Music Box: Paul Weller

Very excited to be seeing Paul Weller tonight at the Nokia Theatre Times Square. As regular readers know, Paul -- along with Brian Wilson -- is my longtime musical hero. But unlike most who worship at the House of Weller, I've always had what is considered a backward appreciation of him. Having come of age during his (oft-maligned) Style Council years, that is -- and remains -- my all-time favorite period of his career. "Long Hot Summer," "Speak Like a Child," "My Ever-Changing Moods," "You're the Best Thing," and "Shout to the Top" were the songs of my childhood, and even now, nothing makes me happier than hearing them. (Although you may recall I've never forgiven Paul for canceling my one and only chance at seeing the Style Council, a gig at Pine Knob I had tickets for in 1985; I guess he tried to make it up to me when he performed a special Style Council night here in New York back in early '07, but it didn't work.) The Jam certainly rates as a close second (and likely would have been my fave had I grown up more with them), with the undeniable brilliance of "English Rose," "Going Underground," "That's Entertainment," "Man in the Corner Shop," "Town Called Malice," "Ghosts," "Carnation," "Shopping," "The Bitterest Pill" and especially "Beat Surrender," the band's final single that set the stage for TSC. But when it comes to Weller's solo career -- while always enjoyable -- it's never really won me over in the same way his first two bands did. Gone were his Motown, soul and pop leanings, replaced with a paired down rock style (think Traffic folk music) and one too many instrumentals. Although I hardly have time to listen to albums the way I did in high school, his new songs started to all sound alike. (With the exception of "Above the Clouds," I don't think I can remember of the top of my head the tune of any of his solo songs, which is the polar opposite of how I felt about his early work.) Even "Stanley Road," considered a classic and one of Britain's biggest-selling albums ever, remains a bit of a mystery to me. So over the years, it's always been bittersweet that every chance I've had to see my hero play live has been as a solo artist, the blow softened slightly by the fact that his solo music really does come "alive" when performed live, and when you throw in a few Jam or TSC songs into the set list I've rarely left (horribly) disappointed.

But then along came this summer's "22 Dreams," his ninth proper album. (That's more than he ever recorded with either of his previous bands, and almost as many of the two of them together.) Right from the first listen I could tell something was different. Songs like "All I Wanna Do (Is Be With You)," "Have You Made Up Your Mind," "Push It Along," "Invisible" and "Sea Spray" had an instant accessibility that drew me in and made me wanna hear them again. The entire album plays like a concept piece with a -- dare I say? -- Brian Wilson "Smile" quality to it. (Might this be a result of his decision to collaborate with other writers for the first time ever?) Needless to say and much to my surprise (and delight) , "22 Dreams" is my favorite Weller solo album to date. (Well, except for the all-covers collection, "Studio 150." Sorry, Paul!!!) So I'm much more excited about tonight's show than I was any of the many other solo gigs I've been to in the past however many years (the first being in 1992 at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles with Marc Cinquanta -- whatever happened to that guy?) I guess you could say I've finally succumbed to the (solo) Beat Surrender ...

"All I Wanna Do (Is Be With You)"

Just like me, *They Long to Be) "Close to You"