“As I was standing by the edge / I could see the faces of those who led / Pissing theirselves laughing.” A single, incredibly. Funeral Pyre has almost no tune, just sprawling guitar noise, a relentless fusillade of drums and a furious, still-relevant lyric. Pigeonholed as traditionalists, the Jam don’t get enough credit for being experimental. From the Floorboards Up, from 2005’s As Is Now, is a short, sharp, exhilarating – and Jam-like – jolt. And yet, he could still occasionally pull out something that made you sit up and take notice. Prior to the radical reinvention of 2008’s 22 Dreams, Weller’s 00s albums were subject to diminishing artistic returns – not bad, but nothing spectacular. Paul Weller – From the Floorboards Up (2005)
#THE STYLE COUNCIL LIFE AT A TOP PEOPLES HEALTH FARM PLUS#
A fascinating mediation on place and ageing and the ties that bind, plus its sax-driven groove absolutely bangs. In which Weller revisits his home town of Woking in search of inspiration and becomes surprisingly emotional at the sight of the old place – “dear reminders of who I am, the very roots on which I stand”. Paul Weller – Uh Huh Oh Yeh! (Always There to Fool You!) (1992) And Life at a Top People’s Heath Farm should have been a bigger hit: soul horns, electronic funk, a ferociously bitter lyric. The relative commercial failure of Confessions of a Pop Group certainly wasn’t down to the quality of the music it contained – it may be the Style Council’s best album. The Style Council – Life at a Top People’s Health Farm (1988) On his debut solo single, a kind of musical note-to-self, there’s something really thrilling about the way you can hear Weller willing himself along, “into the stars and always up … praying that it has not passed”. After the demise of the Style Council, it took Weller’s dad-cum-manager to talk him into performing again.
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