Hiro11

Just posted this on Epinions:

Between 1977 and 1982 The Jam was the most popular post-punk/new wave band in the UK. They released a string of classic albums starting with "In the City" and continuing through "This is the Modern World", "All Mod Cons", "Setting Sons" and (my favorite) "Sound Affects".

These five albums, in my mind, are essential listening. The Jam mixes the Who, The Kinks, Motown and the Sex Pistols and produces something unique and distinctly British. Oasis and Blur would be nowhere without the Jam. Even with a dominating run of number one singles in the early eighties in Britain, the Jam never really broke in the US, and it's unclear to me why. It's a shame because we all missed out on a top songwriter and a terrific live band when they were both in their prime.

Luckily, "The Complete Jam" comes to the rescue. This double disk set contains every scrap of live TV footage of the Jam the producers could find and every video the band made (compiled earlier on VHS as "Video Snap").

The picture that emerges is one of a very dynamic band evolving and maturing very quickly. The dvd starts of strongly with vintage footage from Tony Wilson's "So It Goes" (also featured in "24 Hour Party People"). This version of the Jam is an explosive pop-punk band. They simply radiate raw fury and energy in a way that recalls the Clash in their early days. Underneath the jagged chords and surging whip-snap bass lines, however, it's clear that this is a fairly accomplished and complex band.

The development and refining of this complexity is revealed when you compare the early footage to the (for example) Mandagsborsen live set five years later. The searing energy is still there but the lyrics are sharper, the playing tighter and the song structures more interesting and varied. Paul Weller (the band leader and songwriter) was developing so quickly with the Jam that it ended up destroying the band before its time. The last incarnation of the band displayed in the video for "Start!" had fully absorbed influences as diverse as Joy Division, Ray Davies and Marvin Gaye and produced a fantastic hybrid of all of them. They certainly went out on top.

The dvd is organized chronologically with a very useful timeline function that allows you to see all of the footage in order. The live footage ranks from somewhat acceptable quality to give-you-an-awful-headache camera shake. The sound is somewhat muddy and indistinct throughout. Extras are almost non-existant and the documentary is, unfortunately, poor. The good news is that none of that matters when you're watching this band and listening to these songs. Every performance is passionate and convincing, every song is bursting with ideas. Because of the overall quality of the material, this dvd redeems itself and becomes one of the best examples of this genre of dvd. It's also one of the few that can truly be called comprehensive (there's over 60 performances here to enjoy). Rewatchability is high as there's just so much to see, you can't absorb it all in one sitting.

If you want to know how music evolved from the "Anarchy in the UK" to those great British singles you hear in John Hughes movies, this dvd will fill the gap. If you're a fan of the Jam, it's essential.

Ky-Fi

Well, I plan on picking this up, and I agree that The Jam were simply amazing. The depth, craft and passion of Paul Weller's songwriting is unbelievable. What I liked so much about them is that he could write a song about ANYTHING---politics, love songs, slices-of-life, or just walking around on a nice day. It took me a while to discover the Jam, because the only song I ever heard on mainstream American radio was "A Town Called Malice". That's STILL one of my least favorite Jam songs! But after I went back into their old catalog, I was amazed at the depth of songwriting. I don't know if anyone in rock history has ever written a better song than Tales from the Riverbank. A fantastic band. Whereas the Sex Pistols wrote a couple great singles and had some slogans that looked good on a t-shirt, the Jam were a REAL band. I also liked the fact that even when Weller wrote politcal songs, he didn't give you easy answers--he made you think about the questions.

Franchot

Let's not forget the Jam's swan song LP, "The Gift" (which had a few good songs, but overall wasn't that good) and their Live LP (which wasn't all that great either.) Weller knew when to pull the plug on The Jam and unlike many of his comtemporaries never looked back by doing endless "reunion" tours. (Johnny Lydon, are you listening?)

I picked this DVD up when it first came out in England because I feared it would never get released in the United States. To my surprise it was, and I'm glad to see that Universal thinks there is an audience for The Jam in the U.S.

Nice to see that there are other Jam fans on this site!

Hiro11

I prefer to ignore the existance of those albums

It surprised me as well, especially since it's so exhaustive. I'll bet ten out of ten random people from the states would never have heard of the Jam if you asked them.

Jazzbutcher

I purchased this the day it came out.

kaisha no saru

I also grabbed this right away and love it. An aside recommendation for folks that have stayed with Weller since the Jam, the "Live at Royal Albert Hall" DVD is great too (imho as an uberfan). Its only R2 but if you've got multi-region go for it (came out like 2 years ago I think?)