If `The Gift' and `Setting Sons' are given the deluxe treatment, and remastered by the same engineer, I'll happily re-purchase those as well.

It wasn't until first hearing `Going Underground' in the early 2000's on VH1 Classic that I decided to investigate some of The Jam's music. With extensive finagling I was able to extract the record from the way-too-tight inner sleeve without resorting to Caesarean surgery!Mea culpa, Sometimes just have have to try it for yourself instead of formulating an opinion based on what you read on the internet. If That’s Entertainment doesn’t move you on some level you deserve to have your speakers burnt in front of you. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. I must say that I bought it because of the convenience rather than the extra tracks on disc 2, so I cannot really comment on it.

Taking creative direction from a wide sphere of influences – The Who, Dr Feelgood, The Kinks and Motown to name a few, they achieved 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the UK (including 4 number 1s) - they had a fanatical following, their singles entering straight in the top 10, or number 1 in some cases. Sound Affects' is filled with so many great songs: `Set The House Ablaze' has a great whistle-hook, `Monday' has an attractive melancholy melody, `Scrape Away' is a strong and hook-filled album closer. Instrumental track “Music For The Last Couple” has similarities to the sound of David Bowie's Low album. Sound Affects sold over 100,000 copies and spent 19 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, rising to number two in late 1980. It doesn't quite hit the highs of Setting Sons (Burning Sky, Thick as Thieves, Smithers-Jones) or The Gift (Ghosts, Precious) BUT, it is probably their most consistent LP since All Mod Cons.From my readings, they will make a vinyl record out of anything - your pubescent brother's farts recorded on a Maxwell cassette can be made into an "180-gram audiophile record".

It’s regarded by critics and fans (as well as Weller) as their most adventurous and experimental collection of material, drawing musical influences from the ‘post-punk’ groups of the late-70s - Wire, Gang Of Four and Joy Division as well as neo-psychedelic touches from The Beatles and The Zombies etc. In their short career, along with the Sex Pistols, The Clash, and Buzzcocks, they influenced a generation with their music, style, politics and inspiration. As a nice change to some of my other (audio) critical reviews, I'm pleased to finish this by saying, well done Universal Music.The social commentary was lost to me for a while - I was after the beat and aggression - but it did not take long to get the message. In 2020, Rolling Stone included Sound Affects in their "80 Greatest albums of 1980" list, praising the band for crafting their "finest album", while encapsulating "the classic English songcraft of the Kinks and the Small Faces, singing about working-class anger". The back cover of the album features an excerpt from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem The Masque of Anarchy.

I'm 55 and have been enjoying this absolute gem of a record since it was released in my graduating year of high school in 1980. In the United States, the album spent 11 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and reached its peak position of number 72 in February 1981. Reading texts on Paul Weller afterwards have made it even easier to grasp the meaning of these lyrics. And it does contain at least two of the best Jam singles that never were, in "Pretty Green" and "Boy About Town"; to say nothing of "Start! At the time of its release, he said that he considered the album a cross between Off the Wall and Revolver.This was punk-pop of the highest mark, and it was "Pretty Green" that caught me off guard, the bass riff urging everyone to dance. I doubt it - those 38-year old magnetic tapes were sourced and sent to the Czech Republic to cut a lacquer? I rotate what I own, always adding or taking away a spice from the sauce - or simply give them away for the youngins' to enjoy.