BIOGRAPHYby Stephen Thomas Erlewine
As the leader of the Jam, Paul Weller fronted the most popular British band of the punk era, influencing legions of English rockers that ranged from his mod revival contemporaries to the Smiths in the '80s and Oasis in the '90s. During the final days of the Jam, he developed a fascination with Motown and soul, which led him to form the sophisti-pop group the Style Council in 1983. As the Style Council's career progressed, Weller's interest in soul developed into an infatuation with jazz-pop and house music, which eventually led to gradual erosion of his audience — by 1990, he couldn't get a record contract in the U.K., where he had previously been worshipped as a demigod. As a solo artist, Weller returned to soul music as an inspiration, cutting it with the progressive, hippie tendencies of Traffic. Weller's solo records were more organic and rootsier than the Style Council's, which helped him regain his popularity within Britain. By the mid-'90s, he had released three successful albums that were both critically acclaimed and massively popular in England, where contemporary bands like Ocean Colour Scene were citing him as an influence. Just as importantly, many observers, while occasionally criticizing the trad rock nature of his music, acknowledged that Weller was one of the few rock veterans who had managed to stay vital within the second decade of his career.
Weller's climb back to the top of the charts was not easy. After Polydor rejected the Style Council's fifth, house-influenced album in 1989, Weller broke up the group and lost both his record contract and his publishing deal. Over the next two years, he was in seclusion as he revamped his music. In 1991, he formed the Paul Weller Movement and released "Into Tomorrow" on his own independent label, Freedom High Records. A soulful, gritty neo-psychedelic song that represented a clear break from the Style Council, "Into Tomorrow" reached the U.K. Top 40 that spring, and he supported the single with an international tour, where he worked out the material that comprised his eponymous 1992 solo debut. Recorded with producer Brendan Lynch, Paul Weller was a joyous, soulful return to form that was recorded with several members of the Young Disciples, former Blow Monkey Dr. Robert, and Weller's then-wife, Dee C. Lee. The album debuted at number eight on the U.K. charts, and was received with positive reviews.
Wild Wood, Weller's second solo album, confirmed that the success of his solo debut was no fluke. Recorded with Ocean Colour Scene guitarist Steve Cradock, Wild Wood was a more eclectic and ambitious effort than its predecessor, and it was greeted with enthusiastic reviews, and entered the charts at number two upon its fall 1993 release. The album would win the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contemporary Song Collection the following year. Weller supported the album with an extensive tour that featured Cradock as the group's leader; the guitarist's exposure on Wild Wood helped him successfully relaunch Ocean Colour Scene in 1995. At the end of the tour, Weller released the live album Live Wood late in 1994. Preceded by "The Changingman," which became his 17th Top Ten hit, 1995's Stanley Road was his most successful album since the Jam, entering the charts at number one and eventually selling nearly a million copies in the U.K.
By this point, Weller decided to stop attempting to break the United States and canceled his North American tour. Of course, he was doing so well in the England he didn't need to set his sights outside of the U.K.. Stanley Road may have been greeted with mixed reviews, but Weller had been re-elevated to his status as an idol, with the press claiming that he was the father of the thriving Britpop movement, and artists like Noel Gallagher of Oasis singing his praises. In fact, while neither artist released a new album in 1996, Weller's and Gallagher's influence was felt throughout the British music scene, as roots-oriented, '60s bands like Ocean Colour Scene, Cast, and Kula Shaker became the most popular groups in the U.K.
Weller returned in the summer of 1997 with Heavy Soul. Modern Classics: Greatest Hits followed a year later. Heliocentric — which at the time of its release he claimed was his final studio effort — appeared in the spring of 2000. The live record Days of Speed followed in 2001, and he released his sixth studio album, Illumination, in 2002. The covers record Studio 150 appeared in 2004. As Is Now arrived in October of 2005 on Yep Roc. The live album Catch-Flame! followed in 2006.
