Paul Weller: Paul Weller - 1992
"I hadn't been down to Woking in a long time. That was the first time, in the early '90s, when I was finding my feet again" - Paul Weller
After a nearly four year hiatus following the failure of The Style Council’s venture into house music with 1989’s Modernism: A New Decade and the subsequent split of the band, Paul Weller returned after a rootless period in which he contemplated packing it all in.
After the highly politicised light jazzy pop of The Style Council, it seemed Weller had spent four years listening to Traffic’s late 60s/early 70s catalogue along with other 60s R’n’B acts and he returned with a “rock” format, which although retrospective in many places, was also very much of its early 90s era - one of the forerunners of “BritPop”. Weller began to be known as “The Modfather” during this period, bestowing on him an “elder statesman” status that seemed slightly odd, as he had once been dubbed “the spokesman for a generation”. The album is a good one. Full of nostalgic, bucolic lyrics inspired by a return to his home town of Woking and the beauty of the surrounding Surrey countryside. This was an artist wanting to show that he had found a certain amount of inner peace, Van Morrison-style.
The beguiling Remember How We Started, with its swirling organ breaks, and the beautiful white soul groove of Above The Clouds are both further examples of this new gentle, sensitive soul-rock. One could not imagine Weller doing anything other than sitting in his garden on a summer’s afternoon when one listens to this. I have always wondered why The Jam’s fist-pumping audience came along with Weller as he went on about “open top buses”, “flowers in bloom”, “butterflies” and “curtains in the sun” over a wittering flute backing, such as on Clues. However, they did, his audience was as loyal as it had ever been. Indeed, some seemed to return who maybe had veered off course during The Style Council years.
Here's Paul Weller's excellent debut album - one that probably still remains my favourite of his solo releases.
He had, actually, still been pretty active during this time, gigging and recording, it was just that whatever he had been up to went under the radar. He had become something of a forgotten man. Weller had begun gigging again in 1992, with a totally new band, playing tiny venues and showcasing new material.
Uh Huh Oh Yeh has a strong redolence of Traffic’s early 70s output with its bass-saxophone fade out. I Didn't Mean To Hurt You has a Stax-style organ backing and a funky guitar and a soulful vocal delivery from Weller. It is far more soulful than anything produced by the (supposedly) soul-influenced Style Council. A lot of the lyrics are whimsical or “loved up” - far more of a personal nature than The Style Council’s railing at the political system.
Bull-Rush exemplifies this - thoughtful, evocative lyrics and a laid back, dreamy, warm backing. Weller’s voice had never sounded better than this, either, losing some of its abrasiveness. Like Traffic, the flute is employed considerably on this track (and the whole album), along with some seriously funky guitar breaks. The fade out at the end is pure Beatles 1967 era. Round And Round is probably the most Style Council-ish of the tracks - a light, melodic slow number with some sublime guitar breaks and some “late night” saxophone. It still finds time to launch into a “bridge” of Traffic-style funk rock though.
Into Tomorrow is the most funk rock of the material, with an identifiable rock hook, but that sort of thing is few and far between amidst all the loved up reflection. Amongst Butterflies fits the latter description, but it has a seriously jazzy funk groove to it. Listening to this album no, one realises that it really is nothing like anything Paul Weller had done before, either in The Jam or The Style Council. Butterflies also had an extremely Traffic-influenced fade out. The conga part of Strange Museum is 100% Traffic too. Listening to this, having just heard The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys and Shoot Out At The Fantasy Factory, the influences are clear. Weller keeps his tracks shorter, with more of a soul styling. Weller goes falsetto in places on this track too, in Curtis Mayfield style.
The heaviest, funkiest tracks are the last two - Bitterness Rising and Kosmos. This type of sound would serve Weller well for several more years, although it would be merged with a more abrasive, rock guitar attack on later albums.
What is notable is that this album not only appealed to Weller’s legions of fans dating back to The Jam period, but also brought along the new “millennial” generation with it too, who now respected the “grand old man”. He also found his music appealing to those who may not have liked the youthful anger of The Jam. Female teenagers only just born when The Jam started were now appreciating Weller’s music. No more was he just a “lads'” artist. Quite what Weller made of this is not known, he was probably somewhat uncomfortable with it, but was more than happy to sell albums again.
Non-album tracks
The non-album material from this album's many sessions includes one of the first post-Style Council recordings in the catchy jazzy funky pop of Here's A New Thing - featuring horns and flute but also funky bass, programmed house music loops and a typically Weller call for a "new thing", All Around The World-style and the lengthy but infectious jazz rock instrumental That Spiritual Feeling which strongly sets out the foundations for Weller's new sound. It was a Style Council leftover that had initially appeared, in less appealing form, on Modernism: A New Decade.
A lighter, beautifully bassy version of Into Tomorrow is that song's first outing; Arrival Time is another instrumental, and it was one full of "new Weller" acid jazz noodlings - saxophones, parping organ, rumbling bass and solid, funky drums.
Fly On The Wall is a gentle, acoustic ballad of the sort that would come to characterise Weller's subsequent solo work. Lyrically, it was full of the mature reflections that Weller would also become known for around this time.
Always There To Fool You is an instrumental version of Uh-Huh Oh Yeh.
Everything Has A Price To Pay is a deep, folky blues acoustic ballad with a haunting atmosphere and vocal. All Year Round is an impressive, saxophone-drenched live recording of the old Style Council rarity while Feelin' Alright is a convincing cover of the Traffic sixties number.
The Bitter Truth is a lively acoustic, bass and drums number that would have been a fine addition to the album. It sounds as if it took its acoustic lead riff from George Harrison's My Sweet Lord in places.
Weller's acoustic cover of Marvin Gaye's Abraham, Martin & John is tender enough but lacks the genuine soul of the original. New Thing is a re-working of Here's A New Thing, with a jaunty, soulful, almost Style Council feel to it - check out those gloriously catchy bassy guitar riffs.
