Pretty Green” may come across as an astonishingly simple song, but the simplest messages often contain more truth than the longest speeches, poems or novels: The 80 Greatest Albums of 1980 What came out of all this was, arguably, the greatest year for great albums ever". Rolling Stone. 11 November 2020 . Retrieved 12 November 2020. In 2006, Q placed Sound Affects at number 15 on its list of the "40 Best Albums of the '80s". [21] In 2013, NME ranked Sound Affects at number 487 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. [22] In 2020, Rolling Stone included Sound Affects in their "80 Greatest albums of 1980" list, praising the band for crafting their "finest album", while encapsulating "the classic English songcraft of the Kinks and the Small Faces, singing about working-class anger". [23] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. [24] Sound Affects (liner notes). The Jam. Polydor Records. 1980. POLD 5035. {{ cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) ( link) Sheffield, Rob (1995). "Jam". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp.195–96. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.

British album certifications – The Jam – Sound Affects". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 14 November 2020. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Sound Affects in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter. Vote up content that is on-topic, within the rules/guidelines, and will likely stay relevant long-term. Side one ends with “That’s Entertainment,” a song Paul Weller wrote in ten minutes after getting pissed at a pub, pissed off by the damp on the walls of his flat and disgusted at the squalor of working-class neighborhoods in London:A Beatles rip-off, a single which only contained two chords strummed on an acoustic guitar, and several technical problems when producing/pressing the album – this should actually be a bit of a disaster on record.

Sound Affects sold over 100,000 copies and spent 19 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, rising to number two in late 1980. [6] [7] [8] In the United States, the album spent 11 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and reached its peak position of number 72 in February 1981. [9] Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrateded.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p.153. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

The boy responds with similar disdain, reflecting Lennon’s take on the insanity of modern existence: “Everybody seems to think I’m lazy/I don’t mind, I think they’re crazy/Running everywhere at such a speed/’Till they find there’s no need”: Larkin, Colin (2011). "Jam". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th conciseed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8. Sheridan, Tim (2006). "The Jam: Sound Affects". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Universe Publishing. p. 466. ISBN 978-0-7893-1371-3.

Weller’s lyrics were also more human and approachable. Several times he makes self-deprecating reference to his 'star' status (Boy About Town) and also the acceptance of the healing power of love (But I'm Different Now). Only on Set The House Ablaze (which sounds like an out take from their previous album, Setting Sons) does he sound like he’s treading water. I’m not convinced with this remaster. Unfortunately its been a while since I heard an original but I dont recall that sounding as thin as this does. Its my favourite Jam album as well as one of my favourite “post-punk” albums full stop, so I think I’ll invest in an original and see how they sound together. The fade features the voice of one Laurent Locher, bass player of Les Lords, a band of punks-turned-mods from Caen who drew a bit of attention during their brief existence but never really caught fire in La Belle France (or anywhere else, for that matter). Weller brought Locher into the fold to translate the last two lines quoted above into French: “ La puissance c’est tout, c’est la puissance dont tu as besoin.”Though it sounds like something Louis XIV could have come up with, I could find no evidence to connect the quote to anyone other than Paul Weller. While some may consider “Scrape Away” kind of a downer ending, I think calling bullshit on cynicism is a beautiful thing indeed.Jam frontman Paul Weller has opined Sound Affects to be the Jam's best album. [2] Influences [ edit ]

Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1sted.). Helsinki: Tammi. p.221. ISBN 951-31-2503-3. The Jam very easily could have been the premier British punk band - one only needs parse through one of their ‘greatest hits’ compilations to hear that talent. It’s not that they’re now deprived of respect, but rather that their work never quite measured up against Joy Division or The Clash or Wire’s in such a way as to deem them the clear number one. This record, probably their best, is a premier example; its ‘almost-but-not-quite’-ness sort of feels like self-sabotage.url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-jam/1980/manchester-apollo-manchester-england-39f117b.html][img]https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=39f117b[/img][/url] The cover art is a pastiche of the artwork used on various Sound Effects records produced by the BBC during the 1970s. But it isn’t. In fact, Sound Affects is one of the band’s finest and most colourful albums, filled to the brim with – despite the often bleak topics – melodies and fun arrangements. Here, the band really tried to move on from their mod-punk style and try their six hands at guitar-pop (“Monday”), Ska experimentation (“Music for the last couple”), and even traces of post-punk (“Set the House ablaze”). Top Selling Albums of 1981 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand . Retrieved 1 February 2022. The album features the group's second UK number one single, "Start!". Polydor pushed for "Pretty Green" to be the first single released, but Weller insisted on "Start!". This involved consulting a few of the band's friends as to what they thought the best release would be. Weller had Polydor A&R man Dennis Munday ask a small peer group of his friends who had been present throughout the recording sessions at the Town House and prior demo recordings at Polydor Studios. Given the choice, they selected "Start!" as the best single release and the decision was made to release it. The decision was vindicated when "Start!" topped the British singles charts in its third week after entering at number three. [7]