REVIEW
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
For Studio 150, his seventh solo studio album, Paul Weller delivers his first official covers album. Not that he's been reluctant to cover other songwriters, of course. Throughout his career, he's made covers a staple of his records and concerts. In fact, he cut so many as B-sides in the '90s that his 2003 B-sides and rarities compilation Fly on the Wall had a whole disc devoted to material from other songwriters. Studio 150 feels like a sister album to that disc, and not just because it shares a similar sensibility and has songs by both Tim Hardin and Neil Young. Musically, Studio 150 sounds as if it could have been recorded in 1995 as the missing link between Stanley Road and Heavy Soul, containing the swinging mod vibe of the former with the tough, muscular punch of the latter. While it could be argued that Weller is treading water, or even retreating after the subtle shifts forward on Illumination, it's almost a moot point since the band sounds terrific and he's in fine voice. Plus, this is a covers album and innovation isn't exactly expected on covers albums. What is expected is that the artist puts his own signature on songs from another writer, and Weller does that. True, as a whole Studio 150 doesn't sound all that different from other records in his catalog, but he's managed to find new spins on perennials like "Close to You" and "All Along the Watchtower," interpretations that fit within his signature blend of '70s soul, mod pop, and singer/songwriter introspection. Not surprisingly, the bulk of the album consists of songs from the late '60s and '70s, with selections from singer/songwriters like Tim Hardin, Gil Scott-Heron, Gordon Lightfoot, and Neil Young sitting comfortably next to relatively obscure soul and disco singles (with a previously unrecorded song from Weller disciple Noel Gallagher blending into the surroundings nicely). Some of these songs are familiar, but these arrangements are distinctly Weller's own, and it makes for an effective listen — maybe not a major effort from the Modfather, but an enjoyable one all the same.
CREDITS
Carleen Anderson - Vocals (bckgr)
Louk Boudesteijn - Trombone, Horn
Sam Leigh Brown - Vocals (bckgr)
Ray Bruinsma - Flugelhorn, Horn
Eliza Carthy - Violin, Soloist
Frans Cornelissen - Tuba, Horn
Steve Cradock - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric)
Martin de Ruiter - Strings, Violin
Joeri DeVente - Horn, French Horn
Claudia Fontaine - Vocals (bckgr)
Williem Friede - Strings, Horn, Horn Arrangements, String Arrangements
Benjamin Herman - Flute, Horn, Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor), Horn Arrangements
Mieke Honingh - Strings, Cello
Anne Knapstein - Strings, String Arrangements
Sarah Koch - Strings, Viola
David Kweksilber - Clarinet, Horn
Damon Minchella - Guitar (Bass)
Bill Nusinger - Mandolin
Dalbir Singh Rattan - Tabla
Petra Rosa - Harp
Stefan Schmid - Moog Synthesizer, Korg Synthesizer
The Stands - Vocals (bckgr)
Seya Teeuwen - Strings, Viola
Pauline Terlow - Strings, Viola
Danny Thompson - Double Bass
Lorre Trytten - Strings, Viola
Bastiaan Van Der Werf - Strings, String Arrangements
Jan Van Duikeren - Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Horn
Herman Van Haaren- Strings, Viola
Aimee Versloot - Strings, Cello , Producer, Cover Design
Steve "Supe" White - Percussion, Drums, Producer
TRACKS
1 If I Could Only Be Sure (Mekler, Porter) 3:41
2 Wishing on a Star (Calvin) 5:09
3 Don't Make Promises (Hardin) 3:20
4 The Bottle (Scott-Heron) 3:04
5 Black Is the Colour (Traditional) 3:30
6 Close to You (Bacharach, David) 3:07
7 Early Morning Rain (Lightfoot) 3:47
8 One Way Road (Gallagher) 3:20
9 Hercules (Toussaint) 3:29
10 Thinking of You (Edwards, Rodger) 3:51
11 All Along the Watchtower (Dylan) 5:57
12 Birds (Young) 3:29
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