Album Info

The Gift (Remastered)

Rock - 1982

After the apotheosis of Sound Affects, The Gift exhibits early signs of dissolution within the Jam. Yet even as the... more

Tracklist

1

Happy Together

2:50 min
2

Ghosts

2:10 min
3

Precious

4:12 min
4

Just Who Is the 5 O'Clock Hero?

2:13 min
5

Trans-Global Express

3:58 min
6

Running On the Spot

3:05 min
7

Circus

2:09 min
8

The Planner's Dream Goes Wrong

2:18 min
9

Carnation

3:26 min
10

Town Called Malice

2:53 min
11

The Gift

3:08 min

About The Gift (Remastered)

After the apotheosis of Sound Affects, The Gift exhibits early signs of dissolution within the Jam. Yet even as the trio’s all-for-one ethos was cracking they put forth the most diverse set of material of their career. The cascading rhythms and effects-laden guitars of “Happy Together,” “Precious,” and “Circus” push the Jam closer to the work of contemporaries like U2 and the Police. On the other hand, songs like “Ghosts,” “Trans-Global Express,” and “The Gift” indulge Paul Weller’s passion for R&B-inflected power pop. The Jam’s shift away from concise, kinetic rock would soon spur the departure of Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler, while Weller would continue to develop his R&B technique in the Style Council. The Jam’s parting shot ended up being “Town Called Malice,” a song whose portrait of a decaying community is belied by an uptempo, if wistful, Motown shuffle. Still it is a stanza from “Ghosts” that stands as the best epitaph for a group who knew how to combine excitement and melancholy: “So why are you frightened - can't you see that it's you / At the moment there's nothing - so there's nothing to lose / Lift up your lonely heart and walk right on through.”