Sound Affects
The Jam
1980
Album Summary
Sound Affects is the fifth studio album by English rock band the Jam. The album was released on 28 November 1980 by Polydor Records. It is the only Jam album to be co-produced by the band themselves, and contains the only album track co-written by the entire band, "Music for the Last Couple".The cover art is a pastiche of the artwork used on various Sound Effects records produced by the BBC during the 1970s. Jam frontman Paul Weller has opined Sound Affects to be the Jam's best album.
WikipediaI may be biased from growing up listening to this band, but so be it. A lot of bangers on here for me, I can't not give it a 5 because I know i'll listen to this over and over again
I think I'm going to cry as I listen to this most-excellent album again. Been a while, and I just absolutely heart The Jam. I saw a documentary on them a few years ago, and it served only to deepen my heart-ing them. Paul Weller is very much the opposite of the full-of-himself rock star. This album should receive more attention, as should the band. Just this week, I (a relative noob guitarist) just started learning and practicing 'That's Entertainment,' one of my all-time favorite songs of all-time favorite songs. In honor of this album and band showing up in my 1001 rotation, I shall do my best to play it well, record it, and share it with friends. Make music, share music.
New this was going to be good as the album started with Bruce Foxton's superb punchy bass playing (which continued throughout the entire album). A great MOD punk compilation with Paul Weller belting out his lyrics while playing sublime guitar. Most enjoyable!
Paul Weller is definitely my favourite discovery from this undertaking
How did The Jam never hit in the States? Peter Weller's next outfit The Style Council certainly did. But The Jam wasn't even remotely popular here. This album was released shortly after "Get The Knack" by The Knack, which was a monster hit here. I hear a lot of similarities. Maybe they were too British for America in 1980. It was our loss, because this is a gem.
I listened to all of it but cannot remember what it sounded like for the life of me
Pop, post punk, funk...el típico grupo al que nunca le había hecho ni caso por coraje y que me revienta la cabeza con un disco inesperado. Buenas canciones, ritmos pegadizos, grandes líneas de bajo. Descubrimiento.
A great album by The Jam and shows the band working together brilliantly making lively, insightful post punk. Foxton’s bass playing is outstanding, giving the album its drive and energy; Buckler’s drumming is equally energetic; and Weller brings the attitude and style to the guitar and vocals. And whilst there a few undercooked tracks (‘Music for the last couple’), ‘Start!’ followed by the exquisite ‘That’s Entertainment’ (Weller’s ‘Waterloo Sunset’) makes for a sequence of tracks any band would be proud of.
I honestly just didn't have many feelings about this album. It was fine. Favorite track: Monday
A great album by one of my favorite bands of all time. Extraordinarily British.
A brilliant album with some of their finest songs. Also made me think about what a fantastic live band they were
really awesome, didn't have the time to listen to the whole album bc monday is a bitch, but will definitely go back to it, the jam was already one of my favorite uk bands
It’s great. Imagine being a teen buying this in 1980 and hearing that opening bassline for the first time
Though the band has been quite forward about the influences, The Beatles' Revolver is very much present from the get go. The guitar is punchy, and the bass is acrobatic and front and center. There are a lot of new wave artists, but the Jam infuse it with a bit of mod flair and attitude that makes me hesitate to just lump this album in with post-punk. The drum work owes a lot (again as stated by the band) to Michael Jackson's Off the Wall, and drive the album forward without seeming out of place. It is a supremely well crafted and enjoyable album
After every song I was hoping the next would not be a dud. But the bops kept on coming. The bass is excellent throughout this, the guitar work was great too. I'm glad this album is good solely because I can say this. This album is my Jam.
The Seminal Band of my teenage years. A little more experimental than 1979's Setting Sons and a gateway to The Gift, their final studio album. I'm still gutted Weller broke up the band
Donates scuffs to the shoes. Just the right amount of everything. Particularly liked ‘Music for the last couple’
Loved this. Sprinkling of the familiar alongside the new, but all great fun. Fav new track: Man In The Corner Shop
I dig it, The Jam are such an underrated gem. I got a lot of mileage out of this album today. It bangs.
Really enjoyed this. It hit that punk/pop craving I was having. Going to have to pick up more if their stuff. Reminds a lot of the Clash, but more fun. I was hooked with the first track.
Brilliant socially aware lyrics - 'That's entertainment' should be published separately and added to the National curriculum. I'd forgotten how good The Jam (well, Paul Weller) were.
Great album.. Awesome bass lines.. Why I don't listen to this album more I don't know.
I grew up with the Jam but didn’t really appreciate them when I was younger. Listening to them again I realise how good they were. This album’s definitely going into my saved list.
This is one of the great punk/new wave albums. The songwriting genius of Weller is the backbone, Buckler laid down some great beats, but it was the phenomenal bass of Bruce Foxton that pinned it all together.
