“OK, first point on the agenda: Paul Weller is to win the Lifetime Achievement award this year. Is everyone happy with that?” So started the meeting between the major labels to decide how to divvy out the spoils at this year’s Brit Awards. “That’s good for me, as long as you gimme some awards for James Blunt; we gotta keep that little gravy train rollin’,” said Mr Atlantic/Warner. “Yeah, no arguments from me either, as long as Coldplay get a coupla gongs,” said Mr EMI, wiping flakes from a Danish pastry from his mouth onto a Paul Smith blazer sleeve, “Is that a fair trade or what? Ha! Geddit! Fair Trade? You know, the thing Chris scrubbles on his knuckle, about coffee beans and farms and stuff? No? Well, ahem… let’s move on. Are we settled on Weller? Huh? Hey, Mr Polydor! Mr Poly… where’s he going?”“What do you mean there’s already a ‘Best Of The Jam’ out there?!” Mr Polydor could barely contain his anger as the door of opportunity seemed to slam in his ruddy, breathless face. Then - as bright as his beacon-like cheeks - on flickered the bulb of imagination, jackbooting that door right in: “Right, listen - reissue it. Stick some more tracks on it - I don’t care – JUST MAKE ME SOME ****ING MONEY!”
Which kinda brings us up to date. Basically, ‘Snap!’ has been available for ages. The difference this time around is that it’s been restored to the original running length of 29 tracks that sat on the original 1983 vinyl edition rather than the more streamlined 21 that made up the CD version. Oh, and just as the limited issue of the vinyl release featured 4 bonus tracks recorded at The Jam’s last concert at Wembley in December 1982, we have the same little treat here – get your copy early and you get this rather pointless bonus CD that is 50% covers. So, you can guess what the pitch is – this new edition is exactly the same as the original. Snap indeed.
As opportunist a reissue as this may be, it IS still the best of The Jam and it is still, therefore, ****in’ A. All the hits are here, from the introductory mod-punk of ‘In The City’ to the smoother, piano-driven swansong ‘Beat Surrender’. There goes Weller in Ray Davies’ clothing (‘Mr Clean’, ‘David Watts’). There he goes slashing an angry young man’s blade through the veneer of an increasingly socially unstable Britain (‘Down In The Tube Station At Midnight’, ‘The Eton Rifles’, ‘That’s Entertainment’). Watch him as he shuns the northern soul influence pinned so proudly on to songs such as ‘Town Called Malice’ for a touch of English (‘English Rose’, ‘Funeral Pyre’), and see him show the young Gallagher, Burgess, Mavers et al a thing or two about plagiarism (‘Start!’). In short, sit back/dance/go mental to the sound of one of these isles’ most enduringly popular artist at his most prime, most unfettered, most inspired.
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