''The Gift'' is the sixth and final studio album by the English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

the Jam The Jam were an English rock band formed in 1972 in Woking, Surrey, consisting of Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler. They released 18 consecutive top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in ...

. It was originally released on 12 March 1982 by

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

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 Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producers George Martin, John Burgess (record producer), John Burgess, Ron Richards (producer), Ron Richards, and Peter Sullivan (rec ...

, 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 Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. The song "Carnation" was later covered by

Liam Gallagher William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and co-founder of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis and fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2010 to 2014, before starting a succes ...

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentSteve 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 Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

. Funk bass lines and wah-wah guitar effects are often used throughout the album, along with

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

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 ''A Town Like Alice'' (United States title: ''The Legacy'') is a romance novel by Nevil Shute, published in 1950 when Shute had newly settled in Australia. Jean Paget, a young Englishwoman, becomes romantically interested in a fellow prisoner ...

'' (1950) whilst its lyrics lament disappearing aspects of stereotypical

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

life in

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

'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 , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

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 John William Weller (born 25 May 1958), better known as Paul Weller, is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame in the late 1970s as the guitarist and principal singer and songwriter of the rock band the Jam, alongside ...

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 Small Faces were an English Rock music, rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966 ...

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 Bruce Douglas Foxton (born 1 September 1955) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Foxton's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as bassist and backing vocalist of mod revival band the Jam. ...

and drummer

Rick Buckler Paul Richard Buckler (6 December 1955 – 17 February 2025) was an English musician who was the drummer of the rock band the Jam. Although the Jam's creative output came to be attributed primarily to Paul Weller, its rhythm section of Buckle ...

, who were uneasy with the move away from the band's former rock and

mod revival The mod revival is a subculture that started in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and later spread to other countries (to a lesser degree). The Mod Revival started with disillusionment with the punk scene when commercialism set in. It was f ...

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 Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road via Oxford Circus. It marks the notional boundary between the areas of Fitzrovia and Marylebone to t ...

in the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, Central London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster. It is west of the City of London an ...

. 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.''That's Entertainment: My Life in the Jam'' p. 154 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 # "Happy Together" – 2:51 # "Ghosts" – 2:11 # " Precious" – 4:13 # " Just Who Is the 5 O'Clock Hero?" – 2:15 # "Trans-Global Express" – 3:59 Side two # "Running on the Spot" – 3:06 # "Circus" (

) – 2:11 # "The Planner's Dream Goes Wrong" – 2:19 # "Carnation" – 3:28 # " Town Called Malice" – 2:55 # "The Gift" – 3:08

Deluxe CD track listing

CD1 # "Happy Together" – 2:51 # "Ghosts" – 2:11 # " Precious" – 4:13 # " Just Who Is the 5 O'Clock Hero?" – 2:15 # "Trans-Global Express" – 3:59 # "Running on the Spot" – 3:06 # "Circus" (

) – 2:11 # "The Planner's Dream Goes Wrong" – 2:19 # "Carnation" – 3:28 # " Town Called Malice" – 2:55 # "The Gift" – 3:08 # "Precious 12" Version" – 5:56 # "The Great Depression" – 2:55 # "The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had to Swallow)" – 3:35 # "Pity Poor Alfie /

Fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...

" ( Eddie Cooley/

Otis Blackwell Otis Blackwell (February 16, 1931 – May 6, 2002) was an American songwriter whose work influenced rock and roll. His compositions include "Fever" (recorded by Little Willie John), " Great Balls of Fire" and " Breathless" (recorded by Jerry ...

) – 4:41 CD2 # "Beat Surrender" – 3:28 # "Shopping" – 3:22 # "Move On Up" (

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Dubbed the " Gentle Genius", he is considered one of the most influential musicians of soul and socially conscious Afric ...

) – 3:53 # "Stoned Out of My Mind" ( Eugene Booker Record/ Barbara Jean Acklin) – 3:16 # "War" (

Norman Whitfield Norman Jesse Whitfield (May 12, 1940 – September 16, 2008) was an American songwriter, composer, and producer, who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s. allmusic Biography/ref> He has been credited as one of the creators ...

Barrett Strong Barrett Strong Jr. (February 5, 1941 – January 28, 2023) was an American singer and songwriter known for his recording of "Money (That's What I Want)", which was the first hit single for the Motown record label. He is also known for his songw ...

) – 5:12 # "Pity Poor Alfie" (swing version) – 4:12 # "Skirt" (demo) – 2:46 # "Ghosts" (instrumental) – 2:36 # " Just Who Is the 5 O'Clock Hero?" (demo) – 2:22 # "The Planner's Dream Goes Wrong" (demo) – 2:19 # "Carnation" (instrumental demo) – 1:33 # "Alfie" (demo 2) – 2:39 # "We've Only Started" – 2:36 # "Shopping" (AKA Paul's demo) – 3:23 # " A Solid Bond in Your Heart" (demo) – 3:08

Personnel

The Jam *

– lead vocals and backing vocals, electric guitar *

– bass and backing vocals *

– drums with: *

Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Wilson previously served as a United S ...

– organ on "Trans-Global Express", "Town Called Malice", "Precious" and "The Gift" * Keith Thomas – saxophones * Steve Nichol – trumpet * Russ Henderson – percussion and steel drums Technical * Brian Robson, David Woolley, Renate Blauel – engineer * Twink, Kevin Cummins – photography

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 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...

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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gift, The 1982 albums The Jam albums Polydor Records albums