By Jose Carlos Rodrigo Breto
trad. by Elena Martínez Sáenz
*Originally posted in spanish in achtungmag.com
*Originally posted in spanish in achtungmag.com
Paul Weller will offer two concerts in
Spain during this month of September. On the 14th he will play in
Barcelona and in the 15th he will do so in Madrid. On the occasion
of this visit, ACHTUNG! will offer you a series of specials about the musician.
In this first instalment, we will go over his career in a global way, dividing
it in three stages: with The Jam, with The Style Council and solo.
Paul
Weller was born in Woking, about
37km away from London, city that
belongs to the county of Surrey
which, before becoming famous due to the British artist’s compositions, was
known for being the place of residence of the science fiction writer H. G. Wells, whose novels The
Time Machine, The Island Of Dr. Moreau, The
Invisible Man and The War Of The Worlds meant great
successes of their time.
And it will be
precisely in The War Of The Worlds, when Woking will be forever immortalized: the author will choose it as
one of the landing places for the extraterrestrial ships that will initiate the
invasion.
That was in 1898. Many years later, in 1958, another Martian was born in Woking. This time it was John William Weller, known in the music
world as Paul Weller; and a Martian,
yes, because of his portentous talent when composing songs full of life, catchy
and with impeccable constructions, circumstance that has led him to be one of
the better known English artists, capital figure of the British culture.
The young Paul always showed himself inclined
towards music, specially the one of The
Beatles and The Who. Although
his parents belonged to a modest background, they didn’t doubt in making all
kind of sacrifices to support the young boy, they even bought him one of his
first guitars. It was such the confidence they had in him, that the father, John Weller, became his manager from
the first moment, and continued to be so, until his death in 2009.
After some halting
starts, the definite formation of Weller’s
first important group, The Jam, would
crystallise in 1976, and barely a
year later, the band’s first record would appear in the market under the
auspices of the stamp Polydor: In the City. The debut’s reception
was very positive, and some of the album’s songs quickly became hymns of the
tumultuous and rebellious punk
panorama that had been triggered in the United
Kingdom. Aside from the song that gives its name to the record, Away From The Numbers or Art School showed the road the band
would follow, at least those first years.
After a second work, This
Is The Modern World, still rooted in punk, but with a much more rested tone than In The City, the band
signed All Mod Cons, the record that consecrated them, partially
thanks to themes such as Down At The Tube
Station At Midnight, where Weller
proved his capacity to tell everyday stories in his songs.
However, and after
three successful records like Setting Sons, Sound Affects and The
Gift were, riddled with songs that have become classics, Weller understood that the band had
reached its ceiling, that the project was worn out, and it was time to
experiment with new musical ways that would confirm his evolution.
What Paul Weller was looking for was a group
that would allow him more freedom when composing themes that included soul, funk or even a touch of jazz,
For this, he founded The Style Council,
along with the keyboardist Mick Talbot
and the drummer Steve White. The
group, that relayed solidly in the musical virtuosity of its members and in a
complex and laborious image duty, was able to bring out a reputation inside the
sophisticated pop and the Pop Art, thanks to compositions that
united funk basses, soft electric
guitars, bossa novas rhythms, and
all of it splashed by jazz, soul and some disco rhythms too.
As a result, many
unforgettable songs: Shout To The Top,
The Lodgers, Walls Come Tumbling Down!, My
Ever Changing Moods or Long Hot
Summer. After five records,
where Our Favourite Shop was their masterpiece, Weller’s drift towards house
music drove him towards a confrontation with the Polydor discography, which turned down what should’ve been the next
group’s record. That was the moment to dissolve The Style Council and, boarding his independent stamps, initiate
his solo career.
This solitary career
will be Paul Weller’s longest and
most productive period, despite everything he had already achieved. His debut
record, that has his own name, is a masterpiece where you can still find echoes
of The Style Council, but also a bet
on a more jazzy style.
However, it will be
his second and third solo works, leaded again by the path of genius, the ones
that will consecrate him as a solo artist that will now be often compared with Neil Young, Steve Winwood and Van
Morrison, because of the quality of his records and his extensive career,
his quality composing and his fidelity and honesty in his approaches.
That way, Wild
Wood, Stanley Road and Heavy Soul, will mark the definite
direction of Weller’s music. Complex
compositions with electric guitars that drift towards powerful rock, as if music was slowly turning
rawer. The critic’s and public’s success will ratify Paul as one of the most important composers of popular English
music, which is a lot to say, and he continues to add solo works to his
discography.
The first decade of the
2000s will see the birth of nine more records of Paul Weller. Some of them are dazzling,
like Saturns
Pattern and the most recent, A Kind Revolution. The list of
unforgettable songs is huge: From The
Floorboards Up, I’m Where I Should Be,
White Sky, and the most recent ones Woo Sé Mama or Long Long Road. Also, Weller
performs numerous concerts and tours, going across practically the whole world.
His direct shows are an electric present, raddled with strength and accompanied
by an outstanding band.
The never-ending
career of this musician doesn’t seem to weaken. After two legendary bands and
an overwhelming solo phase, he has just signed the soundtrack for the movie Jawbond, where his star song, The Balad Of Jimmy McCabbe, may be one
of Weller’s best compositions.
Something that tells us that the future will be, perhaps, only the musical
history start of this rock Martian.
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