Paul Weller is regarded as one of the most important pop music artists of all time in his native UK. Weller is nearly peerless among British musical artists who first came up after the ’60s. His first group, The Jam, along with the Sex Pistols and The Clash, were the most important seminal UK punk bands of the 1970s. Of them all, no other member of any of those groups has had the kind of sustained success, critical acclaim, and singular place in music as Weller.
After The Jam, Weller formed the criminally underrated Style Council. Since their breakup, he has recorded nearly 20 solo studio albums, which have only solidified his stature and following. Unlike many artists to emerge from the 1960s or 1970s, Weller never rests on his laurels, relies on his earliest works in concerts, or seems to be slowing down or losing his touch. The only other English artist who comes to mind who has some of these attributes is Richard Thompson.
After three albums on Polydor in the UK, Weller, now 67, is back on Parlophone, with the album being domestically released here in the US by Warner Bros. The album is somewhat of a follow-up to his 2004 album Studio 150. Both albums are exclusively made up of covers and sometimes focus on songs from artists from the US. Both also have a more stripped-down acoustic and rural feel. It’s American folk and singer-songwriter music played in the smoky basement of an English pub. The difference in the two is that Studio 150 had a more rootsy, even at times blues and R&B feel, while the new album is more lush.
It’s telling that Weller starts off the album with a cover of a Richie Havens song. Havens was one of the most beloved, forceful, and singular artists to emerge out of the Greenwich Village folk scene. His incendiary performing ability was on full display in his live set that opened the Woodstock festival in 1969, and he would successfully transition into the ’70s singer-songwriting genre, although he was more of a song interpreter.
Rather than choose something from one of the earlier or more popular albums of the ’60s or ’70s from Havens, Weller has chosen a song from a 2002 album from Havens entitled Wishing Well, a song that Havens had performed for years but took decades to release on a studio record.
Other songs from American artists from the ’60s and ’70s are included here. There are covers of songs made popular by the Flying Burrito Brothers, with Chris Hillman, a member of that group, playing on the track, which was written by Merle Haggard. From a more non-folk artist, Weller does a song made famous by Bobby Charles, a song written by Charles and Rick Danko (“Small Town Talk”), and takes American rock band Mountain’s song, “One Last Cold Kiss”, which was covered by and most known in England by the Christy Moore version.
There is also “Clive’s Song”, a song by Scottish folk singer Hamish Imlach, which enjoys vocal support by Robert Plant and which is perfect for Plant to help Weller interpret. Another perfect guest is Noel Gallagher, who adds his distinctive guitar sound to “El Dorado.”
There are covers of songs by such British legends as the Bee Gees (“I Started A Joke”), from their earlier, pre-disco period, and, for Weller, the obligatory Ray Davies cover (“Nobody’s Fool”). Along with The Who and maybe The Beatles, The Kinks were the group that most influenced Weller’s time in The Jam.
Showing just how deep Weller’s knowledge is of singer-songwriters, he covers a Brian Protheroe song (“When You Were A King”). Other English artists are also covered here, including folk or folk-derived music, directly or indirectly, from the likes of The Watersons and the Incredible String Band.
Weller chooses almost exclusively to play the part of singer here, with most of the acoustic, or full rock instrumental backing being supplied by Weller’s primary solo years collaborator, Steve Cradock of Ocean Colour Scene. There are also six tracks that add varying degrees of tasteful orchestration.
The 15-track release is the one suggested of the various issues of the album. It comes in a two-album vinyl set, with a nice booklet attached to the inside of the gatefold, extensive liner notes in a double gatefold package, and the lovely ’60s-era Parlophone label on the vinyl albums housed in poly-lined sleeves.
Boasting a career spanning 50 years, Paul Weller remains one of the most respected, yet unassuming and prolific British artists of all time. Like with previous albums, Weller has not only found El Dorado, but a pot of musical gold.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A
