The Jam - Setting Sons - Eton Rifles

Setting Sons is the fourth studio album by British band The Jam. The group’s critical and commercial favour, begun with their third album, All Mod Cons, continued through this album. “The Eton Rifles“ became the group’s first top 10 UK hit, peaking at #3. In contrast to its pop-oriented predecessor, this album features a much harder, tougher production, albeit with the overarching melodicism common throughout The Jam’s discography. Arguably, this is the Jam’s most thematically ambitious LP. Singer, guitarist, and songwriter Paul Weller originally conceived Setting Sons as a concept album about three boyhood friends who later reunite as adults after an unspecified war only to discover they have grown up and apart. The concept was never fully developed, and it remains unclear which tracks were originally intended as part of the story, though it is commonly agreed that “Thick As Thieves“, “Little Boy Soldiers“, “Wasteland“, and “Burning Sky“ are likely constituents; extant Jam bootlegs feature a version of “Litt