For starters, there’s the near-title track, with its Townshend scrape and two-finger retort in the final bridge (on the single, Paul Weller doesn’t give “a damn”, but on the album, he’s more specific). More defiance surfaces in “Standards”, a nice rearrangement of the “I Can’t Explain” riff. “The Combine” continues the questioning of “Away From The Numbers”, ending appropriately with an unresolved chord sequence.
The big difference was that Weller had a steady girlfriend, which colored his approach and the energetic commentary in “In The Street Today” and “London Girl”. Now he was writing songs like “Life From A Window” and “I Need You (For Someone)”, which hinted at sensitivity, while “Here Comes The Weekend” is a pop song disguised as mod disgust. Then there’s “Tonight At Noon”, with its jokey beginning, prominent acoustic guitar and poetic exploration of the “In The Midnight Hour” theme. To make the point obvious, the song is followed by their version of that very soul classic.
Doing a cover wasn’t a big deal, but allegations of Weller’s lack of productivity are supported by the two songs written by bassist Bruce Foxton, but only if you paid attention to such things. “London Traffic” and “Don’t Tell Them You’re Sane” sound enough like Weller songs to not stand out like sore thumbs. (In the US, the order was shuffled, and the otherwise non-album single “All Around The World” followed the single version of “The Modern World” that still opened the album.)
So even if it doesn’t make leaps and bounds, This Is The Modern World still delivers enough bite in its 31 (or 34) minutes, making it recommended. Dig that homemade mod sweater on the cover, too.
The Jam This Is The Modern World (1977)—3½
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