This Is the Modern World by The Jam

This Is the Modern World, the Jam's second album, hit the shops on 18 November 1977 on Polydor, a mere six months after In the City, and reached No. 22 in the UK. The Woking trio of Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler hadn't slowed down, but they had started looking around: under the punk bark there's more room for old-school beat-group melody, soul and the sharp mod edges that would define them.

Weller writes and sings, slashing away on his Rickenbacker, while Foxton's bass lines carry as much tune as the guitar. The title track was the only single, and even that went out in a censored version, stalling at No. 36. Critics mostly sneered at the time, but later listeners have been kinder, hearing a record with far more shade and contrast than the debut.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.