The Jam

One of the few truly great bands to emerge from the late-'70s explosion of rejuvenated British rock, The Jam wasn’t just three teenaged musicians simply at the right place at the right time. Indeed, as this new British compilation of some of the group’s best cuts demonstrates, leader-guitarist-singer-songwriter Paul Weller had a definite vision of what his particular group was going to sound like and, further, the themes his music would address. Built on the power-chord work of ‘60s bands like The Who and The Kinks, Weller’s songs tackled such still-timely topics as rock star phonies ("To Be Someone"), the persistence of the soul-deadening class system in Britain ("The Eton Rifles," "Saturday’s Kids"), the seduction of state-prescribed medication for the elderly ("Private Hell") and much, much more, and all with a tuneful yet vengeful vigor. This does a nice job of gathering some of Weller’s greatest Jam tunes onto one cool CD.