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The Jam: All Mod Cons (Polydor)

Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 17 May 1979

FOR TWO albums, the Jam made leader Paul Weller's obsession with Pete Townshend and the early Who stand up as an acceptable substitute for personal vision. With All Mod Cons, Weller makes his move. The trouble is he can't decide between branching out into Ray Davies and the Kinks' bogus nostalgia for things never known or becoming an illiterate version of Bryan Ferry. The result is a record that's nearly catastrophic, weak at the surface and almost rotten underneath.

Total word count of piece: 443

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