Sound Affects

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a b c d Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrateded.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p.153. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Before I get to the meat of the very Kinks-like “Man in the Corner Shop,” I’d like to express my deepest appreciation for Bruce Foxton’s outstanding bass part, a masterful mix of melodic counterpart and rhythmic thrust, a “side” contribution that is so damned good that I often tune out the rest of the song to focus solely on what Bruce is up to (kinda like what I do when I tune out the motley crew on early ELO records and just listen to Bev Bevan’s drum parts). This one is right at the top of the list of favorite bass parts along with Entwistle’s performance on “The Real Me.” British certifications – Jam – Town Called Malice". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 3 December 2022. The band’s final studio album was The Gift in 1982, which includes the Jam’s third No.1 A Town Called Malice; the album went on to top the charts and in 2012 was reissued in a super deluxe format. Soon after The Gift came out Paul Weller left to form The Style Council and later, of course, he had his own very successful solo career. British certifications – Jam – That's Entertainment". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 7 January 2023.

British album certifications – The Jam – Sound Affects". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 14 November 2020. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Sound Affects in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter. Sheridan, Tim (2006). "The Jam: Sound Affects". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Universe Publishing. p. 466. ISBN 978-0-7893-1371-3. Okay, a Jam album seemingly cut to my exact measurements. A group who always wore their influences like they were medals, Sound Affects has the Jam asking to be rewarded for quoting Gang of Four and and Wire. And I'm perfectly happy to give them such a nod, considering that this is rather fabbo.

Apart from “Start”’s Revolver-isms, “Monday” all but directly quotes Bowie’s early single “Love You Till Tuesday” while “Boy About Town” and “Man In The Corner Shop” are la-la-ing echoes of everyone from The Kinks to, well, The Beatles. All of which is run through with Weller’s unique style – from the edgy “Scrape Away” (which features a Style Council-predating French voice-over) to the furious “Set The House Ablaze”, from the cynical “Pretty Green” to the brilliant “That’s Entertainment”, Sound Affects is no weak mod pastiche album, but a proper pop remodelling of the past on Weller’s own terms. Bubbling Under the Top LPs". Billboard. Vol.90, no.5. 4 February 1978. p.30 . Retrieved 25 March 2021. Paul Weller was barely 22 when he started recording Sound Affects, his fifth album in just over 3 years. He was reading histories of Camelot alongside the romanticism of Percy Bysshe Shelley and William Blake, obsessing over The Beatles’ Revolver, and delving further into his disillusionment with the political and social climate that had prevailed in England at the end of the 1970s. During the same time, Weller apparently had a ‘thing’ for electricity pylons.

There cannot be much more said about the album’s masterful centerpiece 'That’s Entertainment' that hasn’t been already. It’s a piece of urban art in league with Banksy – about finding beauty in the little noticed and sometimes maligned details of the grey mood and mundane routines of city life. The unsubtle words are accompanied by simple acoustic instrumentation, all appropriately stripped down for a tune that needs no bells and whistles. However, even this monster tune is not without influences worn brazenly. The lyrics take inspiration from a poem by the young poet Paul Drew called 'Entertainment' and Weller favourites The Small Faces’ 'Itchycoo Park' lends the spinal chords to the intro. While The Jam were firmly embedded in Punk from a music perspective they stood apart from just about all of their contemporaries by wearing smartly tailored suits; the very epitome of a Mod revival band, in looks, if not in music. With Paul Weller’s songwriting ability and guitar playing, along with Bruce Foxton’s clever driving bass lines, they had a sophisticated sound that seemed deceptively simple, yet was complex in thought and style.Besides these firm 60s roots, Sound Affects stands up superbly over many of its now-dated contemporaries. In fact, the opening stabs of guitar in 'Music For The Last Couple' (the only song here credited to all band members) is just waiting to be snapped up by one of these post-post-punk, new-new-wave groups like Chapel Club and the melody of Weller’s ode to human nature 'Man In The Corner Shop' was even used by The Strokes in 'You Only Live Once'. Setting Sons: "RPM Top Albums (51-100)" (PDF). RPM. 32 (26). 22 March 1980 . Retrieved 25 March 2021. The Jam were seen as the centre of mod revival culture during the 1970s to the 1980s, and the lead singer of the band, Paul Weller, was seen as The Modfather. The band separated in 1982, following ten years active, and five years of success. Shortly after the band's break-up, Weller went on to form The Style Council, before embarking on a solo career and releasing his first studio album, which was self-titled, in 1992.

Pretty Green” may come across as an astonishingly simple song, but the simplest messages often contain more truth than the longest speeches, poems or novels:

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However, I would probably recommend only 'Dead End Street' as Weller doing covers has never sat well with me; mostly because they never seem to sit well with him. I think it comes down to Weller being a terrible liar. His covers usually sound unenergetic and uninspired (probably why covers LP Studio 150 is the only consistently awful record in the man’s otherwise upstanding catalogue). Side one ends with “That’s Entertainment,” a song Paul Weller wrote in ten minutes after getting pissed at a pub, pissed off by the damp on the walls of his flat and disgusted at the squalor of working-class neighborhoods in London: Jam - The Bitterest Pill I Ever Had to Swallow". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 25 March 2021.

On that note, it’s probably best to start an appreciation of the album with the tune that both encapsulates Weller and that also most shamelessly shows off its roots.

Contributors

Sinclair, Paul (23 October 2012). "The Jam / Classic Album Selection". Super Deluxe Edition . Retrieved 25 March 2021. The boy responds with similar disdain, reflecting Lennon’s take on the insanity of modern existence: “Everybody seems to think I’m lazy/I don’t mind, I think they’re crazy/Running everywhere at such a speed/’Till they find there’s no need”: Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1sted.). Helsinki: Tammi. p.221. ISBN 951-31-2503-3. Sound Affects (liner notes). The Jam. Polydor Records. 1980. POLD 5035. {{ cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) ( link)