BCB 100 - The Jam

[The Modernist]

I'm not sure why 'Dreams of Children' seems to be quite a hated Jam song, I love it me...when i first got 'Very Best Of' which has just the singles and some of the b-sides I was surprised when I checked out which songs were singles and which b-sides...i think it's as good as most of the singles. So is 'A-Bomb in Wardour Street'.

I don't think anyone's said they've hated Dreams Of Children have they? The Jam understood the single brilliantly. Not only, as you say, did the B sides contain some of their best tunes, but it was also where they would experiment offering tantalising glimpses into their future direction. Dreams Of Children came across as rather oblique and mysterious with a clear psychedelic tinge. This seemed a distinct departure from the usual "tell it as it is" social realism of The Jam. Likewise Tales From The Riverbank seemd very different offering a pastoralism that he's since pursued, rather patchilly at times it must be said, in his solo work.

[Scally Mcgrew]

Anyway....The Style Council.

Album: Cafe Bleu.

Single: Speak Like A Child. Just one of the most uplifting, fun-on-a-summer's day songs ever.

[The Modernist]

Single: Speak Like A Child. Just one of the most uplifting, fun-on-a-summer's day songs ever.

Absolutely. You'd have to have a heart of stone not to be swept away by its sheer joyous infection.

[Jumper k]

Single: Speak Like A Child. Just one of the most uplifting, fun-on-a-summer's day songs ever.

Absolutely. You'd have to have a heart of stone not to be swept away by its sheer joyous infection.

Its fucking rubbish of course. Poncey soul-lite done by dullards.

Anyway I couldn't say I liked a Jam lp all the way through so I won't put one forward, they were a great singles band though and I'll go for A Bomb In Wardour Street.

[German Dave]

Single: Speak Like A Child. Just one of the most uplifting, fun-on-a-summer's day songs ever.

Absolutely. You'd have to have a heart of stone not to be swept away by its sheer joyous infection.

Its fucking rubbish of course. Poncey soul-lite done by dullards.

don't be daft, it's great.

[Jumper k]

Single: Speak Like A Child. Just one of the most uplifting, fun-on-a-summer's day songs ever.

Absolutely. You'd have to have a heart of stone not to be swept away by its sheer joyous infection.

Its fucking rubbish of course. Poncey soul-lite done by dullards.

don't be daft, it's great.

What the fuck do you know about music cloth ears?
The Style Council were and never will be any good. Laughable maybe, to be pitied definitely. Dreadful, every goddam thing. Oh, Mick Talbot should be shot on sight, shooting is obviously a waste of a bullet as far as Weller is concerned.

[Tom Violence]

The Style Council are astonishingly bad compared with the Jam. To this day I actually find it hard to believe that the same man wrote songs for the two bands. It almost seems deliberate.

[The Modernist]

The Style Council are astonishingly bad compared with the Jam. To this day I actually find it hard to believe that the same man wrote songs for the two bands. It almost seems deliberate.

And I find it astonishing they are so easily dismissed, did people really expect him to keep singing angry rock songs for the rest of his career? Of course they were infuriatingly patchy and they badly lost their way, but they did record some great stuff and some of the songwriting is up there with Weller's best.

[The Prof]

Shout To The Top, Walls Come Tumbling Down, Paris Match - even that one about Milton Keynes was ok. But the bland outnumbered the great unfortunately

[Bungo the Mungo]

Single: Speak Like A Child. Just one of the most uplifting, fun-on-a-summer's day songs ever.

Absolutely. You'd have to have a heart of stone not to be swept away by its sheer joyous infection.

Its fucking rubbish of course. Poncey soul-lite done by dullards.

Dead right.

Surprised at you, G.

If someone put a gun to my head, I'd say 'Walls Come Tumbling Down' was the one Style Council song I'd admit was good.

I mean, 'I really like it when you speak like a child/the crazy sayings like 'I'm so free and so wild'

[RcL]

My Jam choices

Album: Setting Sons
Song: Funeral Pyre

Not at all keen on TSC, though one or two of Weller's ballads with them are good enough.

[Leg of lamb]

'That's Entertainment' would be one of those songs which I could put in goldwax's 'Songs that stun you (in a good way)' thread. You just think 'this is a man who gets it'.

I think my favourite song would have to be 'Going Underground' though. That straight-faced, astringent slap across the face administered via a great pop tune is what defines The Jam for me. They have the fantastic quality of making you buy their seriousness. When you listen to other bands who just shrug their shoulders and make a joke about life's shittiness and ignore its sporadic romantic brilliance, you want to smash them for not trying hard enough.

That's what I feel like after listening to The Jam, anyway. Thank god my general music outlook is a bit more attuned to having a laugh, but sometimes you feel that way and I'm really glad The Jam are there to pick up that slack in their dignified, huffy way.

(I've only got Snap! though )

[Sneelock]

allbum: All Mod Cons
it's got a nervous energy to it. enough that I forgave them a lot of rich young twats with Vespas who always wanted to run me over.

song: Start!

[Johnny 99]

Best British band of all time, for me. Still listen to em every other day.

Song: Down In The Tube Station At Midnight

Album: All Mod Cons / Setting Sons (can't split em)

[12stringbassist]

Album - All mod cons

Single - David Watts

Songs - Mr Clean / Wasteland / Carnation / To be someone / Private Hell.

[Moleskin]

Album: Sound Affects which I bought a couple weeks after it came out.

Song: 'Liza Radley'

[BlueMeanie]

Album: Setting Sons

Song: Down In The Tube Station At Midnight

[oldjoe90]

I never really got "Setting Sons". It could'nt seem to make it's mind up about being a concept album or not. Private Hell was a good track though.
Best Album = All Mod Cons
Worst = The Modern World.

Saw them live many times, never dissapointed. As for the Style Council thing, I think people were just so pissed off that he had broken up The Jam,and the Style Council were such a big departure, it was never going to work. Shout to the top was a reasonable stab at Philly Soul though.

[troggy]

Their best album is definitely the debut, so full of energy and great songs. None of the others even come close.

Favorite song is probably either the title track or "Away From The Numbers".