The Jam Album: “Gift”

Paul Weller is ready for a big musical change.While on

"The Gift" Weller and The Jam deliver some typically catchy,

sponanious Brit pop like "Happy Together","Ghosts" and "Running

On the Spot",much of this album seriously attempts to blend in

heavy funk,jazz,Carribean and even African styled music into

The Jam's framework.This approch doesn't always succeed entirely

but on numbers like the Sly Ston-ish "Trans-Global Express",the

bombastic afro-funk of "Precious" and the classic,almost ready

-made Motown beat of the classic "Town Called Malice".While

the Jam effectively pull off the diverse songwritng assignments

and add in punchy horn charts,it's clear Weller was proven right-

the guitar-based Jam simply wern't the band to make this kind

of music consistantly and while they're all fantastic musicians

in their own right,Weller was wise to try something new next time

around with a new band to work with.But that doesn't take anything away from this fun,bouncy album!

What is it about Paul Weller that his record company can't be bothered to ever get things quite right? With previous reissues, there's always been something slightly wrong with the final package. The Jam's Direction Reaction Creation substituted singles or 12" versions of some tracks where album versions would have been expected; The Complete Adventures of The Style Council followed the same template. The reissued Style Council catalog in 2000 was remastered more for volume than anything else--and the mysterious "USA remix" of "Shout to the Top" replaced the original version on Our Favourite Shop. (Nobody's bothered to explain where this so-called "USA remix" came from; I owned a copy of the Internationalists LP, since the Our Favourite Shop CD wasn't released right away, and the mix of "Shout to the Top" was the same as on the UK single.) Liner notes of Jam and Style Council compilations tend to have sloppy punctuation, spelling errors, and/or mis-labelled tracks.

It should come as no surprise that this new Deluxe Edition of The Jam's swan song, The Gift, ends up suffering the same fate. At first glance, the track listing suggests that Universal have got it right. On the first disc, they've come close, appending the album proper with the 12" version of "Precious", the non-LP single "The Bitterest Pill", and their associated B-sides. Why they didn't include the "Beat Surrender" EP on that first disc as well is something of a mystery, seeing as how, with the disc running at just under 50 minutes in length, there was certainly enough room for the five songs contained on the 12" version.

The second disc appears to lead off with the "Beat Surrender" EP. It does--sort of. The first three songs are the ones we've long been familiar with. The last two, however, are *not* the versions found on the original LP; rather, they're either demos or alternate versions (since they're not identified as such, and the liner notes don't say anything, there's no way to know for sure which they are). "Stoned Out of My Mind" has a different mix, and Paul Weller sings in a falsetto (on the originally released version, he wisely sings in an octave better suited to his voice); "War" is also a different version to the original EP release. Fortunately, these versions appear to have been previously unavailable.

The rest of the disc is mixed. "Skirt" is an odd version of "Start"; neither the liner notes nor the track listing give any sort of context as to why it's here. The remaining tracks are mainly demos, ending with what is apparently Weller's original demo of "A Solid Bond in Your Heart"--an odd one, really, with the guitar coming and going in the mix.

So, in typical fashion, Paul Weller gets the Deluxe Edition treatment, but with a few flaws. Add the "Beat Surrender" EP to disc one, keep the demos and alternates on disc two, and maybe add a couple of live versions, and it would be much better. Of course, Universal are probably hoping folks will shell out the extra cash for the way more expensive Super Deluxe edition, which contains the album, the 10 singles and b-sides leading up to the split, a disc containing 15 demos, and a live disc, plus a DVD, and a book. If you're not a hardcore Jam completist, this Deluxe Edition will probably suffice.

While there are a few good and powerful songs on this cd, such as the Motown influenced A Town Called Malice or the rocking Carnation, most of this set is a pretty forgettable pastiche of ersatz funk and horn driven white boy soul. The Gift is the album where main man Paul Weller really begins to embrace his fascination with American soul music, culminating in the breakup of the Jam and the creation of the horrid Style Council. The problem with Weller is that he's just not a natural at it and though his attempt at soul may be laudable, its not that listenable. Adding irrelevant horn overdubs such as the jamming section of Precious don't improve the tracks, rather they serve to point out, in sharp relief, the weakness of underlying material. Sorry Paul you are not funky, neither are your band mates. In fact there's precious little here on The Gift that sounds like The Jam. Compared to the previous brilliant album Sound Effects, its a much weaker effort musically and lyrically. Few of the songs play to the Jam's strengths and even fewer stick in my head. The Gift is neither great rock, nor is it great soul. Most importantly its not great Jam music.

This is the best Jam album ever. It shows the progression of Paul Weller's style from this group to The Style Council who along will D.C. Lee,Mick,and Steve became possibly my favorite group! This album is a classic,a must have!

The Jam's last studio album evidenced the decline that would fully manifest itself in the mediocrity that was the Style Council. The two best songs here, "Town Called Malice" and "Precious" were the A and B side of the US single, and those were the only two songs from this set to be included on "Snap!", the two album, 29 song overview of their six albums. If you've already got "Snap!" and you're particularly enamored of "Precious", this album version is a minute longer than the edited single version that appears elsewhere. There's also a six minute extended 12" version on

which contains virtually everything the Jam did but for a few album versions of their singles.

I had "The Gift" back in the vinyl days and once I got

I tossed this one to the used bins. In this era of mp3s where we can cherry pick just the songs we want, I've added back into my collection "Ghosts", the instrumental "Circus", and the album version of "Precious". The other seven songs are standard to sub-par Jam. The opener, "Happy Together", could pretty much be used as a template for the Jam sound. Not as compelling as their better work but hardcore fans would undoubtedly revel in it. For those looking to dig deeper "Five O'Clock Hero" might fit the bill.

The Jam is known for drawing on the Who and the Kinks as their inspiration, but all the "bop-ba-ba-ba's" on this album start to become an annoying reminder of The Association. Perhaps they have an unreleased cover of "Windy", "Cherish", or even the Cuff Links' "Tracy" still crouching in the vaults.