THE JAM – THIS IS THE MODERN WORLD LP – Nr MINT A1/B4 UK 1977 WELLER MOD PUNK

The Jam – This Is The Modern World
(Polydor Records 1977  2383475)
Matrix No’s: A1/B4 – UK Pressing

Sleeve in Nr MINT/Excellent+ condition
– some wear to edges/corners
Inner Sleeve in Nr MINT condition

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality apart from some light pops/crackles)

The Jam were an English punk rock/new wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the “angry young men” outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped clothes, and they incorporated a number of mainstream 1960s rock and R&B influences rather than rejecting them, placing The Jam at the forefront of the mod revival movement.

They had 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1982, including four number one hits. As of 2007, “That’s Entertainment” and “Just Who Is the 5 O’Clock Hero?” remained the best-selling import singles of all time in the UK. They released one live album and six studio albums, the last of which, The Gift, hit number one on the UK album charts. When the group split up, their first 15 singles were re-released and all placed within the top 100.

The band drew upon a variety of stylistic influences over the course of their career, including 1960s beat music, soul, rhythm and blues and psychedelic rock, as well as 1970s punk and new wave. The trio was known for its melodic pop songs, its distinctly English flavour and its mod image. The band launched the career of Paul Weller, who went on to form The Style Council and later had a successful solo career. Weller wrote and sang most of The Jam’s original compositions, and he played lead guitar, using a Rickenbacker. Bruce Foxton provided backing vocals and prominent basslines, which were the foundation of many of the band’s songs, including the hits “Down in the Tube Station at Midnight”, “The Eton Rifles”, “Going Underground” and “Town Called Malice”.

This Is the Modern World is the second studio album by British band The Jam, released in November 1977, less than seven months after their debut.

Despite some contemporary reviewers feeling the record was rushed to capitalise on the success of In the City, the Record Mirror’s Barry Cain wrote that “This Is The Modern World reflects a definite PROGRESSION (remember that?) a definite identity mold. Here Weller is making an obvious attempt at creating a Jam SOUND. He succeeds. Brilliantly”. Likewise, Chas de Wally, from Sounds, claimed that although “people were trying to tell me that this was a lousy album and The Jam were all washed up, This is the Modern World is one of the best albums I’ve ever heard in a long time”.

Track listing

All songs by Paul Weller unless otherwise noted.

1. “The Modern World”
2. “London Traffic” (Bruce Foxton)
3. “Standards”
4. “Life from a Window”
5. “The Combine”
6. “Don’t Tell Them You’re Sane” (Bruce Foxton)
7. “In the Street Today” (Paul Weller, Dave Waller)
8. “London Girl”
9. “I Need You (For Someone)”
10. “Here Comes the Weekend”
11. “Tonight at Noon”
12. “In the Midnight Hour” (Steve Cropper, Wilson Pickett)

The Jam

• Paul Weller – vocals, guitar, harmonica
• Bruce Foxton – bass guitar, vocals
• Rick Buckler – drums

Technical

• Vic Coppersmith-Heaven – production, engineering
• Chris Parry – production
• Hedgehog Design – artwork
• Conny Jude – illustration
• Bill Smith – art direction, design
• Gered Mankowitz – front cover photography
• David Redfern – back cover photography