Consumer Guide Album

The Jam: Snap! [Polydor, 1983]
They never got past second base here for the same reason cricket didn't. What's made Paul Weller such a hero in England is his Englishness--ever since he outgrew the pure punk urbanism of In the City, his closely observed lyrics have worked to reflect a national culture exactly as universal as dozens of others. Given his charming but nonetheless limiting musical limitations, he's no more a world musician than Winston Rodney or Sunny Adé, and probably less. Because he doesn't share a gift for the riff with his mod hero Pete Townshend, even his hits get across more on tension and tenderness than on such body-balms as melody or his proudly proferred beat. This is where you'll find the hits, and where to begin. If he hits you where you live, or where you wished you live, All Mod Cons is the one his admirers love. I prefer In the City myself. B+