What Are You Listening To?

[CRAZY-HORSE]

another one which i posted in a beginners guide that listened to over the weekend...



PAUL WELLER "wildwood" 1993.

Weller was probably only half awake for his debut set, for this one,however, his eyes and mind are wide open.
the album for the most part is folky and pastoral in its sound and lyrics, probably due to his then current love of Neil Young, Nick Drake and Tim Hardin, to name a few, this time,however Weller has two truly original songs: Country and Wildwood, both of which sound like Weller and no-one else,theyre his unique sound and style.
by this stage Weller's wife had given birth to another child,Leah, and the final track on the album is an ode to both of his children called "moon on your pyjama's",its a beautiful lullaby with acoustic guitar only and with his soflty sung vocals it is easy to imagine him singing his little ones to sleep to it. elsewhere on the album there are still signs of Weller's insecurities and occasional self doubt,most prominantly exposed on "has my firs really gone out" and the disintigration of his 5yr marraige to TSC backing singer Dee C Lee on "all the pictures on the wall"...if you've ever been through divorce you can relate to this one 100%. "5th season" is a seven and a half minute epic rock song describing Weller's depressed state and launches into a lengthy guitar solo at the end, something Weller always hated in songs, yet now he was beginning to be compared to Clapton, most guitarists would be proud to be held in such esteem, but not Weller who at the time dismissed the new tag and Clapton!
this album takes a few listens to sink in and grasp the greatness of it,it is probably IMO the best album of his career. the release of this album and the ressurection of his solo career also coincided with the birth of 'brit-pop' in the UK, and bands like Blur,Oasis,Ocean Colour Scene and The Verve cite Weller as a major influence on them.Weller won best male vocal at the Novello and Brit awards in 1994 for this album. this was also the first album of his sixteen year career to contain three top 20 hits from it. the album would be reissued in 1994 with a bonus track, "hung up" which became his first solo top 10 hit in the UK.the album reached #2 in UK, the psychadelic sounding single "sunflower" #16, "wildwood" #14 and "the weaver" #18.

I LOVE THIS ALBUM

worst tracks; the three instrumentals
best tracks; "foot of the mountain" and "5th season"

tracks"

1.sunflower**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZbKT0snOkk live
2. (can you heal us)holy man**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAIeER2AUQ4 live with interview
3. wildwood***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RK78qL_bDw live
4. instrumental 1*
5. all the pictures on the wall***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh5yskjFdAM live
6. has my fire really gone out***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOho28VGrBM live
7. country***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGl7T4QR3TU live
8. 5th season***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrkNF1gAFw8 live with "holy man"
9. the weaver**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uU2ChDNdus live
10.instrumental 2*
11.foot of the mountain***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duhW5gIQ0NA live
12.shadows of the sun**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izlTV0I2Apg live
13.holy man(reprise)*
14.moon on your pyjamas***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dAg2kLQz3w audio

3s=7
2s=4
1s=3

rating 2.4 had there been no instrumentals on board the rating would be 2.6