The Gift is the sixth and final studio album by the English rock 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 studio album Sound Affects (1980). The songs were largely recorded during 1981 to 1982, at George Martin's AIR Studios, assisted by Peter Wilson. Generally regarded as the culmination of the smoother sound of the band's later work, it was one of their most successful studio albums, reaching No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart. The song "Carnation" was later covered by Liam Gallagher of Oasis in collaboration with Steve Cradock of Ocean Colour Scene (OCS). 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 moves away from the simpler musical forms of In the City and This Is the Modern World (both 1977) as well as the more melodic All Mod Cons (1978), Setting Sons (1979) and Sound Affects (1980), to demonstrate Weller's love of Northern soul. Funk bass lines and wah-wah guitar effects are often used throughout the album, along with jazz influences such as brass sections and saxophone solos (most notably on the track "Precious") and "Trans-Global Express" which is based on the Northern soul funk hit "So Is the Sun" by the American band 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 (1950) 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 was 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 (and as such, are unsung heroes). Unlike the earlier song "Mr. Clean" from All Mod Cons, Paul Weller does not mock the character, but rather praises him/her. However, the character from "Mr. Clean" represents a completely different stratum of society – the executive and upper management type who would typically hound and otherwise make difficult the life of the character from "Just Who Is the 5 O'Clock Hero?" The riff of the title track was apparently inspired by "Don't Burst My Bubble", a song first recorded by Small Faces in 1968.

Break-up of the Jam

Weller's experimentation with several new musical styles on The Gift contributed to a distancing between him and the Jam's other band members, bassist Bruce Foxton and drummer Rick Buckler, who were uneasy with the move away from the band's former rock and mod revival style. Weller was 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 album reaching number one in the UK Album Chart upon release, during the band's Trans-Global Unity 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 in the West End of London. The posture of each individual is intended to express "Running on the Spot", the opening track on side 2. 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 symbolise 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 became increasingly difficult to find, especially in good condition. Other issues included the regular vinyl issue, the Japanese vinyl issue (with a bonus lyric book), the CD issue, the re-mastered issue, and a later-issued Japanese version in a mini-LP style sleeve.

Track listing

All songs by Paul Weller except where otherwise noted. Side one Side two

Deluxe CD track listing

CD1 CD2

Personnel

The Jam with: Technical

Chart performance

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 200 album charts and reached its peak position of No. 82 in May 1982.