Great reminder, Mitchell, of one of my fave bands of that UK "punk" era...although, I really only followed them thru '79. I had no idea of their run of singles, at least in the UK. I suspect Polydor grew weary, in the US, of continuing to try to squeeze hit singles out of them at the dawn of the '80s.
Having just checked on their beginnings (a few years before the punk dawn), they're one of the acts that it's too bad they got lumped (and thus, discarded by too many) into that lazy genre tag. Joe Jackson comes to mind as another one. If artists like The Jam and Jackson could've been allowed to flourish outside of a genre "wave," it would've been fascinating to see their growth! But, good on Paul Weller for keepin' on keepin' on!
DITTSAM is my favourite Jam song and Wellers finest hour in a long career full of great moments. The tension and release between verse and brief chorus, the descriptive lyrics, building to the rushing climax - the use of the tube train sound on the album version only adds to the sense of danger - as the narrators life flashes before his eyes.... genius. An excellent write up on this song, a pleasure to read.
Great reminder, Mitchell, of one of my fave bands of that UK "punk" era...although, I really only followed them thru '79. I had no idea of their run of singles, at least in the UK. I suspect Polydor grew weary, in the US, of continuing to try to squeeze hit singles out of them at the dawn of the '80s.
Having just checked on their beginnings (a few years before the punk dawn), they're one of the acts that it's too bad they got lumped (and thus, discarded by too many) into that lazy genre tag. Joe Jackson comes to mind as another one. If artists like The Jam and Jackson could've been allowed to flourish outside of a genre "wave," it would've been fascinating to see their growth! But, good on Paul Weller for keepin' on keepin' on!
My first ever gig was 'The Jam' at Cambridge Corn Exchange, 10 June 1977 ...
... so, the way I look at it, the last 45 years are largely Weller's fault!
DITTSAM is my favourite Jam song and Wellers finest hour in a long career full of great moments. The tension and release between verse and brief chorus, the descriptive lyrics, building to the rushing climax - the use of the tube train sound on the album version only adds to the sense of danger - as the narrators life flashes before his eyes.... genius. An excellent write up on this song, a pleasure to read.