but it's channeled into fiery playing and singing, loosening up somewhat on the lyrics.” Paul Weller has always had a strident voice, but even that is toned down on this album. Another influence may have been present while the band was working on this album.
The Jam and the Kinks
The Jam's earlier material is often likened to the early Who. In their love of the sounds of swinging England, there was certainly some emulation of The Beatles. The two-CD release of Sound Affects has demos of the Revolver-era tunes “Rain” and “And Your Bird Can Sing.” But there is another interesting cover nestled among these demos.
The wistful “Waterloo Sunset” by The Kinks is one of The Jam's unreleased demos. Earlier in their career, one of The Jam’s few recorded covers is The Kinks’ “David Watts.”
The Kinks made a similar journey from strident R&B covers and loud and fast originals to more forlorn observations. One of the singles from Sound Affects, which was also a UK hit, "That's Entertainment" could almost have been written by Ray Davies. The song is a recitation of observed life in Britain where Paul Weller grew up, punctuated with the title words.
As with other bands of the first punk era that stretched their career into the 1980s, like The Clash, The Jam took an experimental step and stretched their horizons. They left us with an album with sounds that are very pleasing in their affect.
Jon Pike - Pike is a Ph.D. in communication and writes about activism and popular culture topics for Suite101.
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