The Jam Album: “Extras: A Collection of Rarities”

A real must for any collector of one of the best groups of the late 70s and early 80s. Who could resist such hidden lost classics like the acoustic Liza Radley? You will also get classics like "Burning Sky" and "Eton Rifles" - both sound like Weller was alone in the front room of his house. A real must have.

First, I have every Jam record and I bought them in the 80's. I am a diehard Jam fan and just missed see them live. With that said, this was my favorite tape when I bought it. I listened to all the studio tapes first and wore out a few, including my favorite, Setting Sons. Then after years of listening to the same Jam songs over and over, "Extras" came out.

What a great CD! This should not be your first Jam CD. Get Setting Sons or Sound Affects. Then get more studio CD's This should be you last Jam CD to full appreciate it. Chock full of rare and wonderful sounds by one of the greatest bands ever.

What can I say that the other reviewers haven't said already. This collection of b-sides and rarities are way better than most groups major albums. There are a handful of pop/rock musicians I can think of that can do this, Early Elvis Costello and REM are two I can think of off hand and there are not many more.

It's too bad that there was such a resistance for anything British in the late 70's, most American kids and radio stations were turned off by most of the punk movement. I was stuck with listening to Journey, ELO, Styx and Boston to name a few. I fortunately discovered punk on my own in 1979 at a small record store and the Jam was one band that got me completely into the new British music scene.

I'm happy that albums like this can come out every now and then to satisfy my cravings for more of their stuff because you can't find the energy, creativity and spontaneity of bands like this anymore.