Rickenbacker sent me:
The Jam - All Mod Cons
I had never listened to anything by the Jam before Rick sent me this, so I was pretty excited going into it. From the first song, I thought I could tell what I was in for. The familiar sounds of 70's punk started playing in my headphones. This isn't a bad thing since I happen to love punk from this era. At the start, I could compare them to the Clash with a lot of hints of the Who stuck in. As the album played on, though, I could tell these guys really had a great pop sensibility. This is smart punk music right here. They could be tearing through your typical punk lick and then nail something that sounds fit for pop radio.
There isn't really one particular song that stands out, the album pretty much works as a whole for me. Sadly, that works against the album for me a little bit. Not too much, since it makes this an album I can just happily stick on and not worry about. I would, however, have loved a couple songs to just go to and be able to play for people curious about them. Maybe those songs will reveal themselves after a few more listens (and I think this album deserves that).
All in all, solid album, Rick. You definitely sent me something I have been meaning to get more into. I have quite a superficial knowledge of that era's punk music. I listen to all the standards, but have nothing past those. This is a happy addition to my collection. 7/10