Paul Weller: Hit Parade
The compilation album covers 30 years of groundbreaking music
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In a nutshell. |  |
Monday, 06, Nov 2006 03:35
Universal, out now.
In a nutshell.
Definitive. Timeless. Evocative. Immersive. Forceful.
What's it all about?
Almost 30 years after taking his first tentative steps into the UK charts with childhood friends Rick Buckler and Bruce Foxton in The Jam, 23 of Paul Weller's greatest musical exploits are re-released in Hit Parade, with a separate DVD version containing every single one of his songs in a definitive version.
Encompassing his feats with The Jam, Style Council and then his solo career, Hit Parade is an all-encompassing musical retrospective that should get Mod-fans drooling over their tailor-made suits.
Who's it by
Weller, 48, was awarded a slightly superfluous lifetime achievement award at this year's Brits after spending three decades in and around the eye of the storm of British music.
The Surrey-born singer/songwriter/lead guitarist founded The Jam in the late 1970s and played a central role in the Mod revival, its re-emergence following the explosion of punk via The Sex Pistols and The Clash. In 1980 the new-wave sounding Going Underground scored the group their first number one, with Start! and Town Called Malice also hitting the same heights achieved by the iconic release. But two years later Weller announced he would be leaving the band, with The Who-influenced Beat Surrender a fitting swansong.
After a year out Weller returned with the Style Council, whose more jazz/pop inclined sound arguably brought the musician to a wider audience but without the fanatical support associated with The Jam. In 1989 the singer, now 31, decided to go solo and spent several years under the musical radar before returning triumphantly to play a huge part in the rise of Britpop, even playing backing guitar on Oasis' seminal What's the Story Morning Glory.
During this time Weller picked up the nickname the Modfather for his paternal role in overseeing two hugely-influential musical genres. Critical and commercial success has continued to the present day.
As an example.
"We talk and talk until my head explodes/I turn on the news and my body froze/The braying sheep on my TV screen/Make this boy shout, make this boy scream/Going underground, going underground," Going Underground, The Jam, 1980.
"Time is on loan, only ours to borrow/What I can't be today I can be tomorrow/And the more I see the more I know/The More I know the less I understand/I'm the changingman, built on shifting sands," Changingman, Paul Weller, 1995.
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Weller has never received the international status that his success in Britain should have afforded him. While contemporaries The Who and to a lesser extent The Sex Pistols have enjoyed considerable recognition across the Atlantic, the singer-songwriter remains something of an overseas enigma. But saying that, and ignoring the fact that the nature of Hit Parade virtually disqualifies it from any sort of award, The Jam once found one of their old singles materialise in the UK chart solely based on its popularity on the import market following its re-release on the continent.
What the others say
"It's a compelling profile of a man whose unique sound has proved not only thoroughly consistent, but also impressively enduring," Amazon review.
So is it any good?
It goes without saying that a collection of Paul Weller's hits down the ages is going to be well received by fans, with the Modfather surprisingly up until this point not releasing such as retrospective from his impressive library. On the 23-song CD version all the big guns are there, from the suggestively anarchic Town Called Malice (which enjoyed a renaissance via the Billy Elliot soundtrack) to the slow touching melodies of You do Something to Me.
Going Underground still sounds as good as ever, but Shout to the Top! and Down in the Tube Station are (whisper it) beginning to sound a little dated. But while people tend to fall into two camps of either loving or loathing Weller, his music mostly achieves that most tantalising of aspirations as being perfectly timeless.
With neither his vocal, songwriting or guitar skills in question, Hit Parade will allow a new generation of music lovers to enjoy the classic talents of a true British institution.
8/10
Matthew Champion