» Listings for 2023

1. 2023 Albums Thing 196 - Japan “Quiet Life”

   Posted on 9:15am Tuesday 17th Oct 2023

   Japan’s 3rd album. They’d begun life as a kind of Glam Rock/New York Dolls hybrid but now “Quiet Life” sees them developing a more artful, Berlin-Bowie/Roxy Music style, with singles like “Life In Tokyo”, “European Son” and this albums title track becoming club favourites on the developing futurist/New Romantic scene. You can see the development of David Sylvian’s look on the cover photo, less Glam, more class. I also always thought Sylvian on the front, Mick Karn on the back and the other 3 relegated to inside the gatefold spelled out some weird hierarchy in the band.

   Opening track “Quiet Life” distills all the developments from those 3 singles into a perfect whole. Keyboards lead us into a groove driven by Mick Karn’s fretless (?) bass and Steve Jansen’s metronomic drums. Rob Dean’s guitar no longer leads the way as before but adds ringing occasional chords and a Fripp like, Ebow-ed guitar solo. David Sylvian’s voice is not the whiny thing it was on their first 2 albums, but deeper and smooth. All the changes summed up by the opening lines “Boys, now the times are changing the going could get rough, Boys, would that ever cross your mind?”.

   Rob Dean’s guitar jumps back to the forefront on ”Fall In Love With Me” but the sound is altogether less NYDolls and much more Berlin-Bowie. “Despair” gives you that exact feeling with drum machine, doom laden piano and a far away saxophone. “In Vogue” is a look ahead to the sound they’re reaching for on their next album.

   Over on Side 2 there’s a reverential cover of the Velvet Underground’s “All Tomorrow’s Parties”, “Alien” is again mining that Bowie/Roxy/Berlin seam and we finish up with “The “Other Side Of Life” a lush ballad. Japan were obviously well versed in “Low” and “Heroes” but they add enough of themselves here to keep it steered wide of pastiche. “Quiet Life” is a perfect stepping stone from what was to what will be.

   Quiet Life - https://youtu.be/xhm-EqcPta0?si=S2L4k9GYCJWKJuAY

2. 2023 Albums Thing 195 - The Jam “Greatest Hits”

   Posted on 8:35am Saturday 14th Oct 2023

   In my collection purely because it’s a Jam album that I didn’t already own. Of course I didn’t need it, I own all the singles themselves that make up this record. But I’m a sucker when it comes to Jam records that I don’t already own. I have multiple copies of all their 6 studio albums (a few months ago I managed to buy a complete set of 6 in mint condition, all fully autographed…be still my fluttering heart) and I guess this just counts as multiples of the singles. 

   Interestingly, listening to it t’other day for the purposes of this piece, I noticed that the version of “The Modern World” included here is the album version (which Weller swears in “I don't give two fucks about your review”) rather that the single version (in which he doesn’t “I don't give a damn about your review”). I must listen again more closely to see if any of the others are album rather than single versions. All 16 UK singles are here proving the point that The Jam were a superb singles band, the 2 import singles that were hits (“That’s Entertainment” and “Just Who Is The 5 O’Clock Hero”) and for some bloody reason my least favourite Jam song “Precious”…again!

   You all know the singles, right ? And if you don’t you better go find yourself a copy of this album pretty damn sharpish as there is a huge hole in your record collection !

   When You’re Young - https://youtu.be/GO-3oXkZwPg?si=NmBkT7_kSXsHYdr0

3. 2023 Albums Thing 194 - The Jam “Extras”

   Posted on 9:20am Friday 13th Oct 2023

   If The Jam cared it’s also fair to say that, as a rule, record companies don’t give a flying fuck. If they can chuck out some tacky, overpriced “Greatest Hits” package and make yet more money from their back catalogue they are right there. So imagine our surprise when, in 1992, Polydor announced they would be issuing a Jam B-sides and rarities compilation, it’s uncommon for a major record company to release a record that might have a niche market, especially by a band who don’t exist any more. Now I wasn’t so concerned about the B-sides as I already had them all, but rarities…send them hither with all due speed Mr record company man sir.

   “Extras” is made up of 26 tracks, 11 B-sides and a treasure trove of 15 demo’s and previously unreleased recordings, a whole albums worth. New songs we’d never heard by The Jam…I was close to a state of apoplexy I can tell ya ! I won’t trouble you with details of the B-sides, between “Snap!” And the excellent “Direction, Reaction, Creation” CD box set you can find them all yourself. Although I will say opening side 1 with what are 2 of the 3 greatest Jam B-sides, “The Dreams Of Children” and “Tales From The River Bank” (the third one, “The Butterfly Collector”, appears later) was a stroke of genius. All three were live favourites and most bands would have killed for singles that good, never mind B-sides !

   The Demo’s were fantastic to hear, early embryonic versions of “Liza Radley”, “Boy About Town” (both of which I prefer to the released versions), “Burning Sky”, “Thick As Thieves” and “Saturday’s Kids” (in versions just featuring Weller and guitar), ”But I’m Different Now”, and finally just Paul and his guitars getting “The Eton Rifles” down on tape. Also listed as a Demo was “Pop Art Poem”. This had been released as a flexi disc on the long gone fanzine/magazine “Flexipop”. A very limited edition were made available as white label vinyl 7”s which I am now also the very proud owner of.

   Then there were the unreleased tracks, gold dust to me back in ’92. There were cover versions of The Beatles “And Your Bird Can Sing”, the Small Faces “Get Yourself Together” and James Brown’s "I Got You (I Feel Good)”. The first golden bullet they hit us with was The Jam’s demo of the Style Council’s 1983 single “A Solid Bond in Your Heart”. I’ve never got on with the Style Council, in fact I’ve had an ongoing love/hate relationship with Paul Weller ever since he split The Jam up (an act I don’t think I’ve ever forgiven him for !). “A Solid Bond…” is one of the very few Style Council songs I do get on with and to now know that this is where The Jam might have been going makes perfect sense. 

   And then there were the new songs, things we’d never heard before. “No One in the World" sounds like it should have morphed into another song but as familiar as it sounds it seemingly didn’t (unless I’m missing something and one of you can put me right ? It does have a hint of The Beatles “Michelle” about it). The lyric seems to reference childhood memories (“Come down, your tea is on the table”) and how uncomplicated and unthreatening life was as a child. 

   "Hey Mister" is a bit of a formless plod, a rant at a banker or somesuch type, with Weller hammering away at a piano. Lastly “We've Only Started" certainly did become something else later on with it being an early version of the fantastic “Tales From The Riverbank” with different words.

   A superb collection but, admittedly, squarely aimed at The Jam nerd, and these days the collector as it’ll take 3 figures to get you one…that’ll be me then…

   A Solid Bond in Your Heart - https://youtu.be/nFZAIraNodA?si=pjYVqpaABljB7rKX