Capt Oi / Mod Ska
1980
So Far Away
About This Album
In later years, the Chords were often cursorily dismissed as little more than Jam copyists, and while there's no denying that the two groups traveled in very similar musical waters, both drawing from the British beat and Northern soul that filled their youths and sending it soaring through the prism of punk, it's there that the comparisons end. While Paul Weller coyly played footsy with both the punk and mod scenes, refusing to commit to either, there was no doubt that his soul lay with the latter, and regardless of the trio's aggressive punk-fueled delivery, his lyrics lacked punk's burning fury. Regardless of the class warfare related in "Eton Rifles," the racism reflected in "Down in the Tube Station," or the alienation of "Strange Town," no matter his country's evident flaws (and Weller etched them vividly), he still couldn't shake his love of his homeland and optimistic hope that her problems would eventually be solved. Guitarist and songwriter Chris Pope refused to see the world through the Jam's English rose-colored glasses, turning his own equally eloquent pen to scathing vignettes virtually the flip of Weller's own. In this respect, the Jam comparisons are red herrings, for if anything, Pope played the snottier, rebellious younger brother to Weller's more respectful good son.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 and 17)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.