Customer Reviews
one of the best - By: rb buck, 10 Dec 2007 
one of my personal faves this album,and in my opinion when the jam"sound" began,the jam were not just a singles band as jam fans loved the album tracks just as much,polydor wanted pretty green released as the single from this album,but paul & producer vic heaven insisted on"start" which in turn gave the band their second number one,thats entertainment was also released as an import single as it did so well in holland & charted high in the uk,with a new era of jam fans coming along this album is a good place to start,besides the two tracks mentioned above theres some hidden gems on here,the brilliant"man in the corner shop.but im different now,boy about town & set the house ablaze stand up to the test of time & should have been hits in thier own right.buy this album you'll not regret it.
A classic! - By: starboardside, 22 Aug 2007 It was Mark Ronson's rendition of Pretty Green that made me want to check this album out again. My memory always told me All Mod Cons was Weller's most artistic achievement with The Jam but listening to Sound Affects again, I find an angular amalgam of bubblegum melody & sharp industrial production - very post punk art pop, very 'now'. In fact I recognise this is the enduring sound of The Jam & not All Mod Cons which, out of context with the Mod Revival sounds more like 'Squeeze' than 'street sharp'.
Though both are great records from a great band, this is the one that has stood the test of time for me.
The perfect Jam studio offering? - By: Mr. A. S. T. Bateman, 13 Jul 2007 For many this album represents the musical zenith for The Jam. It is a fantastic album from start to finish in terms of the songwriting. The earlier Setting Sons has few brilliant anthemic tracks such as Thick as Thieves or The Eton Rifles & was intended as a concept album with the themes of friendship over time being the focal point but by Paul Weller's own admission had a few fillers such as Girl on the Phone, Private Hell & the cover of Martha Reeves' Heatwave. This album by contrast is a highly polished offering, perhaps a little too over produced at times & as such saw The Jam going in a new direction. Gone is the earlier raucousness & anger & the imperfect guitar playing & vocals which added something to the songs & at times made them seem rather like live tracks. Instead, this album has a veneer & a polish which firmly established The Jam as a post-punk band.
Weller's vocals are muted & his growth in maturity as both a songwriter & a singer are clear. His voice sounds less angry, the guitar is strummed rather than twanged, Foxton's bass no longer pounds & in songs like The Man In The Corner Shop, Music For The Last Couple, Monday, Dreamtime & That's Entertainment show how musicallly at least the band produce some "sweet" & melodic music. Even the mandatory Weller rail at society's inequity & the hypocrisy of the establishment, Scrape Away is delivered in a more ironic & sombre rather than vitriolic way.
Nevertheless, the album is masterful. The band have sounded as good but never any better than they do here. For many The Jam existed first & foremost as a live act full of passion & adrenaline & this is as far from that image as the band ever came.
The album probably is as close to mainstream as the band ever came in terms of the music but the real reward for listening to the songs comes with the lyrics. Weller writes such fantasticly here in poetic style (indeed a section from Shelley's Mask of Anarchy is printed on the back of the original vinyl album- Weller's homage to romantic poetry & a hint at his mellowing)and with a clear precision not seen in many young writers of the time. Lyricallly, The Jam reach their peak with this album & when you listen, they show that sound does indeed affect.
Psychedelic Punk - By: Mr. J. Gould, 07 Mar 2007 Music historians will always site "All Mod Cons" as The Jam's greatest achievment because of its significance in the scheme of things. But this record has to be my favourite from the Wheller collection. It's the variety that gets you first. Compare the pounding bass of the opener "Pretty Green" to the melancholy of "Monday" & then the thrashing rhythm of "I'm Different Now" or the psychedelic post-punk of "Set The House Ablaze". And then there's the Beatles/Harrison tribute "Start" (the bass line is affectionately nicked from "Taxman"). And don't forget the classic "That's Entertainment", a song that elevates Wheller from punk rocker to voice of a generation (and a few generations to come). I don't understand why The Jam didn't become the biggest band in the world...i suppose the music is just too good for the american market.
Do yourself a favour & buy this album...you will never ever ever regret it. Trust me on this one.
Stunning - By: Merry Terry, 13 Sep 2006 Best thing the Jam ever did, possibly Weller's peak so far as well.
A wonderful, confident album full of imagination, class & style.
Intelligent well-written songs played with fire & skill. "Monday" is wistful & charming ; "Man On The Corner Shop" melodic & infectious ; "Set The House Ablaze" sounds corrosive to this day & "Dream Time" is near-perfect.
Don't get bogged down in definitions of punk ; this is a great album by a band at the peak of their powers.
