The Gift is the sixth and final studio album by English new wave/mod revival band the Jam. It was originally released on 12 March 1982 by Polydor as the follow-up to the Jam's critically and commercially successful 1980 album Sound Affects. The songs were largely recorded during 1981 to 1982, assisted by Peter Wilson, and is generally regarded as the culmination of the smoother sound of the band's later work. It was one of the band's most successful studio albums, reaching No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart. After the album's release, the Jam disbanded. The song "Carnation" was later covered by Liam Gallagher of Oasis and Steve Cradock of Ocean Colour Scene. A 2-disc deluxe edition of The Gift was released in 2012, to mark the 30th anniversary of the album's release.
Music and lyrics
The album moved away from the simple music of In the City and This Is the Modern World, and the more melodic All Mod Cons, Setting Sons and Sound Affects, to demonstrate Weller's love of northern soul. Funk bass lines and wah-wah guitar effects were often used throughout the album, along with jazz influences such as brass sections and saxophone solos and "Trans-Global Express" which was based on the Northern Soul funk hit "So Is The Sun" by World Column, lifting the chorus and rhythm line in their entirety from that song. Only two songs on the album exceed three and a half minutes. The biggest hit of the album was "Town Called Malice". The song's title riffs on the novel "A Town Like Alice" whilst its lyrics lament disappearing aspects of stereotypical working class life in Margaret Thatcher's Britain. The message is not altogether negative though and the song stands as a potent rallying call to roll with the changes. One of the quintessential "state of the nation" songs in the band's catalogue it is still frequently performed by Weller in concert as a rousing finale to the set. "Just Who Is the 5 O'Clock Hero?", which was released as a 7" vinyl single in the Netherlands only, represents the efforts put in by 9-to-5 working men and women of Britain, who keep society running. Unlike the earlier song "Mr. Clean" from All Mod Cons, Weller does not mock the character, but rather praises him/her. However, the character from "Mr. Clean" represents a completely different strata of society, the executive/upper management types who would typically hound and otherwise make the character from "Just Who Is The 5 O'Clock Hero?"'s life difficult. The riff of the title track was apparently inspired by "Don't Burst My Bubble", a song first recorded by Small Faces in 1968.
Weller's experimentation with several new musical styles on The Gift contributed to a distancing between him and the Jam's other band members, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler, who were uneasy with the move away from Rock/Mod Revival style. Weller himself was also discontented with contractual obligations and had begun feeling as if he were simply writing songs to order. Nine months after the album's release, the band broke up, despite the LP reaching number one in the UK Album Chart upon release, during the band's 'Trans-Global Express Tour' to promote the album.
Cover art
The front cover of The Gift depicts the members of the band standing upon the roof of a building close to Oxford Street. The posture of each individual is intended to replicate his being poised to run. Each member of the band had known the photographs would be separately tinted in the colours of red, amber, and green with the intention being to replicate the three stages of traffic lights. The original release of the album was on 12" vinyl, and initial copies came with a paper bag stating "The Jam... A Gift". These copies are increasingly difficult to find, especially in good condition. Other issues included the regular vinyl issue, the Japanese vinyl issue, the CD issue, the re-mastered issue, and a recently issued Japanese version in a mini-LP style sleeve.
Track listing
All songs by Paul Weller except where otherwise noted:
The Gift spent 25 weeks on the UK album charts, rising to No. 1. In the U.S., the album spent 16 weeks on the Billboard 200album charts and reached its peak position of No. 82 in May 1982.
