Setting Sons

By the time Setting Sons arrived in late 1979, The Jam were no longer just another mod revival band — they were a national obsession. Building on the sharp songwriting and cultural bite of All Mod Cons, the trio delivered their most ambitious and politically charged work yet. It stormed to No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart and produced their first top 10 single, The Eton Rifles, a rallying cry that remains one of Paul Weller’s defining moments.

Originally conceived as a concept album about three childhood friends reuniting after a war, Setting Sons only hints at that idea through songs like Thick as Thieves, Little Boy Soldiers and Burning Sky. Still, the record coheres around a sense of loss — of friendship, innocence and idealism — expressed through taut, urgent guitar work and Weller’s increasingly introspective lyrics.

Musically, it’s a step forward. Little Boy Soldiers shifts through multiple movements like a mini rock opera, while Bruce Foxton’s Smithers-Jones gets reimagined with lush strings in place of guitars, adding unexpected depth to the band’s sound. Even the Motown cover Heat Wave — though an outlier — feels like a wink to the group’s soul influences amid the social commentary.

Critics hailed the album’s ambition. AllMusic later called it “often brilliant” and one of The Jam’s best, while Record Mirror awarded it a perfect score. NME ranked it the fourth-best album of 1979, cementing its place among the band’s essential works.

Setting Sons captures The Jam at a pivotal moment — restless, politically aware and brimming with conviction. It’s the sound of a band maturing without losing their fire, marrying social realism with melody and muscle. More than four decades later, its urgency still rings true.