Sound Affects [Import] [Limited Edition] [Original recording remastered]

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Japanese Paper Jacket Collection. Reissue of their 1980 album packaged in a miniature LP sleeve. 2000 release.

Tracks:

Pretty Green
Monday
But I'm Different Now
Set The House Ablaze
Start!
That's Entertainment
Dream Time
Man In The Corner Shop
Music For The Last Couple
Boy About Town
Scrape Away

Album Description

Digitally remastered reissue of their fifth album. Originally released in 1980, it features the hits 'Start!', 'That's Entertainment' and 'Pretty Green'. 1997 release. Standard jewel case.

Customer Reviews:

'But I'm different now'.......2007-07-02

Classic Jam, collectively speaking. They were, and for me anyway, the Best ever.
Beatles are mediocre in comaparison (great to lead the way, but I like to think that modern pop music got better after them). The Stones are irrelevant (middle class and pompous, playing to an audience whom knows no better), the Who (classic and original for differing reasons, connecting to urban youth at a time when they'd got fed up with the rest of the stuff going on)....The Jam however, connect to all without trying.
We all connected!
Sound Affects is their best....dare I say it ! I love them all (Jam albums that is), but something within the Sound Affects sound (if I can be simple enough to say such a thing) combined with the lyrics, reflected so much about my life and that around me at the time that really connected in a way only Weller and Co could ever achieve. I feel honoured to have been present to many of their concerts and wish that they could put their pasts behind them (like most of us have to) and get on with a comeback tour before I get much older. No zimmers req'd!
If you're new to the Jam, I recommend this album to you all....things haven't changed that much, if you listen to the lyrics that is.

Prime Jam!.......2007-05-12

After burning through many copies of the LP back in the day, I finally got around to buying the CD. This is probably my favorite Jam album. If you were to buy one Jam album, aside from a "greatest hits" compilation, I highly recommend this one!

"Sound Affects is my favourite Jam record".......2006-12-01

These are the words of Jam leader Paul Weller. While Sound Affects is not my personal favorite, he clearly has good taste in his own music. Sound Affects was the third in a trio of brilliant, pun-titled records by The Jam. (It was also their first collection of all original material.) The #1 double A-side "Going Undergroud/The Dreams of Children" preceded the record's release, and served as a perfect appetizer for the forthcoming LP. Their fifth record was their most pop-oriented album, including not only 2 hit singles, but a handful of other pop numbers as well. Of course, Weller was not about to leave his more constructively cynical side behind, so there are also several less sunny tracks. But all of the songs are strong and catchy, powered by sharp experimental production and deliberately more poetic lyrics.

Sound Affects opens with the buoyant "Pretty Green", which features Bruce Foxton's always superb thumping bass lines, and "Monday", which offers the album's first taste of pleasantly faint psychedelia. The punky pop ditty "But I'm Different Now" picks up the pace, breezing by in less than 2 minutes. Horns adorn "Boy About Town", another snappy 2-minute number, but the most impressive of these non-single pop songs is "Man in the Corner Shop". This track shows that Weller was still in Ray Davies-mode, depicting how 3 classes of people interact with each other on a daily basis, with the factory worker envying the shopkeeper, who in turns envies the factory owner. They come together only on Sundays, when all of them kneel before God as - of course - equals (right?).

The songs that form the core of the record are "Start!" and "That's Entertainment". The former, which was their second #1 single in a row, should sound familiar even to those who have never heard it (Weller once claimed, perhaps a bit disingenuously, that he was thinking more of James Brown than the obvious source). "That's Entertainment" reached only #21 in the UK, but this was as an import: it wasn't even released in Britain as a single. This was a testament to the band's enormous popularity at the time, and the song has become perhaps the band's most timeless cut. The lines in this song are one picture-perfect image after another, depicted vividly by Weller's impeccable British English. By this time, Weller had earned his place among those who had inspired him (Davies, Townshend, Lennon), and was well on his way to inspiring the next generation of British songwriters. (Even Morrissey did a cover of "That's Entertainment", albeit a significantly altered one.)

