Product Description

In 1977 punk rock was hardly the only game in town. In addition to pub-rock, the remnants of glam and the lingering, ageing hippies who still tenuously held onto the charts, therewas also a small group of revivalists dedicated to revivingthe fashion and music of the early-'60s mod scene. Chief among these young dandies was the most creative and consistentgroup of the lot, the Jam. Led by guitar hero/boy genius Paul Weller, the Jam took the R&B influences of bands like (early Who incarnation) the High Numbers, added punk rock's manic energy, and produced an energetic-yet-raw debut album (INTHE CITY) that hinted at great things to come.
By the time the second album THIS IS THE MODERN WORLD rolled around the Jam had its formula down pat. Weller's songwriting had acquired new depth, as evidenced on the title cut, "Standards", and "I Need You". Even bassist Bruce Foxton could chime inwhen necessary with a winner like "Don't Tell Them Your Sane". The cover of the soul classic "In the Midnight Hour" is an anomalous misfire. Nevertheless, the MODERN WORLD cemented The Jam's reputation as one of the most dynamic bands in rock & roll history.

Track Listing

1. The Modern World
2. London Traffic
3. Standards
4. Life From A Window
5. The Combine
6. Don't Tell Them You're Sane
7. In The Street Today
8. London Girl
9. I Need You (For Someone)
10. Here Comes The Weekend
11. Tonight At Noon
12. In The Midnight Hour

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12110 in Music
• Released on: 1997-08-04
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 31 minutes

Customer Reviews

not as bad as all that!!
in my opinion and several others this album is pretty good,it was slated by the music press and critics,why?ok its not got the raw energy as in the city but theres some good tracks on here,the fantastic"in the street today,standards,here comes the weekend and the modern world to name but a few,an overlooked album that goes undeserved...go on buy it.

Do not overlook this album......
"This Is The Modern World" was hastily written and released in the wake of The Jam's debut album, "In The City" and at the height of the punk maelstrom. Paul Weller, still barely nineteen, was, in my view, unfairly criticised for what is actually a seriously impressive collection of songs for one so young. "Tonight At Noon", "Life From A Window" and "Standards" display songwriting of an exceptional quality and "Here Comes The Weekend" and "The Combine", while contemporary, are not half bad efforts. "In The Street Today" is a nod to punk (which The Jam never really embraced) and the title track is still a vituperative piece of adolesecent vitriol as Weller rails against "the teachers who said I'd be nothing".

Of course there are two naive and embarrassing contributions from Bruce Foxton in "London Traffic" and "Don't Tell Them You're Sane". Foxton really was an awful song writer.

However, the album finishes with an absolutely barnstorming cover of "Midnight Hour" to remind us that The Jam were a great live band full of youthful energy, but the earlier songs had let us know that we did indeed have a poet on our hands.....

the worst of their 6 studio albums
Although this is a reasonable album and contains some excellent tracks, notably modern world and standards, it does lack the consistency of the other 5 studio albums. The album is spoiled by a few lame tracks such as London girl and the embarassing London Traffic. If you're looking to get into the Jam buy the other 5 studio albums first in whichever order you wish.