You might think it's a case of everything old is new again, but from where I'm sitting there are some things that just don't go away. The Jam emerged from the ruck of the Punk/New Wave explosion and went on to forge a career that outlasted most of their notional peers, and managed to work it into significant commercial success along the way. A glance at the Compilations section of the discography suggests on-going commercial viability.
Some of that is probably due to the continuing success of former Jam frontman Paul Weller, but I can't help thinking sharp suited mod revivalists writing songs with sharp hooks and pointed lyrics are never going to go totally out of fashion.
You might dismiss someone like Weller (or, for that matter, the early Graham Parker or Elvis Costello) as angry young men, but there was plenty to be angry about.
There still is, and that's one of the reasons these things don't quietly fade away.
The Jam's blend of mainstream 60s rock and R&B elements with punkish sensibility delivered them eighteen consecutive Top 40 singles in Britain, with four number one hits. Six studio albums did just as well, though most of them managed to slip past Hughesy's collection during The Wilderness Years, possibly because they were a little too English to attract attention in the United States or Australia, though that last bit has me scratching the old noggin.
Surely, you'd think as your cast your mind back over the late seventies and early eighties, what they were turning out would have fitted into the formula for Countdown (for example). Maybe there was some issue between Messrs Weller and Meldrum early on in the piece. Possibly Weller's mixture of leftist leanings and his inclination towards agitation and propaganda didn't sit well with Australian sensibilities. Or maybe he was just too English, or too obviously English.
Anyway, that's something that needs to be pondered as we make our way through the six albums as presented, complete with (I assume) replica gatefold sleeves in the 2012 Classic Album Collection. What's not in doubt is the fact that he delivered a classy line in three-minute, hook-driven sixties-influenced power pop, did it consistently for five or six years with The Jam, and continued to work similar territory long after the band broke up.