This Is the Modern World

This Is the Modern World
Studio album by the Jam
Released	18 November 1977
Recorded	25 August – 21 September 1977
Studio	Basing Street, London
Genre	New wave[1][2] mod revival rock
Length	31:19
Label	Polydor
Producer	Vic Coppersmith-Heaven Chris Parry
The Jam chronology
In the City (1977) This Is the Modern World (1977) All Mod Cons (1978)
Singles from This Is the Modern World
"The Modern World" Released: 28 October 1977

This Is the Modern World is the second studio album by British band the Jam, released in November 1977. The album was released less than six months after their debut album In the City,[3] and reached No. 22 on the UK Albums Chart.

Although generally met with negative reviews by music critics upon release, This Is the Modern World has been described as being an album "with far more light and shade" than In the City.[4]

The only single from This Is the Modern World was the censored version of "The Modern World", which peaked at No. 36 on the UK Singles Chart.[5]

Cover photography

The photography for the album was taken by Gered Mankowitz and David Redfern. The front cover depicts the band standing beneath London's Westway.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[8]
Pitchfork	8.0/10[9]
Q	[10]
Record Mirror	[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[12]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	6/10[13]
The Village Voice	B+[14]

The New York Times praised "the kind of ability to vary rock's basic signatures without departing from its stylistic essentials."[15]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Paul Weller, except where noted

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Modern World"		2:31
2.	"London Traffic"	Bruce Foxton	1:49
3.	"Standards"		2:29
4.	"Life from a Window"		2:52
5.	"The Combine"		2:20
6.	"Don't Tell Them You're Sane"	Bruce Foxton	3:40

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"In the Street, Today"	Paul Weller, Dave Waller	1:31
2.	"London Girl"		2:40
3.	"I Need You (For Someone)"		2:41
4.	"Here Comes the Weekend"		3:30
5.	"Tonight at Noon"		3:01
6.	"In the Midnight Hour"	Steve Cropper, Wilson Pickett	1:54
Total length:			31:19

Original US release

1. "The Modern World"
2. "All Around the World"
3. "I Need You (For Someone)"
4. "London Traffic" (Bruce Foxton)
5. "Standards"
6. "Life from a Window"
7. "In the Midnight Hour" (Steve Cropper, Wilson Pickett)
8. "In the Street, Today" (Paul Weller, Dave Waller)
9. "London Girl"
10. "Here Comes the Weekend"
11. "The Combine"
12. "Tonight at Noon"
13. "Don't Tell Them You're Sane" (Bruce Foxton)

The US release had a different track order, included the "censored" single version of "The Modern World", and added the single "All Around the World" which was released in the UK between their first two albums. "All Around the World" had been their biggest UK hit to date, peaking at No. 13, a placement they would not match until 1979 when "The Eton Rifles" peaked at No. 3.[5] Thereafter, no domestically released single by the Jam would ever reach a peak position lower than No. 4.[5]

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[16]

The Jam

• Paul Weller – vocals, guitar, harmonica
• Bruce Foxton – bass guitar, vocals
• Rick Buckler – drums

Technical

• Vic Coppersmith-Heaven – production, engineering
• Chris Parry – production
• Hedgehog Design – artwork
• Conny Jude – illustration
• Bill Smith – art direction, design
• Gered Mankowitz – front cover photography
• David Redfern – back cover photography

Charts

Chart (1977–78)	Peak position
UK Albums (OCC)[17]	22
US Bubbling Under the Top LPs (Billboard)[18]	1

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[19]	Silver	60,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Reed, John (1996). Paul Weller: My Ever Changing Moods. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857120496. In half a year, the Jam sound had evolved considerably - and for that alone, the LP was an achievement. Weller once spoke of the album as their attempt to "cross over" into new wave - "the pop music of the Seventies," as he called it. They were patently keen to progress beyond the punk mould of In the City, as evidenced by the melodic rush of Paul's slower, more contemplative songs and the cover photo by legendary Sixties photographer Gered Mankowitz.
2. de Whalley, Chas (17 October 2007). "When you're young". Record Collector.
3. Lester, Paul (December 1998). "Last Man Standing". Uncut. No. 19. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
4. Reed, John (1997). This Is the Modern World (CD liner notes). The Jam (reissue ed.). Polydor Records. 537 418-2.
5. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 277. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
6. "The Jam '1977' 40th Anniversary Box Set To Be Released This October". 20 October 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
7. Woodstra, Chris. "This Is the Modern World – The Jam". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 July 2005.
8. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Jam". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
9. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (20 October 2017). "The Jam: In the City / This Is the Modern World / The Polydor Demos: February 1977 / Live 1977 + John Peel Sessions". Pitchfork. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
10. "The Jam: This Is the Modern World". Q. No. 365. November 2016. p. 117.
11. Cain, Barry (19 November 1977). "This is the modern world". Record Mirror. p. 12.
12. Sheffield, Rob (2004). "The Jam". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 416–17. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
13. Sheffield, Rob (1995). "Jam". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 195–96. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
14. Christgau, Robert (30 January 1978). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
15. Rockwell, John (6 January 1978). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. p. C11.
16. This Is the Modern World (liner notes). The Jam. Polydor Records. 1977. 2383 475.
17. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
18. "Bubbling Under the Top LPs". Billboard. Vol. 90, no. 5. 4 February 1978. p. 30. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
19. "British album certifications – The Jam – This Is the Modern World". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 5 November 2020.