Admittedly I a) have never really given a shit about The Jam although All Mod Cons is pretty cool, b) was not alive when this was released, and c) am not British, so Weller's transition from beloved mod revival punk rocker into cornball sophisti-popper has no way of upsetting or disappointing me- especially when becoming said cornball popper gave him the freedom to write songs as undeniably great as Long Hot Summer. And as a non-fan of The Jam, I find the famous national disappointment weird because I heard traces of white boy soul and new wave through the (admittedly polarizing) The Gift. Introducing has Weller introducing (yep) his new sound to the world as a mini-LP so as to soften the blow of a full-length a year later. That's right, he's serious, and having taken two years to get used to that, people started to warm up to it with 1985's Our Favourite Shop. But I'm here for Long Hot Summer. I went in thinking that the others would just be extras, but I didn't think I'd be so right. Two bland (maybe they sounded good in the 80s) "club" remixes so you can take your dinner party to the club if you feel like it, two more beloved singles, and a few rough sketches. I dunno. Maybe it all comes down to charm. And I am charmed! But I also love Long Hot Summer so much that charm can't save me from the disappointment at not finding a few more songs of that quality here
C+
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