djw
Unionize!
Posts: 40
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The Jam
Dec 14, 2006 6:50:41 GMT -5
Post by djw on Dec 14, 2006 6:50:41 GMT -5
An obvious band to discuss here, I know, but I'm a huge fan. The Redskins crossovers are many, from the Steve Nichol (and later Steve White) connection to the fact that Redskins so very nearly signed to Respond Records. I've often thought that so much of The Gift album could have been Redskins tracks, such is the similarity of sentiment and sound. Comments anyone?
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The Jam
Dec 14, 2006 10:31:19 GMT -5
Post by Bazza on Dec 14, 2006 10:31:19 GMT -5
A lot of Redskins song titles appear in the Jam book 'A Beat Concerto'. It's in an X Moore review of the live Jam album 'Dig The New Breed'.
This is what Martin Hewes said about The Jam in his interview for the Redskins website from October 2003.
The creative process was relatively straightforward. We would jam around riffs and chord structures to make arrangements based on guitar, bass and drums. As songs began to take on a definitive structure, Chris would write lyrics and work out the vocals. The idea of using a brass section was initiated when we did our first Peel session. We were listening to a lot of soul and funk at the time and we were also really into the Jam circa 'Town Called Malice'. Consequently, we thought it would be a good idea to see what a brass section would sound like with our music. It worked so we stuck with it!
I think the other important issue with the band's sound was that we really put our hearts into our performances. At the end of the day there is really no substitute for passion. We were not particularly good musicians but no one really seemed bothered because we put all our energy into live performances. Also, and maybe most importantly, it was obvious to people who came to see the band that we actually meant the things we were talking about.
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djw
Unionize!
Posts: 40
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The Jam
Dec 24, 2006 23:37:33 GMT -5
Post by djw on Dec 24, 2006 23:37:33 GMT -5
Carring on from a post of mine from the Redskins forum, another (admitedly obscure) Jam connection is that one of 100 Men (featuring Bruce Foxton on bass)'s unreleased tracks was called 'Redskins'...
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toshi
Reds Strike The Blues
http://oiofjapan.blogspot.com
Posts: 60
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The Jam
Jan 26, 2007 23:29:44 GMT -5
Post by toshi on Jan 26, 2007 23:29:44 GMT -5
I think "Smithers-Jones" is one of The Jam's best songs. I was astonished to know Foxton (not Weller) wrote such a song. By the way, who is "Smithers-Jones"? What does the lyrics mean?
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scotto
Reds Strike The Blues
Posts: 90
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The Jam
Jan 31, 2007 12:58:14 GMT -5
Post by scotto on Jan 31, 2007 12:58:14 GMT -5
I always assumed that Smithers-Jones was supposed to be an everyman sort of character (could be any worker)--"Smith" and "Jones" are common, sort of generic names in English . . . like "Kim" in Korea. Hence the idiomatic phrase "Keeping up with the Joneses" is about keeping up economically with any average family.
Stiff Little Fingers now play the song in their set since Foxton has joined them on bass.
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The Jam
Jan 31, 2007 14:57:59 GMT -5
Post by hooligan69 on Jan 31, 2007 14:57:59 GMT -5
I thought Foxton was gone from SLF...
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scotto
Reds Strike The Blues
Posts: 90
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The Jam
Jan 31, 2007 17:04:56 GMT -5
Post by scotto on Jan 31, 2007 17:04:56 GMT -5
Oops, you're right, so I doubt SLF will continue doing smithers-jones. You can hear the SLF version on "Pure Fingers" (live in 93) and as a bonus track on the US release of the "Get a Life" cd.
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The Jam
Jan 31, 2007 17:11:39 GMT -5
Post by Bazza on Jan 31, 2007 17:11:39 GMT -5
I thought Foxton was gone from SLF... Yeah, Bruce Foxton has left SLF and now plays in The Casbah Club along with Pete Townshend's brother Simon. Bruce is also in a Jam tribute band with Rick Buckler. That band used to be called The Gift but has since changed it's name to Bruce Foxton & Rick Buckler's The Jam.
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The Jam
Feb 1, 2007 15:47:24 GMT -5
Post by hooligan69 on Feb 1, 2007 15:47:24 GMT -5
I managed to catch SLF live once while Foxton was in the band. It was a cool show yet very weird at the same time as it was a week or two after I saw Paul Weller in concert.
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The Jam
Feb 1, 2007 22:54:38 GMT -5
Post by rotefront on Feb 1, 2007 22:54:38 GMT -5
It may interest you guys to know that I was almost fired by my job late in '06. I knew it was going to happen and coincidentally I happened to have "Smithers-Jones" on my playlist at the time. (My Union rep helped broker a truce with the powers that be). It was comforting in an odd way. That said, I've never felt the need to collect much Jam stuff beyond "Snap".
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djw
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Posts: 40
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The Jam
Feb 5, 2007 21:37:14 GMT -5
Post by djw on Feb 5, 2007 21:37:14 GMT -5
Yeah, Bruce and Rick are playing now as "Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler's The Jam", which either great news or a travesty, depending on your viewpoint. The guy playing the Weller role is Russ Hastings. It's a step up from the Casbah Club, who are, in my opinion, quite awful. The other two members of CC are ex Big Country. Most consider Smithers-Jones to be Bruce's finest addition to The Jam's arsenal. All up, it probably is, but News Of The World, Carnaby Street, Innocent Man and Best Of Both Worlds are all worthy contributions. The less said about The Night and London Traffic the better. Bruce has often acknowledged that he is a capable composer of music, but no great shakes as a lyricist. He's pretty on the ball there, but it can't have been easy when your efforts will always have to stand up with the greatest lyricist to come along in a generation, Paul Weller.
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djw
Unionize!
Posts: 40
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The Jam
Feb 5, 2007 21:39:24 GMT -5
Post by djw on Feb 5, 2007 21:39:24 GMT -5
Sorry, another point regarding Smithers-Jones, Weller actually wrote the final verse - the "put on the kettle" bit, which, to some, makes the song the classic it is.
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