Shortly after disbanding The Jam, Paul Weller founded the Style
Council, which had much more of a blue-eyed soul vibe while continuing with
socially-conscious lyrics in much of its material. Like its predecessor, the
band racked up numerous hits in England, but it also managed to have some
modest success in the U.S., getting as high as #29 with this one and reaching
#76 with follow-up release “You’re The Best Thing”.
Monday, December 17, 2018
#194 That’s Entertainment – The Jam (1981)
British “mod revival/punk rock” band The Jam was huge at home, but got
limited airplay in the States and failed to dent the Hot 100 even once. At some
point when the BMG Music Club still existed, I picked up their greatest-hits
collection, based on two of their songs I had heard and liked: this one, and “A Town Called Malice”, which was featured prominently in the movie version of Billy Elliot. Quite frankly, none of the
17 other British hits on the CD did much for me, but these two still hold up.
Both are catchy, but the largely acoustic “That’s Entertainment” has more
coherent (as well as more intelligible) lyrics.
#193 Sideways Walkin’ Dog – Zachary Smith & The Dixie Power Trio (2007)
Zachary Smith & The Dixie Power Trio is a wonderful Virginia-based
band that, sadly, doesn’t get up to the Rockville area nearly as often as it
used to. While probably best known for their zydeco (the album that this track
starts off is entitled Zydeco Dog), their music also includes a mix of “Cajun,
New Orleans jazz, funk, street parade, and rock”. “Sideways Walkin’ Dog” is
5:43 worth of funk-flavored jazz, and has been picked up as a favorite of a
number of high school jazz bands.
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