The Gift (Deluxe Edition)

With their sixth and final album, The Gift, The Jam were clearly a band whose ideas and ambitions were outgrowing their limited power-trio format. Leader Paul Weller’s growing interest in the smoother realm of R&B and soul music would lead to the formation of The Style Council without Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler. Here, the band can be heard moving away from the brutal, beautifully clipped new wave/punk/mod sound into the kind of dexterous playing preferred by The Police on tunes like “Happy Together” and “Precious.” Sublime, understated beauty runs through “Ghosts,” and a very ‘80s groove kicks though “Town Called Malice.” The deluxe edition adds the 12” extended versions of “Precious” and “The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had to Swallow),” a passionate version of Curtis Mayfield’s “Move On Up,” an odd take on Edwin Starr’s “War,” and plenty of demos that yield more insights into the band's final days.