In the year between Sound Affects (1980) and The Gift (1982), The Jam teased its legion of fans with singles and b-sides that revealed a band exploring new sounds.
"Funeral Pyre" had the power to rock stadiums. "Absolute Beginners" sounded like brassy R&B celebration unless you listened closely to the lyrics: Come see the tyrants panic see their crumbling empires fall/
Then tell 'em we don't fight for fools, 'cos love is in our hearts!
I'm assuming anyone who has stumbled on this site has at least a greatest hits album by The Jam. ( They put out a new one every six months). So Song #33 is the fan club version of the B-Side to "Absolute Beginners".( Yes, 1001Songs can get nerdy about its Jam).
"Tales From the Riverbank" is a nostalgic look back at more innocent times, accompanied by a menacing bass line. Rather than fade in as the original B side does, this funkier version kicks off with drums and features horns. It's much closer to the live version above and was only made available in 2002 on CD 5 of the box set Direction Reaction Creation.
Exciting news. I've contributed my second guest post to the popular music blog, Star Maker Machine
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