The Jam arrived (to our turntables) in the late ’70s. Their ability to craft excellent Pop/Rock tunes in a punk-like setting steadily gained them a loyal fan-base, first in the UK, then filtering to the US (although, I daresay that the UK appreciated them more). Eventually, the band would begin to incorporate a strong blend of soul, funk, and rock to create hits that were loved. But, as great things happen, the band would begin to splinter, breaking up in the very early ’80s before we had a chance to absorb them completely.
The Jam’s last album was The Gift. That album was released in 1982, the year they dissolved. It contained one of the band’s biggest hits, “Town Called Malice”. However, one of the band’s best selling albums was one released in 1979. That was called Setting Sons, the album that generated “The Eton Rifles”. And if you were a Jam fan, and Setting Sons was one of your favorites, then the following news is for you.
On November 17 (UK region, for now), Universal/Polydor will release a Super Deluxe Edition of Setting Sons with so many goodies, it might even overwhelm. The set will be a 3CD/DVD Box with an insane amount of album-related goodness (see track-list below). This newly remastered reissue will also offer a hard-bound book containing 72 pages. In those pages you will find a wealth of photos, credits, memorabilia, magazine pieces, notes, and period reviews of the album.
The new reissue will add in a set of four prints, a replica 1979 tour brochure, and a replica 1979 fan club magazine. The complete set will be housed in a sturdy and attractive casing, ready for slotting on the shelf.
Each CD (and the DVD) are placed in wallet sleeves. The first CD is the original album, remastered, along with eight non-LP singles and B-sides to complete it. The second CD will deliver demos and extras that include 18 demos and alternate tracks, 14 of them previously unreleased, all remastered. Extras include the 4-track 1979 John Peel Session. The third CD features Live In Brighton 1979, with 20 tracks, all remastered, from their December 1979 show. The lone DVD will offer greater value with five promo video clips, six Top of the Pops video performances, and two clips from the Something Else BBC show.
This remastered set will also be released as a 2CD set.
I’ll update for the US release date!
CD1:
01 Girl On The Phone
02 Thick As Thieves
03 Private Hell
04 Little Boy Soldiers
05 Wasteland
06 Burning Sky
07 Smithers-Jones (Album Version)
08 Saturday’s Kids
09 The Eton Rifles (Album Version)
10 Heatwave
11 Strange Town
12 The Butterfly Collector
13 When You’re Young
14 Smithers-Jones (Single Version)
15 The Eton Rifles (Single Edit)
16 See-Saw
17 Going Underground
18 The Dreams Of Children
CD2:
01 Strange Town (Alternative Take)
02 When You’re Young (Alternative Take)
03 The Eton Rifles (Demo Version)
04 See-Saw (Demo Version)
05 Girl On The Phone (Demo Version)
06 Thick As Thieves (Demo Version)
07 Private Hell (Demo Version)
08 Little Boy Soldiers (Demo Version)
09 Wasteland (Demo Version)
10 Burning Sky (Demo Version)
11 Simon (Demo Version)
12 Strange Town (Demo Version)
13 The Butterfly Collector (Demo Version)
14 Burning Sky (Demo Version)
15 When You’re Young (Demo Version)
16 Best Of Both Worlds (Remixed Demo Version)
17 Along The Grove (Demo Version)
18 The Eton Rifles (Demo Version)
19 Thick As Thieves (Peel Session, London / 1979)
20 Eton Rifles (Peel Session, London / 1979)
21 Saturday’s Kids (Peel Session, London / 1979)
22 When You’re Young (Peel Session, London / 1979)
CD3:
01 Introduction / Girl On The Phone (Live / Brighton Centre, UK / 1979)
02 To Be Someone (Didn’t We Have A Nice Time) (Live / Brighton Centre, UK / 1979)
03 It’s Too Bad (Live / Brighton Centre, UK / 1979)
04 Burning Sky (Live / Brighton Centre, UK / 1979)
05 Away From The Numbers (Live / Brighton Centre, UK / 1979)
06 Smithers-Jones (Live / Brighton Centre, UK / 1979)
07 Little Boy Soldiers (Live / Brighton Centre, UK / 1979)
08 Strange Town (Live / Brighton Centre, UK / 1979)
09 Mr. Clean (Live / Brighton Centre, UK / 1979)
10 The Butterfly Collector / Private Hell (Live / Brighton Centre, UK / 1979)
11 Thick As Thieves (Live / Brighton Centre, UK / 1979)
12 When You’re Young (Live / Brighton Centre, UK / 1979)
13 Eton Rifles (Live / Brighton Centre, UK / 1979)
14 Down In The Tube Station At Midnight (Live / Brighton Centre, UK / 1979)
15 Saturday’s Kids (Live / Brighton Centre, UK / 1979)
16 All Mod Cons (Live / Brighton Centre, UK / 1979)
17 David Watts (Live / Brighton Centre, UK / 1979)
18 The Modern World (Live / Brighton Centre, UK / 1979)
19 Heat Wave (Live At The Brighton Centre, UK / 1979)
20 ‘A’ Bomb In Wardour Street (Live / Brighton Centre, UK / 1979)
DVD:
01 Strange Town
02 Butterfly Collector
03 When You’re Young
04 Going Underground
05 The Dreams Of Children
06 Strange Town (BBC Top Of The Pops, London / March 1979)
07 Strange Town (BBC Top Of The Pops, London / April 1979)
08 When You’re Young (BBC Top Of The Pops, London / 1979)
09 The Eton Rifles (BBC Top Of The Pops, London / 1st November 1979)
10 The Eton Rifles (BBC Top Of The Pops, London / 15th November 1979)
11 Going Underground (BBC Top Of The Pops, London / March 1980)
12 The Eton Rifles (BBC Something Else / 1979) 3:44
13 When You’re Young (BBC Something Else / 1979)
I was dubious about this, especially as (a) earlier remastered sets of The Jam haven’t been that special and (b) a serviceable extended version of Setting Sons has long been available and (c) the asking price for this collection is pretty steep.
However. I was greatly (and happily) surprised when I received my copy. The packaging is very well done, and the discs themselves contain plenty of gems. Demo versions and alternative takes of the album and 1979’s singles show a band evolving at a furious pace, while the live CD of a Brighton gig in December ’79 — admittedly much the same as an already-available BBC recording — underlines just how powerful they were on stage.
Not for everyone, maybe, but not a rip off either.
Still waiting for a decent retreatment of This is the Modern World, the black sheep among Jam LPs.
Thanks, David! I’m in complete agreement!