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Paul Wellers new covers album

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Featuring one of my favourite songs of all time

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  3. My wife just said “His voice sounds a bit weird”, and you know, it does. But he’s always been a bit of a strangler (it’s a proper music term, honest) in my book. This version doesn’t have the odd, depressed, evocative atmosphere of the original.

    • I know what you man @mc-escher. Fate brought me the second half of his solo debut this morning before I read this, and I would use phrases like throttled, strangled or throaty to describe his singing. I say this as an overall fan, but his voice is not the best arrow in his quiver – songwriting, band picking, and arranging are much stronger.

    • I agree, I’ve got a playlist of songs I’ve loved for decades and it’s right on there. I remember a short interview with him – he was actually an actor and only did music as a hobby/alternative revenue source. It’s autobiographical apparently, and describes his living situation – he was literally on his arse bones. A hit record must have helped.

  6. Weller’s an odd cove sometimes isn’t he? Sometimes you can’t help thinking he makes a massive effort to piss off the balding old Jam geezers who would prefer him to be sticking to All Mod Cons type stuff for years on end. But you could argue he’s effectively been doing that since the Style Council really.
    I’ll give it a listen, I always do, but I sometimes find his “discovery” of new influences a bit forced. I wonder if he picks up many new fans with what he puts out these days, or his audience are those remaining fans who have always been there but have been willing to grow with him?

      • I think I probably agree with that. Wildwood is a good album, better than Stanley Rd that followed. All these new “influences” though…really? Declan O’Rourke? Liam Bailey? They sound distinctly average to me.

        • I have to be honest and say that I have managed to evade Weller for the most part – I have Snap! on cd and that’s it. But listening to the two tracks above – I’m interested to hear more of this album…

    • I liked the Jam and Style Council singles but never went further (I should rectify this!)

      Inspired by this thread I picked one of his later albums to listen to – Sonik Kicks – I thought I’d at least get a good laugh out of it… but no. I love it. Completely bonkers.

  7. Personally I find the Jam too angry for the most part. Which was fine when I was in my teens and twenties but not so much now. All the red-faced coked-up guys my age working out their emotions by shouting along to A Town Called Malice at Jam tribute gigs are not guys I would voluntarily spend time with, by and large.

    I really like the left turn he did into the Style Council. Sometimes it’s my favourite Weller.

  9. I’m liking it – his older voice is mellower and suits the songs. And it’s a better listen than his last covers album Studio 150 (which came at the end of his Modfather/Dad Rock phase, and he was looking for somewhere to go).
    Since then near enough every album has been a “this is what I’m listening to now” moment, often interesting but not always essential.
    From that point As Is Now, Sonik Kicks and Fat Pop stand the test of time/re-listening
    (I could also go for Saturns Pattern, but I need to be in the right mood)

  10. I find it a bit irritating that he seems to hold As Is Now in such low regard because I thought it was great. Practically flawless. I don’t think his discovery of pro tools has helped and some of his collaborators aren’t anywhere near as talented as he thinks they are.

  11. 2020s older, wiser, granddad Weller is fast becoming my favourite version of the old bugger. I really like his “strangulated” voice I think is sounds calm and reassuring. I didn’t know any of the songs he covers here. Pinball is wonderful and I’ve listened to the original. My favourite though is I Started A Joke written by Robin Gibb. I find it incredibly moving and profound. It’s a long time since I played a song 5 times in a row after a first listen. Oh, and yes the daft buggers on F***b**k who have never forgiven him for splitting The Jam are incandescent with rage over this direction he’s taken. So that’s good.

  12. I wanted to like it, or try to like it. Mainly as I have a penchant for covers. But the versions are largely anodyne and/or hard to compare with the original, so obscure are several. ISaJ is amongst the better but there are more vibrant versions of it out there. It feels Weller is showing off his broad knowledge of music less often heard. White Line Fever is my favourite, but still not a patch on the Flying Burrito Bros version.
    Disclaimer: I like his earlier set of covers, and enjoy Wildwood and the one after it, he otherwise moving me little beyond Greatest Hits and Best Ofs.

  13. Lordy it’s a dull old listen isn’t it? Saps much of the lightness and character from the originals without really adding anything new.

    I like quite a lot of Wellers solo stuff – although tbh I probably admire him rather than love him but just cant see the point in this one.

    • I guess we can’t all have the same opinion – I think it is really rather good and no idea why people are criticising his voice which has aged rather well while still being easily recognisable as the voice of Wildwood and Stanley road.
      Weller is the one artist who I think is significantly better on record than he is live.
      Totally devoid of stage presence

      • I got told off the last time I said it, but I’ve seen him live at festivals several times, and heard him interviewed on the wireless, and came away with the impression that he’s a bit, well, thick.

        “Well, yeah, you know…” is not an answer to a question, Mr Weller.

        It does make me wonder how the same person could come up with the lyric to That’s Entertainment or Eton Rifles.

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