Skip to main content

Paul Weller's "Wake Up The Nation" Reviewed By National Public Radio In The USA!

By: Bob Boilen
May 23, 2010

When The Jam was making pop-infused music in the heyday of punk, Paul Weller was a vital singer and songwriter. But in the years since, fans would be forgiven for losing interest, as his work in Style Council made way for a string of often spotty solo records. But Weller's new one, Wake Up the Nation, is a real sleeper — and, in the end, a joy to hear. The album will stream here in its entirety until its release on June 1.

To be honest, Wake Up the Nation didn't fully capture my imagination until about a quarter of the way in, when it really takes off. "Andromeda," for example, is a psychedelic affair that conjures memories of The Move at its best; the song falls apart and pulls itself back together with an inspired chorus and impeccable guitar line. From there, Wake Up the Nation is off on an aural adventure — a kind of time-traveling expedition back to 1966, when experimentation equaled fun and not some sort of intellectual exercise.

Wake Up the Nation finds Weller again collaborating with his old Jam bandmate, Bruce Foxton. Both had recently lost loved ones, and used the experience as inspiration to get together again — with help from My Bloody Valentine guitarist Kevin Shields (in "7 & 3 Is the Striker's Name"), among others.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Paul Weller At Westonbirt Arboretum - Set List & Pics!

Courtesy Of Little Miss Funky Soul! Cheers!!

New Unofficial Forum

A new Unofficial Weller chat forum has been created in place of the recently-closed Official Forum. Click below to visit. Have a good week!

Short "22 Dreams" Album Preview At Rolling Stone.com!

Album Preview: Paul Weller Recruits Noel Gallagher, Thunderstorms to Share His “22 Dreams” “You get to this stage in life where you say ‘I’ve done everything that I can do,’” says Paul Weller. As he passes the half-century mark, Weller easily could have returned to his old stomping grounds, whether it was the mod-punk of his first band the Jam or the pop leanings of the Style Council. But rather than reliving past glory, Weller spent the last year recording 22 Dreams, the most expansive and experimental album of his career. “I was conscious when I walked into the studio that I wanted to do something different. I didn’t want to make As Is Now Part 2,” Weller tells Rock Daily. “There was this mentality where it was like, ‘Let’s try anything that comes into your mind.’” Weller sequestered himself in his country studio, recruited some famous Britpop friends like Oasis‘ Noel Gallagher and Blur’s Graham Coxon and spent hours improvising with his band. The result was 22 Dreams, a genre-leapin