Love this album, it's crisp, punchy and energetic. It's such a fun listen, and I enjoy it more each time I listen to it. The mix of the angular guitar with that insanely good foregrounded bass is a delight to listen to. The Jam had this ability to infuse the anger and energy of punk with a strong pop sensibility that none of their peers have. They remind me a lot of the early Who, more than pretty much any other band I can think of. There are maybe a couple of tracks I like less than the others, but on balance this is an outstanding album. Rounding up to a 5, then going back to listen again. As a side note, if you aren't familiar with Paul Weller, I strongly recommend checking out his post-Jam work. The man has been working practically non-stop for over 40 years and everything he does is interesting. Fave Songs (All songs, from most to least favorite): That's Entertainment, Start!, Set the House Ablaze, Man in the Corner Shop, Scrape Away, Pretty Green, Boy About Town, Music for the Last Couple, But I'm Different Now, Monday, Dream Time
I really liked this. Never heard of this group before, but I hear so many other groups that I enjoy in this album.
Bought this when it came out when I was 10 and it’s been one of my favourites all my life. The best Jam album as well. Yes there are a couple of well known hits on the album, but all the others are just as good, if not better. Listen loud!
Post punk fury mixed with Kinksesque pure pop. The Jam at their best and a go to album for them
British Punk Rock with some psychadelic/surf rock and probably better descriptions deep in there. GREAT ALBUM.
Love most of the stuff on this album - plus it has Man in the Cornershop on it, which is my favourite Jam song
You can almost hear your influence they had on bands like The Smiths or even Arctic Monkeys. Great record.
Okay, a Jam album seemingly cut to my exact measurements. A group who always wore their influences like they were medals, Sound Affects has the Jam asking to be rewarded for quoting Gang of Four and and Wire. And I'm perfectly happy to give them such a nod, considering that this is rather fabbo. The Jam are probably the biggest British group to gain no traction whatsoever in the United States: two singles in the Billboard top 100, highest position 45 (in the UK, the generally agreed cut-off for a hit is number 40), whilst getting 4 UK number 1s. A similar tale unfurled in Europe; at best, the Jam were a one-hit wonder in a few territories with A Town Called Malice. Though disappointing, this is not surprising at all. The Jam were as singularly English as Morris dancing and a suicidal ignorance regarding the myriad benefits of the European Union. The Jam's aesthetic combined so many distinctly British aspects that other countries had no hope of comprehending them. They had the British moderate punk aspect, where they forwent battered leather jackets in favour of sharp suits whilst delivering charged, politicised lyrics. They had their origins in the pub rock circuit of the mid 70s, and a British pub is not akin to any other country's bar. Most of all, they had mod. Mod, for those outside of Albion, is a British subculture starting in the 60s, with some dapper youths of every subsequent generation still bearing the torch. Your common-or-garden mod is identifiable by a fondness for suits, scooters, speed and fairly raucous guitar rock à la the Who, Small Faces etcetry etcetry. Personally, I find the movement overestimated: why settle for the fairly raucous? Why be a mod when the name of their enemy, the rocker, is self-evidently cooler? And how can Quadrophenia be a swell movie if it stars Sting? Still, some mod groups were genuinely great, and the Jam were one of those groups, and I agree that the leader Paul Weller deserves his honorific of the Modfather. This album, though, exhibits a paradox. It's the Jam's best album, yet it's the least representative of their mod philosophy. Rather, from the opening note onwards, it's clearly the sound of the Jam latching onto the funky angularity and astere freshness of their post-punk contemporaries. My fellow guzzlers, you should know of me by now that such a sound is the sound I love the most, and thus by syllogism I love this album. Lyrically, Weller doesn't stray from his domain, and that's fine, pal: he knows what he's doing on his territory. But the real greatness of this album lies not in the semantic but the sonic: fierce, desperate and defiant. This in turn leads to the conclusion that the album's more conventional Jam songs, such as Start and Boy About Town, are the weakest tracks, but if such tight songs are the runts, then the album really has naught to worry about. Follow-up question: who are the artists where their most incongruous work is their best? I have a few mates who reckon Nirvana's best album is Unplugged in New York. Not to say that's the consensus, but it's definitely arguable.
I liked it a lot, I think it was consistently good although it didn’t stand out a ton. Solid album.
Great album. Always thought of All Mod Cons as the better album, but after listening to Sound Affects again for 3-4 times, I am not sure anymore. Anyways, both of them are obviously 5 star albums of course.
Really, really loved this. Had heard Pretty Green, Start! and That's Entertainment before but not the rest of this record. Never realised they'd gone quite as post-punky as this. Prefer it to the pure mod stuff.
I'd be hard-pressed to not give this 5 stars - Paul Weller is a great songwriter and Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler are a criminally underrated rhythm section. The album loses a bit of momentum with the last couple of songs Boy About Town and Scrape Away, but those two tracks are following an absolute Murderer's Row of songs - Start, That's Entertainment, Pretty Green, and my favorite, Man in the Corner Shop. Probably the best Jam album (though I am partial to Setting Sons, which is not on the list) and this group is either 1 or 1(a) on my list of best power trios (along with Hüsker Dü).
