The Gift is the kind of solid but unspectacular effort that will mean a lot to fans but little to the unconverted.

Paul Weller is still absorbed in the plight of the British workers, and the closing tracks on each side offer solutions: on side one, "'Trans-Global Express," posits an international workers strike, while the little track makes the simpler, funkier suggestion. "Groove groove—to the beat of this drum." But the former song's ambitious lyrics are buried beneath the most pointlessly murky sound on the record, while the Jam's funk workouts are their least assured and most overextended outings. What's left, though, is a varied and enjoyable Jam record, highlighted by "Running on the Spot" and "Town Called Malice." On these tunes, Weller's complaints find the big, full sound that matches their fervor. It'll probably put them at the top of a few more English polls, but...