The Jam – This Is The Modern World

I have this promo pressed at Columbia's Pitman plant, and it is pretty knackered. Lots of scratches and the grooves look dull and grey. Visually, I grade it G. But you know what? It still sounds fantastic. And I don't mean that the lousy condition adds "character" or some nonsense. No, the music itself still sounds great. Very full and detailed, with no distortion. Each individual element still pops out of the speakers. Even the vocals are completely unscathed, and they are usually the first thing to go on copies like this. There wasn't even any inner-groove distortion. I have heard plenty of NM records with inner-groove distortion on the same setup. There is some surface noise, particularly between songs and during quiet intros, but even then, nothing really that glaring. Kind of just average surface noise like you'd find on most VG copies.

It is often said that promo copies were on better vinyl which would hold up better to frequent plays on radio (in the case of this copy, WMSC - Montclair State University's station). That definitely seems to be the case here. Clearly played to death, but with plenty of life left. Plus the tapes were likely "fresher" when the lacquers for this copy were cut. Interestingly, there are no big-name runout inscriptions. No "STERLING" or "MASTERDISK" or "TML" or any cutting engineer initials. The matrices end in and 1. But whatever "no-name" engineer cut this did a hell of a job.

I would love to hear a NM copy. However, it is worth noting that this US edition rearranges the tracks and features the single edit of the title track ("Don't give a damn" instead of "Don't give two f**ks"). It does add the excellent "All Around The World," though. The UK edition is obviously what the band intended, and I have to imagine a 1st UK pressing will best any US pressing, promo or retail. But if you see this US promo at a good price and want the album in some form, I would grab it, even if it is not the cleanest copy. All copies play differently, but a VG copy (two grades up from mine) will likely blow you away!

One other note. I have listened to this record over the years as I have upgraded my stylus profile - from elliptical, to MicroLine, to Special Line (all Audio-Technica styli). It has sounded great with each!