How did i miss this album growing up? Absolutely fantastic. This one is going in my rotation.
Fantastic album - love The Jam anyway but this album feels rebellious, unique and fun.
The Jam released a lot of really good albums and Sound Affects is overall one of their finest moments. I think it's their most complete and consistent albums with some classic tracks such as, Start!, Boy About Town, Monday and perhaps Paul Weller's masterpiece, That's Entertainment. A beautiful and wonderfully full sound that reminds me of peak period late 60's, Kinks. Definitely essential!
Is this The Jam's BEST album? Maybe. But it's not my favourite, (All Mod Cons). It's not my 2nd favourite Jam album (Setting Sons), but listening to it today, I'm not so sure it doesn't deserve a higher ranking on my list. It's more classically pop sounding than previous albums, perhaps more timeless. Absolutely leans more to The Beatles rather than The Who or The Kinks; right down to the Taxman hommage in Start. So it's a collection of really strong songs and one absolutely brilliant stroke in That's Entertainment. In the late 70s and early 80s The Jam were at the top of their game and were about as good a rock band that there was. For me this is their 3rd consecutive 5 star album, a run as strong as by any band in the history of rock music. How you rank those 3 albums relative to each other is a matter of individual taste. To me The Jam are one of the most criminally under appreciated bands in the history of rock music. 5 stars
2/5 Fun and whacky. Standout Tracks: Monday, That’s Entertainment, Dream Time, Man In The Corner Shop, Music For The Last Couple
Nifty record! I didn't make the connection with Paul Weller and feel incredibly stupid, but good album overall.
Muito bom! Rockzinho bem tocado, baixo rítmico, bateria seca, mas marcante... separação legal de instrumentos e vocal coerente. E umas sonoplastias legaizinhas que "diferenciam" as músicas de outras similares. Gostei!
Really enjoyed this album - you could definitely hear the post-punk influences of the time. There was an element of Joy Division, but with a stronger emphasis on melody and catchiness and the dreariness removed.
More my taste. Raw, punchy, and definitely more punk. Much catchier songs and more to my liking.
I really liked the sound of this band and was surprised that I have never heard of The Jam. They were similar to the Beatles but more modern.
Familiarity: 1/10 Notes: The Jam is not a jam band. They do not make flavored fruit preserves. However, they do fuck. They fuck hard. Driving bass lines, new wave sound mixed with some proto punk. North England punk kid just looking to play. This sound will not be for everyone, but as a man starving for more new wave in my life, this album hits it all, I am pleased with this. Favorite Tracks: - Monday - Set The House Ablaze - Start! - Dream Time - Boy About Town True Rating: 7.5/10
The Jam seems like a very deep take on the Pop Idiom. Astute variety and very smart lyrics.
A blend of ska, blues, 2 tone and 60s pop for all the songwriting. Not too many memorable tracks flaunt their way but still a good example of 2 tone/ska of the era. I'd wager that this bears repeated listening. 6.5/10
En una primera escucha, no me convencía casi nada, pero ya después sí le agarré gusto y se me quedaron como ciertas repeticiones muy pegadas (leitmotivs, quizá??). En fin, me pareció un buen disco, con un par de canciones medio flojas, pero también con momentos muy rockeros como "Music for the Last Couple". Otras que me gustaron mucho fueron "Set the House Ablaze", "Start!" y "Scrape Away". No conocía a The Jam, pero sí podría escucharlos más. 8/10
Highly enjoyed this. Glad this project has exposed me to The Jam, another band that I’ve heard of and I know is a big influence to a lot of the artists I love but just haven’t really checked out yet.
Good album, pop punk with great lyrics Representative the era. Some songs I knew already also. Very enjoyable
Chido, un sonido muy de los 80. (Post-punk?). Buenas gutarras, energía movita y sobre todo partes de bajo muy disfrutables. en esta misma nota creo que mis dos favoritas fueron Start! y Scrape Away porque son canciones donde el bajo es protagoníco y me parecen que tiene un ritmito como para bailar dando saltitos sin dirección ni sentido. Mood: No me genero afectos a los sonidos de su disco, a pesar del juego de palabras del título, pero me la pasé bien.
Only knew the hits previously, but great album which will have me dig through.
Bass player is great. Seems to be a huge influence on Bloc Party. Big influence on indie mid-00’s bands. Good angular guitar lines and bass takes front stage, solid post-punk
Fun and catchy, has some very obvious influences but makes it work in a not so derivative way
Sí me dio toda la vibra punk rock new wave de los 70-80, no es muy mi vibra pero está ok
I liked it! Some songs were forgettable but I really liked Start! and Boy About Town. I also really liked the album cover haha