The Jam, the band that didnt really fit into the punk rock standards, The Jam didn't want to be placed there. They did it their own way... and so brilliant good!! Presented by Tony Wilson
I’m always impressed by a 3 piece who can make a go of it, let alone excel. A trio requires some added element(s) to fill out the sound, such as great vocals, high energy, or a clever bassist.
The dynamics in this song are fantastic....this isn't hell for leather, Ramones punk. Weller uses the Rickenbacker sustain (1.15) really well with little fills here and there before strumming when its needed. Really well written song....
I am a great PW and the Jam were an excellent band, I think each member had a distinctive sound, I love the energy of the bass player Bruce Foxton, and the drummer Rick Buckler, people forget the Jam is not just PW, the other members made a huge contribution to their overhaul sound. Long live the Jam.
I actually think they were both better musicians technically than he was. He was the frontman and songwriter, but his guitar playing was rudimentary. The bass/drum lock they had was unreal, one of the best I've ever heard.
The Jam are awesome. Paul Weller has a great voice & writes brillient music. They were not as big in NZ as some other British bands & I don't know why - they were simply the best!!!
all day long i listen to the jam, but when you sit and watch them aswell in clips like this, the enjoyment level goes a couple of levels higher. you can see the energy that normally you can only feel
In the city there's a thousand things I want to say to you But whenever I approach you, you make me look a fool I wanna say, I wanna tell you About the young ideas But you turn them into fears In the city there's a thousand faces all shining bright And those golden faces are under 25 They wanna say, they gonna tell ya About the young idea You better listen now you've said your bit-a And I know what you're thinking You still think I am crap But you'd better listen man Because the kids know where it's at In the city there's a thousand men in uniforms And I've heard they now have the right to kill a man We wanna say, we gonna tell ya About the young idea And if it don't work, at least we said we've tried In the city, in the city In the city there's a thousand things I want to say to you
When I was in junior high in 1981, my brother put this album on and I listened to everyone one of their albums after that. No other band like them. Few bands evolved as quickly as The Jam with such a short life. One of the greats out of England they were.
i'm from Texas and i'm picking up on the Jam. heard of them before ,but as it happens in music one just drifts around in a waft of cannabis and follows the sound.i am now in the Jam!!
I see a lot of people writing on music videos of old bands saying "hi I'm the only 13 year old who likes classic/good music". Trust me when I tell you that you needn't worry about being the only person your age who likes good music. In two or three years time, you'll discover that people will actually start getting into good music. Maybe not everyone, but at the age of 15, 16, 17 people start actually listening to music properly, and you'll realise, like many of us, youwerejust ahead of yourtime
Slept on this track for decades. The Jam = Town Called Malice right? Oh man, wrong. This is 2 minutes of awesome. Song opens and closes with the same verse... with a furious whirlwind in between... absolute genius!
I saw the Jam in Houston in 1980. When they came out for the encore, I got the crowd started demanding "In the City," but the band wouldn't play it. Paul Weller looked peeved that everybody wanted to hear their first hit, but, whoa, what a great last encore song.
On april fools day 1977 the Jam were at the Leeds Poly for an end of term concert. On the ticket it had The Stranglers & The Jams...a collectors item for sure....and it only cost £1.00 to see these 2 great new bands of the day.
The Sid vicious guy needs to know that Weller wrote this in 1976 and Steve Jones nicked the riff for holidays in the sun. This lead to Sid squaring up to Weller who promptly bottled Sid, what a hard nut he wasn't.
@Bro Tek IMHO, R 'n' R (in the proper meaning)survived for a few years, under the 'New Wave' name (just a part of NW, obviously). It's Prog Rock which was buried by Punk, and we'll nevet thank the Pistols enough for this.
I was born just a few years too late and in the wrong country to truly enjoy this band. Same goes for Skids. Luckily the right age for Big Country, just not lucky enough because the US did not catch on to Big Country. What a loss. The Jam was my first punk album, even if they don't consider themselves punk. And I agree, Paul Weller is hot!
Oh Yeah!! one of my all time favorite bands. Had all this on records in high school. I think I was the only one at my high school in Chicago who listened to the Jam. What a great and highly under rated band. Amazing song writing. Danny Thompson
Is this the greatest song ever recorded. The Weller guitar solo is the greatest hook I've heard in memory. These guys deserved to be huge in the UK. They had IT.
The main reason I bought a Rickenbacker bass - see it on my videos. This song still excites me after 30 years. Long live The Jam. Paul may be a God but Bruce has always been my Hero.
I hated this band the first time I heard em....when I was a teenager.....but I grew to love em so much. I got their first 2 albums (vinyl!!) and I played the hell out of em. I was so into Black Flag and the Misfits and whatnot. I thought the Jam were pussy but thank God I learned my lessons! LOVE it! This song says a lot. Good to see this here. Thanx! xx
A nod to Tony Wilson, outside of what he was 'famous' for at factory records and the Hacienda, without him we would not have much film footage of many of the punk/new wave bands from the late 70's.
I saw a video on TV of The Jam in '78 - maybe it was this one - and i completely connected with the band, which is something that did not happen with most of my fellow Americans. Bought All Mod Cons, then saw them live at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus in '79. They played for about 40 minutes and it was like a hurricane from the stage. An amazing show, one of the best I have ever seen. Thanks for posting this and reminding how great this band is.
They were the real, original, talented punks. In fact, Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols copped the opening guitar riff of this song for Holidays in the Sun.
Listen to 'Right hand man' by FISCHER Z (1981-'Marliese' B-side). It sounds similar to 'In the City'. A little, lost, 'punk' gem. In THE JAM style. ;-) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1K25qjI3w-A.html
Such an awesome band. I was going to see them on the In the City tour at The Starwood in Hollywood ($5 tickets!) but then I got sick the day of the show and couldn't go. Didn't get a chance to see them again until their last American tour at Perkins Palace.
way way way too underrated!!! By far! These deserve the popularity the Clash and Ramones now get. They'll only get that when Weller goes though, which hopefully wont be for a long time. Great band!
Brilliant trio, so tight, so much energy. Big fan of Rick Buckler, a totally underrated drummer who proppelled the band forward - one of the best trios ever. Shame Buckler left music, he really was outstanding.
Wellers never made any secret of the Pete Townsend influence and its all here. The Townsend like crashing, power chords are in full effect....very subtle, but very effective too. Compare Wellers style to Johnny Ramone for example. 2 great guitar sounds but very different styles.
Tony (Mr Manchester) Wilson, co founder of Factory records, and the Hacienda Club in Manchester, the man who made the Manchester music scene. Some proper top nights!!!
I was in New York when the jam did the first gig there can't remember the club ,but the crowd were shit scared of them and wouldn't go near the front ,they were brilliant I'd seen them in London that passion was needed at the time
+nial441, They intialy were a mod influenced punk band. Their first two albums were very much punk but with a lot more substance other influences than most of the punk of the time. After those first two albums they gradually moved away from punk with each new release. Truth is they were both punk AND mod.
letitplay Not fitting in makes them punk at the same time lol. But honestly they are underrated, glad they had their own style and to be honest I personally see their playing style as punk, maybe alternative. Most at that time thought punk had to look and sound a certain way, but punk isn’t about confirmatory it’s about anyone rocking out how they want to.
Paul Weller and The Jam are the absolute Best Band to come outta London at this time. FACT. I am born and Bred Boston Massachusetts, and while listening to the Clash I found the Jam. No looking back. The Jam were not Punk. They were way too unique. Not a band like them.
