28th November - The Jam's Sound Affects

Artist – Album: The Jam – Sound Affects

Released: 28^th November 1979

Sounds Like: Something to be thankful for

Hot dawg, it’s Thanksgiving!

Over here in Britain we don’t really celebrate Thanksgiving, and with plenty of good reasons: the tale of the pilgrims and the Native Americans breaking bread together doesn’t really relate to us; having another big family meal just a month before Christmas seems just a touch greedy; our particular brand of football is miles better than NFL (ooo, fighting talk!); and – ok, we admit – we couldn’t throw a good parade to save our lives.

Still, the real point of Thanksgiving is to take a moment and appreciate all the things in life that you have to be thankful for. At least, that’s what Friends and The Simpsons have taught me. And what am I thankful for today? The Jam. I’m thankful for spiky, psychedelic, and ever so British rock. I’m thankful for the infectious ‘Monday’, the acoustic marvel of ‘That’s Entertainment’ and the bristling ‘Man in the Corner Shop’. I’m thankful for ‘Start!’ despite of its shameless thievery of an old Beatles classic.  

It’s more of a thanksgiving special than a thanksgiving turkey.

Albumaday... rating: 8/10

1.       Pretty Green – 2:37

2.       Monday – 3:02

3.       But I’m Different Now – 1:52

4.       Set the House Ablaze – 5:03

5.       Start! – 2:33

6.       That’s Entertainment – 3:38

7.       Dream Time – 3:54

8.       Man in the Corner Shop – 3:12

9.       Music for the Last Couple – 3:45

10.   Boy About Town – 2:00

11.   Scrape Away – 3:59

 
Listen to ‘Start!’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdSqpT6gfDU