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i know the jam were at oposite ends of the spectrum to the style council and again paul weller as a solo artist has evolved and matured into a great singer/guitarist but which of wellers three distinct evolutions do you prefer.
i love the raw power of the jam
i love the lyrics of the style council
and i love the all round brilliance that PW has become
i think his music is more consistant now than at any time in his career
i dont know,i cant decide,help me with your thoughts
"BTO....Bachman,Turner,Overweight
They were big in the 70s....for five minutes,on a Saturday,after lunch..." - Me 2014.
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Been a fan of Weller's for as long as I can remember.
To me The Jam are best described as a good singles band (like The Smiths for example) but I don't dig their albums.
The Style Council I havent heard all of their material to judge but the two albums I have are 'Our Favourite Shop' (1985) which is good but another one 'Confessions Of A Pop Group' (1988) is excellent!
It's really Weller's solo stuff (first 3 albums & Heavy Soul) that really got me into him properly, 'Wild Wood' in particular was the real turning point for me. Also his 22 Dreams album with the 3 experimental tracks at the end was sheer brilliance.
Posts: 35,523
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confessions was really underrated and still is and the critics slagged it off at the time but i love it also.
cafe bleu is very good too, mix of jazz,blues,classical,rap,funk and pop. the girl singer from everything but the girl sings on one track 'paris match', and wellers ballad/piano version of 'my everchanging moods' is superior to the upbeat single version
wellers first 3 solo outings were fantasic, wildwood was the best of them tho. heavy soul has some good songs, didnt like 'brushed' much. helliocentric much the same. studio150, for fans only!, days of speed was a bit drab, as is now was ok. 22dreams was brilliant, also like wake up the nation album, the four part song 'trees', for his dad was a bit left field for pw
you should get the style council 5cd boxset 'complete adventures', has all the a/b-sides, alternate versions and the previously unreleased house music album 'modernism,a new decade'
"BTO....Bachman,Turner,Overweight
They were big in the 70s....for five minutes,on a Saturday,after lunch..." - Me 2014.
Posts: 638
Threads: 17
Joined: May 2010
Yeah I didnt actually buy the new album cos I didn't like the 2 or 3 singles I heard from it or the direction he seemed to be taking. Sounded like he was trying to replicate a 60s sound too heavily.
