A traverse through the early back catalogue of Paul Weller, this disc is now getting a bit old [a 1998 compilation consisting of his first four solo albums], since then he's brought out another seven studio albums, so i guess the title 'The Greatest Hits' is now questionable, it must be time for another 'best of', probably a double disc compilation, although there's a certain something about early solo Weller, some of his middle period albums missed the mark, even though it's considered he's back to his best, i really need to discover his present self, when Sonik Kicks gets cheap enough i'll get it, so here's 55 minutes of 16 tracks of Weller, there's a consistency there, it really sounds like this could all be one album, and yet a great variety of music, i'm really warming to him, and this disc has appeared in my Blog twice before [5th April 2012 & 16th March 2011].
Paul Weller is an English Singer / Songwriter, he's now 54, a free man to pursue almost any musical creative spark or experimentation he wishes, this compilation came out in 1998, and consists of his first four solo albums 1992-1997, the front / back cover photography is by Lawrence Watson, and the booklet has some wonderful photographs within its pages [also by Watson], showing Weller in the studio and in a more relaxed mood, excellent photography throughout, the front cover shows Weller almost cut in half, as if it's the top half of a snap, enlarged that makes the pic somewhat low quality, but i love the blue of it, and the squashed lettering at the top is excellent, the wheatfield theme is a good one, and even though he's always worked with a Band, really he's a loner as a composer, and certainly a 'solo' Artist.
On this listen, i enjoyed how consistent Weller is, there really isn't a dud on the album, but most of all i liked tracks 2-3, 9 & 14-15, and here's a synopsis of each,
2 Peacock Suit - A hard chugging song, with Weller in some sort of angry mode.
3 Sunflower - A love song, and yet sung hard, with a nice bubbly beat to it, best lyric 'You cloud my days, messing up my nights'.
9 The Changingman - A clangy rhythm, again there's this sense of anger, and about the song, Weller readily admits to using the vibe of ELO's 10538 Overture throughout, you get that feel of cellos that they have, right at the end there's a bang of finality, but then right away it starts up again to immediately fade [3:18+], a nice and effective idea, best lyric 'Too in touch with myself, i light the fuse'.
14 Mermaids - More of a lyrical love song, reminiscent of the Style Council, but also Beatlesque in its jangly sort of way, the singing is really heartfelt, best lyric 'I often hide in her magic hair'.
15 Broken Stones - Probably my favourite on this listen, the beat at the beginning is really nice, a nice combination of drum and cymbal, Weller sings as a Soul Singer, towards the end some instruments stop, so the drumming beat comes to the fore [2:41+], i like minimalistic feel.
Paul Weller is an English Singer / Songwriter, he's now 54, a free man to pursue almost any musical creative spark or experimentation he wishes, this compilation came out in 1998, and consists of his first four solo albums 1992-1997, the front / back cover photography is by Lawrence Watson, and the booklet has some wonderful photographs within its pages [also by Watson], showing Weller in the studio and in a more relaxed mood, excellent photography throughout, the front cover shows Weller almost cut in half, as if it's the top half of a snap, enlarged that makes the pic somewhat low quality, but i love the blue of it, and the squashed lettering at the top is excellent, the wheatfield theme is a good one, and even though he's always worked with a Band, really he's a loner as a composer, and certainly a 'solo' Artist.
On this listen, i enjoyed how consistent Weller is, there really isn't a dud on the album, but most of all i liked tracks 2-3, 9 & 14-15, and here's a synopsis of each,
2 Peacock Suit - A hard chugging song, with Weller in some sort of angry mode.
3 Sunflower - A love song, and yet sung hard, with a nice bubbly beat to it, best lyric 'You cloud my days, messing up my nights'.
9 The Changingman - A clangy rhythm, again there's this sense of anger, and about the song, Weller readily admits to using the vibe of ELO's 10538 Overture throughout, you get that feel of cellos that they have, right at the end there's a bang of finality, but then right away it starts up again to immediately fade [3:18+], a nice and effective idea, best lyric 'Too in touch with myself, i light the fuse'.
14 Mermaids - More of a lyrical love song, reminiscent of the Style Council, but also Beatlesque in its jangly sort of way, the singing is really heartfelt, best lyric 'I often hide in her magic hair'.
15 Broken Stones - Probably my favourite on this listen, the beat at the beginning is really nice, a nice combination of drum and cymbal, Weller sings as a Soul Singer, towards the end some instruments stop, so the drumming beat comes to the fore [2:41+], i like minimalistic feel.
