Bruce Foxton and Russell Hastings have over the years become an almost unmissable attraction on the live circuit performing the music of that iconic band The Jam in the form of ‘From the Jam’. Indeed the live show has been so warmly received it has led to tours as far afield as Australia and New Zealand. And that in turn has led to the ever circling rumors of a reunion of the original band with Paul Weller doing the shouting.
All that being said what should you expect from a live album from what is essentially at least in part a ‘covers band’. Well you might be surprised because as far as capturing the live moment goes this is a pretty faithful document. Not only that, to these ears at least there’s something about the way that Hastings approaches the songs that gives them an extra burst of life.When you add that to the fact that the rest of the band is on fire throughout you have a rather decent live album.
Of course all the hits are there, and there’s an inclusion of many of the songs that Bruce played a significant part in too giving the track-listing a nice slant. ‘David Watts’ for me though is still the go to song, but when an album closes with a trio of ‘Going Underground’, ‘Ton Called Malice’ and ‘The Eaton Rifles’ you do realise that you are listening to rock history and that it’s still out there making some noise!
Get out and get to a gig!