The Jam

This brilliant release uncovered Paul Weller as an ace songwriter and took the Jam from their ranking as a great punk band to a timeless rock group. There isn't a bum track, though classic status has gone to "Mr. Clean," "English Rose" and two completely different epics: "In a Crowd" and "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight." The former is an impressionistic psych-rocker that grows in power, while the latter is a narrative wonder that finds a Ray Davies-style everyman meeting with ugly English brutality. With this, the Clash were the Jam's only real competition as the greatest British band of the era.

Far from the posers cynics believe them to be, these guys are almost painfully sincere, and on this album their desire to write commercial songs that say something is palpable and winning. Unfortunately, their success is mixed at best, and the music is so tentative that I was surprised by how hard they made a set of new material rock in concert. But last year's set rocked even harder. And though I can overlook the record's gaffes and forced lines and faint playing in the aftermath of the show, I'm too much of a cynic to believe the glow will last. (Grade: B)