{"id":2666,"date":"2010-04-06T16:04:47","date_gmt":"2010-04-06T20:04:47","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2010-04-06T16:04:47","modified_gmt":"2010-04-06T16:04:47","slug":"please-explain-what-do-you-people-hear-in-lemgall-mod-consl-emg-that-makes-it-your-most-beloved-jam-album","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/please-explain-what-do-you-people-hear-in-lemgall-mod-consl-emg-that-makes-it-your-most-beloved-jam-album\/","title":{"rendered":"Please Explain: What Do You People Hear in All Mod Cons<\/em> That Makes It Your Most Beloved Jam Album?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n
Please explain.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

I dig The Jam<\/strong> as much as most of you. Sure, I’ve got my beefs with drummer Rick Buckler<\/a>, but I have given him props for his running skills<\/a>. I can’t stand The Style Council<\/a>, but that doesn’t color my views on The Jam or Paul Weller’s solo career. I’m not<\/em> a fan of bassist Bruce Foxton’s bass tone, and that does<\/em> factor into what I’m about to say.
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\nWhat do you people hear in <\/em>All Mod Cons that makes it your most beloved Jam album?<\/em><\/big><\/p>\n

This was the first Jam album I bought. I was really excited. The cover was pretty cool. The back cover featured Weller’s Rickenbacker, a guitar that is always a treat for Anglophile teenage boys to gaze upon. The title track and “To Be Someone” were an outstanding 1-2 punch! Then came “Mr. Clean,” the first of too many Kinks-inspired character studies. The Kinks had filled the quota on “Mr. [insert middle-class characteristic]” songs by 1972. I knew we were living in a new age and I was part of a new generation learning about those Kinks songs, but “Mr. Clean” would quickly be one too many songs in this genre.<\/p>\n

Next came a cover of one of the Klassic Kinks character studies, “David Watts.” Very cool! I was still learning about The Kinks, and I’d yet to hear their original. Shortly after buying All Mod Cons<\/em> I’d pick up Kinks Kronikles<\/em>. Thanks for turning me onto the original, Jam!<\/p>\n

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\nThen came possibly the most annoying song I’ve heard to this day, “English Rose.” It’s been reported that Paul McCartney smashed the acoustic guitar he composed “Blackbird” on after after hearing that sappy turd! How about that line – how’s it go – “For no buns could ever tempt me from she.” UGH!<\/em> If ever there was a song that pointed toward the future horrors of The Style Council it was “English Rose.” Until just now I’ve avoided listening to that song for the last 20 years. I forgot about the key change and cheesy echo that kicks in on Weller’s voice right before that point. I’m not the world’s most sensitive guy, and this song’s proof of that. Thank god for the majestic “In the Crowd,” which follows, or I may have tossed All Mod Cons<\/em> for that one song alone long ago.<\/p>\n

Side two opens with an immediate needle-lifter, “Billy Hunt.” On later albums Weller would learn to bury his obligatory needle-lifting soccer chants in the middle of either album side. “Billy Hunt” is a courtesty flush-worthy turd.<\/p>\n

“It’s Too Bad” is a winner, the kind of peppy, poppy album track that makes up for the obligatory soccer chants. Then comes the delicate, fingerpicked, acoustic opening to “Fly,” which quickly becomes a preview for the type of Jam songs that dominate their next album (and my favorite), Setting Sons<\/em>. I’m a sucker, in particular, for the harmony guitar breaks that set up the coda. Good one!<\/p>\n

“The Place I Love” has a great opening guitar riff, but it’s always on the verge of turning into one of those soccer chants. Not a bad song, but the sweeping minor-chord change that comes out of each verse is done much better on numerous songs on Setting Sons<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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\nI believe a lot of All Mod Cons<\/em> fans dig “‘A’ Bomb in Wardour Street.” It’s a song I wanted to like a lot as a kid because it’s got a lot of muscular switches from the I to IV chords, but inevitably it strikes me as melodramatic and humorless, and I find I’d rather listen to The Clash<\/strong> play “Janie Jones” one more time.<\/p>\n

The album ends with another song the 16-year-old me once thought he was going to like a lot, “Down in the Tube Station at Midnight.” There are still things I like about it, but it goes on for a 1:30 too long and between the swishy hi-hats and the tinny bass sound this song’s got no chance. Once again, Weller would take these musical ideas and recraft them with a fuller sound on Setting Sons<\/em>. <\/p>\n

I think I’ve only got one other friend who agrees with me that Setting Sons<\/em> is the band’s best band album, and I can’t imagine E. Pluribus Gergely<\/strong> will step forward to show his support until late June. He knows what I’m talking about: the album’s got some bottom and there are so many guitar overdubs that they sound like a quartet. Some of my dearest friends prefer All Mod Cons<\/em> to that album and my other favorite Jam album, Sound Affects<\/em>. I don’t hate this album – it ranks #4 in my book, after the aforementioned and the debut – but what do you fine people hear that makes All Mod Cons<\/em> your favorite?<\/p>\n

_4tEX8tm6qw]<\/p>\n

Yours,
\nDesparately Seeking Friends Who Prefer Setting Sons<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Please explain. I dig The Jam as much as most of you. Sure, I’ve got my beefs with drummer Rick Buckler, but I have given him props for his running skills. I can’t stand The Style Council, but that doesn’t color my views on The Jam or Paul Weller’s solo career. I’m not a fan […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[342],"tags":[127,15],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2666"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2666\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}