To abuse either of these two fine choices would be a sin worthy of a firing squad. Having seen both bands live on several occasions and having spent small fortunes on collecting the albums, I feel my opinion on this subject should be treated as the casting vote nay even the law.
1979, The Rainbow, The Jam at their very best. Weller walking on stage with a can of lager and smoking a Rothmans, saluted the crowd with a raising of the can and going straight into Smithers Jones was quality. They played for over 90 minutes, two encores and nearly brought the house down with their version of 'Heatwave' At the time there was no other band worthy of a mention in my book and The Jam were Gods. I dressed like them, had my hair cut like Weller, smoked Rothmans and even purchased a Heinz 57 apron because the godlike Weller wore one once on TOTP's.
And then I heard a Floyd song.
Everything changed. The power, the genius, the diversity, I was transfixed. The seemingly effortless guitar work of Gilmore and the timeless lyrics of Waters, it was heaven to my ears. The albums just got better and better. Pipers at the Gates of Dawn was Barrett at his drug induced best. Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here are still considered masterpieces of music and of course lets not forget The Wall. Animals, Relics, Atom Heart Mother, all musical trend setters for the eras they were produced. And how many bands could pull off Live in Pompei and no bugger was there? They just messed about with different sounds and created pure genius. Floyd wrote about their lives and experiences and put them in your head.
"And kind old King George sent Mother a note when he heard that Father was gone.
It was, as I recall, in a form of a scroll, with gold leaf and all.
And I found it one day in a drawer of old photographs, hidden away.
And my eyes still grow damp to remember, His Majesty signed with his own rubber stamp."
The above was in memory of Waters father who died at Anzio during WWII. In fact the entire Wall album was a testament to people and events that Waters had known. How long was it before you guessed who Pink really was?
It has to be Pink Floyd, musical genius and more staying power.
And besides, Paul Weller turned into a wa*ker.
