Before I get to the meat of the very Kinks-like “Man in the Corner Shop,” I’d like to express my deepest appreciation for Bruce Foxton’s outstanding bass part, a masterful mix of melodic counterpart and rhythmic thrust, a “side” contribution that is so damned good that I often tune out the rest of the song to focus solely on what Bruce is up to (kinda like what I do when I tune out the motley crew on early ELO records and just listen to Bev Bevan’s drum parts). This one is right at the top of the list of favorite bass parts along with Entwistle’s performance on “The Real Me.” Weller’s lyrics were also more human and approachable. Several times he makes self-deprecating reference to his 'star' status (Boy About Town) and also the acceptance of the healing power of love (But I'm Different Now). Only on Set The House Ablaze (which sounds like an out take from their previous album, Setting Sons) does he sound like he’s treading water. In 2006, Q placed Sound Affects at number 15 on its list of the "40 Best Albums of the '80s". [21] In 2013, NME ranked Sound Affects at number 487 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. [22] In 2020, Rolling Stone included Sound Affects in their "80 Greatest albums of 1980" list, praising the band for crafting their "finest album", while encapsulating "the classic English songcraft of the Kinks and the Small Faces, singing about working-class anger". [23] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. [24]

But it isn’t. In fact, Sound Affects is one of the band’s finest and most colourful albums, filled to the brim with – despite the often bleak topics – melodies and fun arrangements. Here, the band really tried to move on from their mod-punk style and try their six hands at guitar-pop (“Monday”), Ska experimentation (“Music for the last couple”), and even traces of post-punk (“Set the House ablaze”). The fade features the voice of one Laurent Locher, bass player of Les Lords, a band of punks-turned-mods from Caen who drew a bit of attention during their brief existence but never really caught fire in La Belle France (or anywhere else, for that matter). Weller brought Locher into the fold to translate the last two lines quoted above into French: “ La puissance c’est tout, c’est la puissance dont tu as besoin.”Though it sounds like something Louis XIV could have come up with, I could find no evidence to connect the quote to anyone other than Paul Weller. While some may consider “Scrape Away” kind of a downer ending, I think calling bullshit on cynicism is a beautiful thing indeed.

Sheridan, Tim (2006). "The Jam: Sound Affects". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Universe Publishing. p. 466. ISBN 978-0-7893-1371-3. Sheffield, Rob (1995). "Jam". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp.195–96. ISBN 0-679-75574-8. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1sted.). Helsinki: Tammi. p.221. ISBN 951-31-2503-3. Jam frontman Paul Weller has opined Sound Affects to be the Jam's best album. [2] Influences [ edit ]

Sound Affects sold over 100,000 copies and spent 19 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, rising to number two in late 1980. [6] [7] [8] In the United States, the album spent 11 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and reached its peak position of number 72 in February 1981. [9]url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-jam/1980/manchester-apollo-manchester-england-39f117b.html][img]https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=39f117b[/img][/url]

The Jam very easily could have been the premier British punk band - one only needs parse through one of their ‘greatest hits’ compilations to hear that talent. It’s not that they’re now deprived of respect, but rather that their work never quite measured up against Joy Division or The Clash or Wire’s in such a way as to deem them the clear number one. This record, probably their best, is a premier example; its ‘almost-but-not-quite’-ness sort of feels like self-sabotage. Poll 1980 Results" (PDF). Record Mirror. 10 January 1981. pp.16–17 . Retrieved 15 November 2022– via worldradiohistory.com.

Side one ends with “That’s Entertainment,” a song Paul Weller wrote in ten minutes after getting pissed at a pub, pissed off by the damp on the walls of his flat and disgusted at the squalor of working-class neighborhoods in London: