The Jam at the BBC captures the heyday of one of Britain's classic bands. Twenty-five years ago this year, with a snotty little ditty called "In the City", The Jam--angry young men in undersized school uniforms, featuring a singer with a seemingly permanent pair of blocked sinuses--introduced their vibrant young proletarian vitriol to the refuge-strewn streets of jubilee punk Britain. Time then, in typically silver-esque anniversary fashion, to celebrate two-and-a-half decades of Weller and co with this portable three-CD box set of rarely-heard sessions from the secretively-maintained BBC archives.

Inevitably, there are plenty of rough and ready spleen-venting Peel sessions to pick from and even if Weller does now recoil with terror at the very memory of his early, politically expressed naivety, at least he wore his "working class pride" badge--scoffing at the toffs on the memorable "Eton Rifles"--in a far more communicatory competent and less laughable manner than, say, Sham 69. And it's probably true to say that listening to their finest ever moment, "Down in the Tube Station" (the version here comes from an appearance on the much-missed "In Concert" series, broadcast in June 1978) is enough to put you off late-night takeaway curries and public transport for life. All in all, there are some 56 tracks drawn from sessions and live shows, encompassing the years 1977 to 1981 and thereby concluding with the introduction of brass, borrowed Beatles bass riffs, blue-eyed soul and ski-influenced knitwear. If the songs themselves don't jolt a few fresh memories, the info-packed booklet--interviews, photos, memorabilia--is sure to refresh every ardent Jam fan's enthusiasm. --Kevin Maidment