The Jam at the BBC
Twenty-five years ago this year, with a snotty little ditty called"In the City", The Jam--angry young men in undersized school uniforms, featuring a singer with a seemingly permanent pair of blocked sinuses--introduced their vibrant young proletarian vitriol to the refuge-strewn streets of jubilee punk Britain. It's time then, in typically silveresque anniversary fashion, to celebrate two and a half decades ofWellerand co. with this portable three-CD box set of rarely heard sessions from the secretively maintained BBC archives. The 56 tracks are drawn from sessions and live shows, encompassing the years 1977 to 1981 and thereby concluding with the introduction of brass, borrowedBeatlesbass riffs, blue-eyed soul, and ski-influenced knitwear. If the songs themselves don't jolt a few fresh memories, the info-packed booklet--interviews, photos, memorabilia--is sure to refresh every ardent Jam fan's enthusiasm.--Kevin Maidment