As rock musicians from Pete Townshend to Ray Davies could tell you, growing up in public is no piece of crumpet. Especially if the rest of the musicians you work with aren't growing in the same direction. While tension can bring out the best in a band, it also shortens the shelf life of the average rock & roll aggregation considerably. This, alas, was also the case with the Jam. Although the group started out as mod revivalists, leader and primary songwriter Paul Weller soon began to feel constricted by the limitations of the guitar/bass/drums palette and by the reluctance of bassist Bruce Foxton and drummer Richard Buckler to abandon the group's signature sound. By the time of the band's last true album, THE GIFT, the rift was evidently irreparable. However, THE GIFT stands on its own not as a chronicle of the Jam's dissolution, but as a hint of the soundscapes Weller would next explore. And with material as good as the title tune, "Coronation", and especially the Motown-flavored "Town Called Malice," who cares if the band didn't get along?

• Genre: Rock and Pop
• Format: Vinyl
• Released: 12/13/2011