Paul Weller: 66 - 2024
Paul Weller was once described as a "spokesman for a generation", bristling with a cynical, youthful ire, singing of "youth explosion" and "golden faces under twenty-five". Life is a drink and you get drunk when you're young, he told us, joyfully. He even scathingly referred to a man who was now "bald and fat" - finished, basically. Weller's "young and full of ideas" world didn't need the old or the experienced. It was for the young and that was it. Well, guess what, the years have passed (I should know, I'm 65 as I write this) and Weller has named his album in wryly amusing Adele style "66", referencing his now venerable age. He now speaks (on A Glimpse Of You) of finding a peaceful old wooden bench to sit on for reflection as he shuffles through a gloriously blooming garden in May, contemplating his mortality in true Bob Dylan fashion. He is now a spokesman for the realistic, sensitive and appreciative old. Who would have thought it.
Musically, the album is beguilingly beautiful, full of lovely subtle, warm basslines and Weller's beloved bucolic flute and string floating around throughout. It is a reassuring, relaxing delight to listen to. Lyrically, it is notable in that Weller has employed a bunch of guest lyricists to help him out - Graham "Suggs" McPherson of Madness on the opener, Ship Of Fools and the late night jazz of Nothing, Noel Gallagher on Jumble Queen, Christophe Vaillant (no - me neither) on the heavily-orchestrated My Best Friend's Coat and A Glimpse Of You, Dr. Robert of The Blow Monkeys on Rise Up Singing, Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie on Soul Wandering and Erland Cooper, Weller's songwriting partner on the True Meanings album, on Burn Out. In Full Flight also credits Anthony Brown and Tom Doyle, but I don't know who they are. Only the bleak I Woke Up, the suitably gentle Sleepy Hollow and the excellent Flying Fish are credited as being solely Weller's work. Remarkably, however, all the guest writers seem to write lyrics in a decidedly Weller style, making me think he must have had some collaborative input.
Soul Wandering is one of my favourites - a brass-enhanced riffy rocker that is really the album's only proper up and at 'em number. I really like Flying Fish too, and Ship Of Fools. In fact, there is not a track that I don't like - it is one of those "warm bath" albums in its effect. So much so that detailed individual analysis of each track is not something that I am inspired to do at the moment - either due to my own writer's block or the fact that is is one of those albums that functions as a whole as opposed to one of lots of different-sounding songs. yes, there are differences to be heard, but there is still a palpable constant vibe to be found when one listens to it.
Also, saxophone features quite a lot on this album, an instrument that Weller hasn't traditionally used much. It is mainly played by Jacko Peake, a veteran of Weller's 1992 debut solo album. He also play the flute, as he did on that album to great effect. Many reviewers I have read have not been too comfortable with the flute and the string orchestration that abounds on this album, but surely they must know Weller by now. He loves them. The edgy, riffy days of The Changing Man, Peacock Suit and The Weaver etc are long gone.
Overall, while the album starts and ends strongly, there is a period in the middle where its sound is somewhat homogenous and understated, evidenced by the fact that twice while listening to the album I fell asleep at this point!
Weller at 66 and The Panther at 65 are similar beasts in some ways, it seems.
