Album Of The Week: The 45th Anniversary Of 'In The City' By The Jam
When Paul Weller was only 18 he released his debut album with The Jam, and the rest, as they say, is history
1977 was quite a remarkable year for album releases that have since reached seminal status and one of those surely has to be the debut album by The Jam - 'In The City'. In the same year that Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler burst on to the effervescent music scene of the late 70's the Sex Pistols released 'Never Mind The B******s, Here's the Sex Pistols', Pink Floyd released 'Animals', Fleetwood Mac released 'Rumours' and Meatloaf released 'Bat Out Of Hell'.
The mix of artists, genres and styles populating the charts and setting the tone were as wildly disparate as they've ever been. Kraftwerk were pioneering their electronica, David Bowie was mid way through his Berlin trilogy on 'Heroes', Disco dance floors were being filled with the likes of Chic, Rose Royce, Donna Summer and The Bee Gees and ground breaking albums seemed to arrive every week. Already in 1977 The Damned had released 'Damned Damned Damned', the Clash had released their eponymous debut and Talking Heads had dropped 'Talking Heads 77'. Still to come was Ian Dury's 'New Boots And Panties', Wire's 'Pink Flag' and Iggy Pop's 'Lust For Life'. To make your mark in the late '70's you needed to be something special and The Jam were just that.
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