Rushed out 6 months after their debut album "In The City", "This Is The Modern World" is regularly seen as The Jam's worst album. However, for me it was more of a transitional piece as perhaps indicated by the picture for the front cover, with the band in smart, casual dress rather than suits.
The sticker on the cover shows I paid £2.99 for the album but it doesn't say from where !
When it was released I was also amongst those who didn't think it was as good as "In The City", but I liked the title track and "In The Streets, Today", and I knew "The Midnight Hour" was a cover, as the original was on one of my elder brother's R&B/Soul collections from the 1960s. I thought there were also a few reasonable songs, but looking at the track listing now although I recognised a few of the titles, I wasn't exactly sure how most of them went.
The almost title track "The Modern World" opens side one and remains the stand-out track. Aggressive and angry, it a tremendous anthem for its time and the vocals are great. "What kind of fool do you think I am ? You think I know nothing of the modern world". The line “Don't have to explain myself to you, I don't give two f***s about your review” was sanitised for the single.
The first of two Bruce Foxton contributions "London Traffic" is a 1960s riff meets punk. There are hints of early Beatles, especially "I Feel Fine", but it ends up sounding like The Vibrators on a bad day.
The next three songs demonstrate the band's increasing maturity and move to a more sophisticated sound. They could almost be a trilogy. "Standards" has a riff borrowed from The Who, somewhere between "I Can't Explain" and "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere", which I kept thinking would morph into "Crazy, Crazy Nights" by Kiss. "Oh, we make the standards and we make the rules. And if you don't abide by them, you must be a fool"
"Life From A Window" is something completely different from anything previously released by The Jam and gives an indication of the direction the band would move towards on their next album. A mid-paced, almost mellow song, and there is even some acoustic guitar which wouldn't sound out of place on New Order's "Technique" album, although the song's big finish is straight out of The Who playbook. "I'm looking from a skyscraper, I'm standing on the post office tower, So I can see all there is to see".
"The Combine" is another mid-paced song with some interesting guitar and great bass lines. "And life is very difficult, when you're in the crowd.When you're in the crowd, you see things as they really are"
Side One closes with "Don't Tell Them You're Sane", the second ( and last ) song from Bruce Foxton. It's another mid-pace track and is a critique of mental health treatment in the UK rather than a tribute to the ex-Liverpool German striker ! It's the album's low point. Lyrically it tries hard but actually sounds trite. Also, the feedback to finish is irritating.
Side Two opens in great fashion with "In The Street, Today". Short ( 1 minute 31 seconds long ), aggressive and with some fast drumming for the intro, a frantic guitar break and more nice bass lines, it could have been on their first album. "The kids want some action, and who can f***ing blame them now ?"
"London Girl" is unfortunately not the song of the same name by The Pogues. Instead, its a fast paced number with a gimmicky "La-La-La-La-La London Girl" chorus, and the main guitar riff made me think of Generation X's "Ready, Steady, Go". "Do you know what you're looking for ? Streets of gold, fame and fortune ? You didn't fancy working in a factory but your mum and dad didn't agree"
The mood changes with "I Need You ( For Someone )", a 1960s pop love song with an understated guitar break. Again, the bass playing is impressive.
"Here Comes The Weekend" starts with a spoken "OK, all right, here it comes" over the intro, the type of which was obligatory at least once on punk albums at the time. If features pulsating bass, a good tune and a glorious chorus and middle eight. A power pop song before the phrase was invented. "Here comes the weekend, I get to see the girls, long live the weekend, the weekend starts here"
"Tonight At Noon" has a whimsical introduction. I can't tell if it supposed to be Punch and Judy or a newspaper street vendor, but it fades away into a slower, mellow love song where the acoustic guitar dominates. The rhythm of the song sounds like a slowed down version of their earlier hit single "All Around The World". The lyrics include "When we meet at the midnight hour, I will bring you night flowers" which leads nicely into....
.....a workmanlike cover of Wilson Pickett's1960s R&B classic,"Midnight Hour". Weller is credited with playing the harmonica, for what I think it the only time on any The Jam track.
The retrospective appraisal of the album is that is much better than it is generally given credit for, and there are several moments of real quality. The instrumentation is impressive, and there is a clear road map of the transition from early punk to the future sophistication of the later "Setting Sons" album.
However, it does sound rushed and some of the songs come across as unfinished. Perhaps with some more time lyrics could have been edited to better fit the tune, or not sound so clumsy or jarring. Furthermore, with a bit of finesse, some of the song's structures could have been fitted together better.
Nevertheless, "This Is The Modern World" is an important album.
Track Listing :
Side One :
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
1. In The Street, Today
2. London Girl
3. I Need You ( For Someone )
4. Here Comes The Weekend
5. Tonight At Noon
6. The Midnight Hour
Released 1977
UK Chart Position : 22
The Modern World ( No 36 - 1977 )
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