Interspersed among these pop songs are slices of Weller's brand of healthy cynicism, captured best in the lyrics to "Dream Time": "my love/their hate comes in frozen packs bought in a supermarket". Note how this songs begins with a winding, backward intro, a trick previously heard on "The Dreams of Children". There is also the dark, dissonant "Set the House Ablaze", with its creepy whistling and main riff that was clearly stolen by Bloc Party for some song I once heard playing in a record store (I don't know the title). The largely instrumental "Music For the Last Couple" highlights the wonderful interplay among Weller, Foxton, and Buckler, as does the confrontational closer "Scrape Away".

Over the course of their remarkable 5-year recording career, The Jam never stood still or rested on their laurels. Paul Weller was a young man in a hurry, and he took his band through punk, rock, pop, and R&B at a sweeping pace. The Jam never attained the gravitas of contemporaries The Clash, but they were the most popular English band of the punk era. Albums like Sound Affects demonstrated that The Jam had the pop smarts to afford them such commerical success, and enough attitude, intelligence, and talent to make them one of the truly greatest British bands ever. After five years of being a fan, it is still refreshing to reminded of their greatness each time I delve into their records anew. But still, I won't hold my breath that any of their albums will appear on a Rolling Stone or VH-1 countdown any time soon.

Boats n' Planes n' all those things .......2006-08-16

The seminal album of the British New Wave often compared to The Beatles " Revolver " which is unfortunate - this is way beyond that.

The Jam's Best Album.......2006-07-29

I think these people who give this CD 3 or 4 stars are nuts! This is the Jam's best album, none of the songs are weak. If you are looking into the Jam this (and All Mod Cons) is the place to start!
This CD has two of their biggest hits, (That's Entertainment, and Start!) and a lot of their best songs, Boy About Town, Set the House Ablaze, But I'm Different Now. But it's greatness lies in the fact that it is presented as a complete album, and while one can listen to the songs individually, you can get the whole picture by listening to it as a whole.

It's really that good.

Average customer rating:

The best album from one of the world's greatest ever bands
Great Album
Stunning effort by a maturing punk band.
Band hits pinnacle of their career next-to-last LP
This is what makes Britpop so great!

Sound Affects
The Jam
Manufacturer: Umvd Import
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000001FAG
Release Date: 2004-08-24

Tracks:

Pretty Green
Monday
But I'm Different Now
Set The House Ablaze
Start!
That's Entertainment
Dream Time
Man In The Corner Shop
Music For The Last Couple
Boy About Town
Scrape Away

Amazon.com

By the time the Jam released Sound Affects, they were well on their way out of their angled, clean-guitar choppiness and headed toward a pop amalgam that loaned itself to horns, strings, and more. "Pretty Green" is something like its title, a very pretty little tune that hints at things other than what lies on the rest of the album. "That's Entertainment" became the band's acoustic zenith, urgent and strong in its lyrical collision of everyday life and postmodern society mechanisms. There are danceable hoppers such as "Start!" and motoring energizers such as "Set the House Ablaze," and all of it seems to coincide in a great, effortless sway of styles as they run into and through each other. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

