Disco de The Jam: “Jam at the BBC”

If you own that scratchy old copy of the Jam's only live release, _Dig the New Breed_, replace it with this 50-song retrospective on a British band that successfully navigated the transition from punk to new wave. Three CDs of music chronicle the band from its debut as angry yet melodic punk rockers in early 1977 until its exit as 1981 as bigtime rock stars (in England, at least. Here in the states, they attracted little attention beyond that of diehard Anglophiles and aging punks). Included inside is a pretty solid booklet with brief history of this legendary trio, some pictures and an interview.

The discs feature the Jam live on John Peel's BBC radio show, an intimate set from Studio B15 (reminiscent of MTV's "unplugged" series) and two concerts: the Hippodrome in 1981 and the Rainbow Theatre in 1979.

The sound quality is remarkably clear, and the concert shows from the Hippodrome and Rainbow Theatre are first rate. Paul Weller's songwriting talents do not get lost among crowd noise or lousy recording equipment...

Their good records always sounded like you were right there next to them. I for one am glad Weller pulled the plug on the Jam - what use anyone could have for their late attempts at "pure" soul is a mystery.

The sound quality is tops, the one-take quality of the playing on the studio stuff is one that has always suited this band. It's hard for me to think anyone who hasn't recorded a new song since 1982 that deserves a three record rarities set. This one does and this is the first coherent best-of they've had.

Rare live tracks like "The Gift" and "Absolute Beginners."

This is one of the best Jam double albums to ever be unearthed.

Be sure to buy the version with the bonus CD "The Jam Live at the Rainbow" (which is a more complete version of a concert released on vinyl LP in the 1980s called "The Bitterest Split").

With the band long gone for decades, most new releases are just greatest hits collections.

This is entirely new material (Same songs, but different recordings).

I'd already spent $800 on Jam/Paul Weller/Style Council CDs and DVDs, in the weeks before I discovered this. But nonetheless, I knew I had to include it in the collection.

Yep, this album is a great live retrospective of the Jam's career. The only weaknesses are the lack of material from Sound Affects and a horrible horn sound on the later performances. If the liner notes didn't give credit to the horn players, it would be very easy to assume the horn section was actually a Casio keyboard.

Aside from the cheesy horns, every track is full of energy and fire. In particular, the songs from All Mod Cons and Setting Sons hugely benefit from the stripped down, no BS attack of live Jam. The influence of the Who on Paul Weller has never been more explicit--the Jam is truly the second coming of "Maximum R&B" here, down to the perfect cover of "Sweet Soul Music".

Overall, this is a must for any Jam fan, not just completists, and would serve as a fine introduction to the band for anybody not familiar with them. And you don't have to pony up outrageous amounts of money for a copy of the 3 disc limited edition. The 2 disc set is still in print in the US, Canada, and the UK as of this writing.