Why is The Jam’s Sound Affects on my best 1,000 albums ever list?
Driving energy and pop hooks that helps to carry the initial British punk music wave forward.
Some stats & info about The Jam – Sound Affects
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Punk, Punk Rock, British Punk, Old School Punk, New Wave, British Bands, Rock, Rock Music
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 5 out of 5 stars
- When was Sound Affects released? 1980
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #920 out of 1,000
The Jam’s Sound Affects on Spotify
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective take on what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.
What does The Jam’s Sound Affects mean to me? What does it make me feel? Why is it exciting or compelling?
I prefer The Jam when they’re in a more rocked up/punk mode versus more of a pop/new wave mode. And I suppose that makes sense in that I’m much more of a fan overall of The Clash, let’s say, versus the Talking Heads. So while “That’s Entertainment” is likely the best known song on Sound Affects, at least in the U.S., and it’s a fine song, it’s not nearly my favorite on the album.
“But I’m Different Now” turns my head quite a bit more, with a sound that carries the initial punk music wave forward into something a little more nuanced but with driving energy and pop hooks to make for an exciting listen. I have very similar thoughts about early U2 for what it’s worth.
“Start!” is probably my favorite song on Sound Affects, which bombastically struts out with a bass line that is clearly a funked up riff on The Beatles’ “Taxman.” Overall, it’s rocking and it’s fun. It also has fantastic vocals and harmonizes really nicely.
This album also sounds like
You can hear a lot of Kinks influence in The Jam’s music. The Beatles as well – indeed, the start of “Start!” sounds like a funked up “Taxman.” I also get a bit of an English Beat and Talking Heads vibe.
Personal stuff that’s somehow related to The Jam’s Sound Affects
As something of a word nerd, I’m very impressed with the album title, Sound Affects, which can be interpreted in any number of ways.