The best album from one of the world's greatest ever bands.......2004-11-25

It's difficult to define what the Jam really mean to me as there's always that risk of pidgeonholing them and thus reducing them, but in the rare case of the Jam the music speaks for itself. I'm sure likeminded people who really love the Jam will know what I mean and admit that the band's music is more than just a collection of great songs, but instead a soundtrack to life, particularly for those like me who lived in Britain at the time the songs were written and recorded. Weller's songs speak of how we all feel but could never quite put into words and the Jam were always about speaking to young people one-on-one from a mutual standpoint and never as the "idolised pop group singing to the starry-eyed fans that hang on their every word". The Jam's first two albums were essentially punk records while their following albums showed a broad range of influences including the Small Faces, the Who, the Kinks, the Beatles, Tamla Motown and, in the last year or so of their career, soul and funk. Paul Weller's songwriting abilities already reached incredible heights on the album "All Mod Cons" and progressed even further on "Setting Sons", but for me, the next album, "Sounds Affects" is the one that continues to stand out and is, in my view, the album that displays the peak of Weller's songwriting. Some critics have cited "Sound Affects" as the Jam's "Revolver" and it's not difficult to see why. In fact, the Beatles' "Revolver" was played relentlessly by the group on the tour they embarked on prior to entering the studio to record "Sound Affects" and it's influence is clearly audible here, from the backwards guitars on "Dream Time" and "That's Entertainment" to the bass riff from "Taxman" on "Start!". There isn't a bad song on the album. From the infectious opening bass line of "Pretty Green" to the closing fade of "Scrape Away", this album perfectly captures the angst, boredom and frustration felt in the dawn of Thatcher's Britain at the dawn of a new decade. The line "Pissing down with rain and boring Wednesdays" from "That's Entertainment" sums it all up, and it is also clearly felt in the track "Set The House Ablaze", but there are still glimmers of optimism shown in the Ray Davies-esque "Monday" and "Man In The Corner Shop". A truly great album is one that evokes the times when it was recorded but that also still carries momentum, and sometimes even relevance, when listening to it today. "Sound Affects" is one such album.

Great Album.......2000-08-28

The Jam's Sound Afects, although hardly punk, is a great album. It is more like pop rock. Paul Weller was a great song writer and this album shows that. The highlights of the album are Monday, Start!, That's Entertainment and Man In The Corner Shop.

Stunning effort by a maturing punk band........2000-07-11

The Jam took British punk music and made it into something more, and each album finds them exploring a different facit of their sound. "Sound Affects" is between the era of hard mod rock and soul seen on the final album. It begins with the punkish "Pretty Green" and immediatly slows into the almost dreary "Monday". The optimistic "But I'm Different Now" is of lesser quality, but short. "Set the House Ablaze" is another hard song with an interesting minor key lead line. "Start" takes the Beatles "Taxman" bassline and adds in Paul Weller's mod sensablities to make it a new song. "That's Entertainment" is a dark and moody acoustic song exploring the ups and downs of life. "Dream Time" and "Music for the Last Couple" are interesting and unique, but are somehow rather forgetable as well. "Man in the Corner Shop" is another Beatles take-off, borrowing from "Here Comes the Sun" a guitar line that Paul makes his own. "Boy About Town" is quintesential mod-pop with a cheery trumpet solo. The album closer is an abrupt change in mood, showing Weller at his nastiest and most blunt" ("Your twisted cynicism makes me feel sick... The trouble is your thoughts a catching disease"). Overall, this album mirrors the Beatles "Revolver" in its vague psychedelic vibe, rock sensiblities and solid songwriting indicative of a great band and talented songwriter.

Band hits pinnacle of their career next-to-last LP.......2000-06-19

After hitting a new peak with their third LP, "All Mod Cons," their fourth LP, "Setting Sons" seemed to lose focus. This followup, and their next-to-last studio LP, put it all back together: the punchy instrumentalism of their debut, the strong songwriting and melodicism of "All Mod Cons," and a strong dash of poeticism in the lyrics. It's truly Paul Weller's most consistent and powerful set of songs to date.

Musically this draws heavily from Revolver-era Beatles. The psychedelic touches are spare, but the guitar and basslines echo the tone of the Beatles '66 release. Lyrically, Weller moves away from the storytelling he'd become so adept at and uses more poetic forms. "Man in the Corner Shop," for example, is a brilliantly formed lyric that describes a community's chain of envy, and "That's Entertainment" creates images that stick in the mind long after the LP's finished playing.

Through and through this is the Jam's highpoint, and perhaps the finest example of Britain's rock 'n' roll of the era. It's an amazing document of how far this band evolved in the three years since their debut.

This is what makes Britpop so great!.......2000-02-08

I was actually very pleasantly surprised to find quite a few American fans of The Jam. I think it's such a shame that Paul Weller never made it as big in America as he did in England. Feel that he is probably one of the most talented musicians of all time. Although, the songs are not as polished and refined as the stuff he did on "Wild Wood" and "Heavy Soul", there is this raw beauty to every track that makes this album so wonderful to listen to. Songs such as "Start!" and "Pretty Green", just to name a couple off the top of my head are just so upbeat and energetic, you can't help but get them stuck in your head for hours after you've finished listening to the album. This album is a must have for all fans of Blur, Pulp and yes even Oasis. Heck, Paul Weller did appear on their hit song "Champagne Supernova" after all (the only redeeming quality of the song). You won't be disappointed.

