The Jam was evidently an attempt to recreate the guitar-driven aggression, attitude and “mod” style of The Who in their auto-destructive prime, which in 1977 had not really been done before. Like many other dynamic young bands active in mid-70s England, The Jam were quickly signed up by one of many major record labels desperate to cash in on the country’s so-called “punk” revolution. Modern World is an 11-track compilation which collects songs written and recorded by The Jam between 1977 and 1979 and released as 7-inch single sides. An evolution is shown from initial fury to a more sophisticated, but still hard-edged, pop sensibility, peaking with the double-A release “Dreams Of Children”/”Going Underground”, recorded in December 1979.