The Jam - The Gift Super Deluxe Edition

Got the super deluxe and on Disc One, "War" is an alternate version and "Stoned Out Of My Mind" is an alternate mix. I think these are both previously unissued and likely used in error.

 

The version of War was the original B side (along with The Great Depression) of Just Who Is the 5 O'Clock Hero? I prefer this version to the one on Beat Surender.

Stoned Out of My Mind is an alternate - and inferior - version. Interesting to hear Weller trying to replicate the Chi-Lites falsetto. His voice cracks at one point, and this particular take lacks the soul and spirit of both the original (which is PG-rated S & M soul to me - the singers almost delighting at the object of their affection treating them like crap ) , and the resigned weariness he brought to the more familiar version. I love his voice on that, sounding both weary and jaded, resigned to the pain of a duplicitous relationship - not to mention self-medicated, as the song implies.

 

You are right about War. Also comparing the new CD to my original UK Polydor from 1982. The stereo channels are reversed.

 

For Those looking to get into the Jam:
6 CD repackage, released Dec 3, 2012
Includes the following six albums: 'In the City' (1977), 'This Is the Modern World' (1977), 'All Mod Cons' (1978), 'Setting Sons' (1979), 'Sound Affects' (1980) and 'The Gift' (1982).
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Classic-Album-Selection-The-Jam/dp/B009F89FK4/ref=pd_sim_m_h__10

 

I beg to differ - the version of War isn't the same mix as the Just Who is b-side. Very similar but not the same.

 

Longer for a start on the Deluxe.

 

So, has the original mix of War actually ever been released on CD?

 

I think this is actually the first time it's appeared on a CD in any sort of form. Happy to be proved wrong though.

On a slightly related note,has the original 1981 7" vinyl mix of Funeral Pyre ever been released on CD? I know the remixed version is on Snap/Compact Snap.....

 

i haven't seen anyone review the Live CD from Wembley yet.
i have the other date on a very good sounding bootleg CD,is the official one a lot better?

 

Not that I'm aware of.

 

Yes, it has. You can find it on a budget compilation called Beat Surrender, the second singles box set, The Very Best of The Jam, The Jam Gold.

I personally prefer the remix.

 

What are the differences if any between the original mix and the remix?

 

I've played it exactly once. It's alright - if you can get past Afrodiziak's (mostly) unnecessary backing vocals all over it. You can pretty much hear why Weller broke the band up. The Copenhagen show's better.

 

They're minor. To a layman's ears - the remix sounds a lot harder and darker than the single. The rhythm section is more upfront. Weller's guitar is mixed down a notch. All in all far more powerful. The single was a biut of a damp squib when originally released.

On a side note, the closing couplet (almost drowned out by the drums) - "Well I feel so old and I feel so young, and I just can't grow up to meet the demands" - is very revealing. Weller's cry for help.

 

Still got to number 4 in the charts didn't it I think?

 

It did. Straight in. Hung around for a couple of weeks and dropped out. I like the song, but lyrically it covered much the same ground Set The House Ablaze did, right down to the fire as analogy to fascism.

 

I prefer the remix too. One of my favorite Jam singles, actually -- it does tread some ground that Weller had before as Frank says, but I think it does it better and more powerfully.

 

Love that almost "metallic" bass sound. Love to hear some demos of Funeral Pyre.

 

According to Camrock at http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/the-jam-%E2%80%93-the-paul-weller-creation-discussion-part-1.195045/page-32#post-4851284

OK, "Funeral Pyre" version roundup so we can get it out of the way: I am happy to be told I'm wrong here, but I think the Snap! mix appears only on Compact Snap!, the 2006 Snap! and Hit Parade.

All other CD versions I have appear to me to feature the original mix (or at least the same mix as one another), including Direction, the singles box, the 1991 Greatest Hits, the budget compilations and the 1997 Very Best of the Jam.

And incidentally a very useful roundup of the availabilty of other Jam single versions a few posts later http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...discussion-part-1.195045/page-32#post-4851519

 

Warning for anyone interested in the cheapo 2Cd Deluxe edition - Amazon's description and track listings are incorrect. In fact several tracks on the first 2 CDs of the Super Deluxe edition have been removed from the Deluxe. The correct track listing is

Disc One
1. Happy Together
2. Ghosts
3. Precious
4. Just Who Is The 5 O'Clock Hero?
5. Trans-Global Express
6. Running On The Spot
7. Circus [Instrumental]
8. The Planner's Dream Goes Wrong
9. Carnation
10. Town Called Malice
11. The Gift
12. Precious [12'' Extended Version]
13. The Great Depression
14. The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow)
15. Pity Poor Alfie / Fever
Disc Two
1. Beat Surrender
2. Shopping
3. Move On Up
4. Stoned Out Of My Mind
5. War [First Version]
6. Pity Poor Alfie / Fever [Remixed Swing Version]
7. Skirt [Demo]
8. Ghosts [Instrumental Demo]
9. Just Who Is The 5 O'Clock Hero? [Demo]
10. The Planner's Dream Goes Wrong [Demo ''Plans Go Wrong'']
11. Carnation [Instrumental Demo]
12. Alfie [Demo 2]
13. We've Only Started [Old Version]
14. Shopping ['Paul's Demo']
15. Solid Bond In Your Heart ['Paul's Demo']

The missing six tracks can be downloaded quite cheaply as mp3s. but this is annoying.

 

Actually made a disc dub of my original UK 7" of Funeral Pyre and unfortunately the mixes on the Singles Box 2 and Gold compilations are both the Snap! remix (despite labelling). The give away is the reverb on the snare - there is more of it on the remix vs. the original single.

 

For the second time this week on here, I stand corrected. You are absolutely right. Amazing how your eyes can tell your ears to hear something that isn't there, no? Or maybe my ears are as f-cked as my wife tells me.

I still think the remix sounds better though.

 

So how does the remaster stack up against the original disc? Are the channels actually reversed?

 

Anyone get this Super Deluxe Set and if so what are your thoughts?

 

If you find it cheap, by all means get it, but it's far from essential. The remaster isn't as bad as the Sound Affects one, but there's a bit of unnecessary revisionism going on - the volume's cranked up and the channels have been reversed. I've played the demos disc once the whole way through. Same with the live disc, which is sterile. Shame they didn't record the fractious final gig, where bottles were thrown, Weller phoned in his performance and Bruce berated the audience. That could have been The Jam's Metallic KO.

You'll find the contents of the DVD on YouTube - and more. One of the most disappointing aspects of the box is the absence of the complete Transglobal Express show from Bingley Hall. The rough cut is available on bootleg, including the soundcheck and some backstage shots.