Average customer rating:

Sound Affects
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Mr Bongo
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Akoba
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Average customer rating:

Long live Mr. Weller the... "Modfather"
Lucky Me!
Their two best albums, no lie!!
wake up america - these are classic albums
Two epic records!

All Mod Cons/Sound Affects
The Jam
Manufacturer: Mobile Fidelity
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Fragile

ASIN: B000000IV7
Release Date: 1996-06-11

Tracks:

All Mod Cons
To Be Someone (Didn't We Have A Nice Time)
Mr. Clean
David Watts
English Rose
In The Crowd
Billy Hunt
It's Too Bad
Fly
The Place I Love
'A' Bomb In Wardour Street
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Pretty Green
Monday
But I'm Different Now
Set The House Ablaze
Start!
That's Entertainment
Dream Time
Man In The Corner Shop
Music For The Last Couple
Boy About Town
Scrape Away

Customer Reviews:

Long live Mr. Weller the... "Modfather".......2004-07-10

Where do you start with Paul Weller and what he has accomplished? These two albums are a start. Perhaps one of the greatest British song writers, poets and man about style to never get truly discovered in the states. These two albums have some different styles and sounds but thats what made the Jam soooo good. Just about every song on these is great. "Thats Entertainment" has been copied by a few artists but the original on Sound Affects is heads above the others. The Jam defined the second Mod movement in the early 80's and these two albums are full of passion and energy. Go get them!

Lucky Me!.......1999-10-15

My two very favorite Jam albums (I have never been able to decide between them which one I love more), put together on one disc! Thank you, thank you, thank you to whoever had the good taste to do this!! I've been a huge fan of this band since 1980, and in the 90's have had a hell of a time replacing my precious records (which, being a landlocked Texan, were not easy to find in the first place!) with CDs - there are the greatest hits collections, but so many gems are inevitably left out of those. This CD is the answer to a prayer. Absolute shimmering brilliance, from beginning to end - powerful, beautiful, sometimes shocking in it's genius. Thrilling to listen to, and doubly thrilling to turn people on to! I cannot recommend it highly enough. P.S. I believe "In The Crowd" is my all-time favorite...

Their two best albums, no lie!!.......1999-08-17

The Jam was a terrific band who, sadly, imploded none toosubtly in the early Eighties. All of their albums are great(with thearguable exception of THE GIFT; personal taste talking there), but these two are the greatest of the great. Paul Weller is at his snarly, romantic best singing his songs of have-nots dreams and ambitions, and he, Buckler and Foxton really kick throughout. The rockers are ace, but it's Weller's ballads that stay with you after repeated listenings, particularly "English Rose," the Punk "Waterloo Sunset." Get this disc today; it's the spirit of '77 at it's best on two excellent albums!

wake up america - these are classic albums.......1999-08-08

It is a testament to the truly sad state of American music in the late 70's and early 80's that the Jam were never able to break the country. (Thank God the Clash made their mark instead.) It will forever remain a mystery to me how exactly the decision was made to package these two albums together, but no matter, both are fantastic and absolutely classic, near flawless albums. All Mod Cons is my favorite Jam album and To Be Someone my favorite Jam song. The cover of the Kinks' David Watts blows the original out of the water, and Paul Weller even turns out a pretty ballad in English Rose. Sound Affects is also a brilliant album and I suspect it's really a matter of personal taste which you prefer, but no one can argue with the stark, chilling beauty of That's Entertainment.

Twenty years later and you still have to buy a lot of Jam albums at outrageous prices because they're only available as imports. This is really a travesty. I urge all my fellow Americans to discover this stunning band and learn that today's shallow imitation "punk" bands like Green Day were just copping it from these masters.

Two epic records!.......1999-07-10

This 2 albums are classics. They will blow your mind. What more can I say...., just buy 'em!