The Jam's Setting Sons was originally planned as a concept album about three childhood friends who, upon meeting after some time apart, discover the different directions in which they've grown apart. Only about half of the songs ended up following the concept due to a rushed recording schedule, but where they do, Paul Weller vividly depicts British life, male relationships, and coming to terms with entry into adulthood. Weller's observations of society are more pointed and pessimistic than ever, but at the same time, he's employed stronger melodies with a slicker production and comparatively fuller arrangements, even using heavy orchestration for a reworked version of Bruce Foxton's "Smithers-Jones." Setting Sons often reaches brilliance and stands among the Jam's best albums, but the inclusion of a number of throwaways and knockoffs (especially the out-of-place cover of "Heat Wave" that closes the album) mars an otherwise perfect album. [The Super Deluxe Edition of the Jam's Setting Sons greatly expands the half-hour album from 1979, adding the non-LP singles surrounding the album's release, a CD's worth of alternate takes and demos, plus a Peel Session from 1979, a full concert at the Brighton Centre, and a DVD that combines the album's promotional videos and BBC appearances on Top of the Pops and Something Else. The singles -- the A-sides "Strange Town," "When You're Young" and "Going Underground," along with their flips (highlighted by "The Butterfly Collectors" and "The Dreams of Children") -- are familiar but there are 14 unreleased tracks on the second disc, mainly demos that range from solo Paul Weller works ("Thick as Thieves" cuts a lasting impression with its swirling phased guitar) and full-band run-throughs. The Jam sound cool, tight, and efficient on their Peel session but the true keeper is the furious Brighton performance, where the bandmembers appear to be sprinting each other toward the finish line on every performance.]
If you already own the long out of print Greatest Hits set, then there's no real reason to invest in Sound of the Jam, which, predictably, repeats the majority of that program. However, for latecomers this provides an excellent overview of the output of one of Britain's most distinctive and influential new wave bands. The album's 20 tracks proceed in chronological order, documenting the Jam's progression from sharp, aggressive mod-influenced rock ("Modern World," "In the City") to explicitly Motown-influenced post-punk R&B ("Town Called Malice"), with frequent forays into surreal balladeering ("Butterfly Collector") and ambiguous love songs ("English Rose"). The band's sociopolitical stance is not always comprehensible, especially to American ears (and particularly to American ears born somewhere around the time these songs were written), but it clearly has something to do with populist politics, open-hearted romance, and some kind of gentle socialism. That such sentiments could translate into reliably tight, beautifully constructed guitar pop with a serrated edge is a testament both to frontman Paul Weller and his fellow bandmembers. Weller would later go on to make records of an increasingly unpredictable and inconsistent nature with the Style Council, but as Sound of the Jam makes clear, his first band got the best of his prodigious early talent. Highly recommended.
Direction Reaction Creation is the ultimate Jam package, offering 117 tracks over five discs -- essentially the band's complete studio recordings. With a strict adherence to chronological order, the box presents each single followed by its B-side(s) (six of which appear on CD for the first time, including the brilliant "See Saw"), followed by the proper album tracks -- oddly, though, the album versions of the singles are chosen in most places. Unfortunately, this approach sometimes disrupts the flow of the albums, especially in the case of All Mod Cons, which loses three tracks to the treatment, and Setting Sons, which loses "Eton Rifles" to a separate disc. This is a small point for purists to debate -- the difference is really unnoticeable in light of the truly great music found on the discs. In addition to the regular studio tracks, disc five offers over an hour of studio demos -- 22 previously unreleased tracks of considerably different takes of better-known material, a few never-before-heard Weller and Foxton originals, and some interesting covers like "Rain," "Dead End Street," and "Every Little Bit Hurts." A lavish 88-page booklet accompanies the set with great liner notes, an extensive band chronology and discography, and the band's complete gig list, along with plenty of rare photos and memorabilia. The Jam, simply put, were one the finest bands in rock & roll history, and Direction Reaction Creation offers the proof, showing both their remarkably rapid growth and their incredible consistency
