Wake up the Nation
Artist: Paul Weller
Label: Island/Universal
Website: paulweller.com
Weller finds himself in another Jam
As a young kid growing up in the eighties, my introduction to Paul Weller was through my dad who had discovered the diverse, soul-inspired Style Council.
As any Weller fan will attest, he is renowned for his musical experimentations and continual reinventions. Wake up the Nation sees Weller deliver a tough, gritty return to rock ’n’ roll with tracks such as its title track, ‘7&3 Is the Striker’s Name’, the musical montage ‘Trees’ and the racy ‘Up the Doasge’. But true to his style, there are sprinklings of softer stuff with the inspiring ballad ‘No Tears to Cry’, an instrumental ‘Whatever Next’ and my personal favourite, the soulful groove ‘Aim High’.
As well as collaborating with a range of people on this album, Weller has teamed up with Bruce Foxton, bassist from their legendary band The Jam, on two tracks. ‘Fast Car/Slow Traffic’ is the stand-out of these. It has that kind of beat that would have you slapping the steering wheel and singing along.
This is a great album from Paul Weller and the more you listen to it, the more you will fall in love with its set of awesome, distinct sounds.
Buy this album and broaden your horizons. You won’t be disappointed.
Tim Daly