Album: Wild Wood
Artist: Paul Weller
Born: Sheerwater, Surrey
Released: September 1993
Genre: Electric Folk
Some English musicians, like Ray Davies and Paul Weller, are just a little too English in outlook to ever become popular in the States. Weller's work with The Jam, notably Sound Affects, was always too full of English slang and in debt to the 60s Mod scene of The Who and Small Faces to have much crossover appeal outside of Britain. After disbanding The Jam at the peak of its powers, Weller moved on to The Style Council, where his approach was more experimental, notably with the recording of Modernism: A New Decade (1989), his take on the emerging house music scene, which was rejected by the band's label, Polygram. In this sense, Weller was a little ahead of the times and the demise of The Style Council meant a few years in the wilderness and a return to touring small venues. This change of pace energised Weller and he began to look back again to music's past for inspiration, notably the pastoral folk of Nick Drake and Traffic, as well as the early visionary work of Neil Young and Van Morrison. In this respect, Weller's revivalist approach to 60s & 70s musical styles was a beacon for Britpop, but in many other respects Wild Wood (his second solo album) had a much more rustic, folk sound compared to the urban, brash leanings of Britpop.
Title track Wild Wood seems to express the values of the British electric folk boom, an escape from urban misery to rural serenity and mindfulness ("High tide, mid afternoon / people fly by, in the traffic's boom / knowing, just where you're blowing / getting to where you should be going"), a message underscored by the music video that depicts a busy London. This song's spiritual, questioning element is a feature repeated throughout the album, with tracks like Has My Fire Really Gone Out? seeing Weller muse about his musical vocation. The quality of the songwriting on tracks like Sunflower, 5th Season and The Weaver is proof that Weller was still as creative as ever, while the soulful quality of his singing is even more apparent in his solo work. I also love the instrumentals, inspired by the jazzy folk of Steve Winwood's Traffic, which enhance the flow of the album, while Shadow Of The Sun is one of his finest songs. Weller's next solo album, Stanley Road, though not as consistently brilliant as Wild Wood, would be an even bigger hit. He continues to forge his own path, resisting calls to reform The Jam, and instead producing brilliantly original albums like 22 Dreams and Wake Up The Nation.
Some English musicians, like Ray Davies and Paul Weller, are just a little too English in outlook to ever become popular in the States. Weller's work with The Jam, notably Sound Affects, was always too full of English slang and in debt to the 60s Mod scene of The Who and Small Faces to have much crossover appeal outside of Britain. After disbanding The Jam at the peak of its powers, Weller moved on to The Style Council, where his approach was more experimental, notably with the recording of Modernism: A New Decade (1989), his take on the emerging house music scene, which was rejected by the band's label, Polygram. In this sense, Weller was a little ahead of the times and the demise of The Style Council meant a few years in the wilderness and a return to touring small venues. This change of pace energised Weller and he began to look back again to music's past for inspiration, notably the pastoral folk of Nick Drake and Traffic, as well as the early visionary work of Neil Young and Van Morrison. In this respect, Weller's revivalist approach to 60s & 70s musical styles was a beacon for Britpop, but in many other respects Wild Wood (his second solo album) had a much more rustic, folk sound compared to the urban, brash leanings of Britpop.
Title track Wild Wood seems to express the values of the British electric folk boom, an escape from urban misery to rural serenity and mindfulness ("High tide, mid afternoon / people fly by, in the traffic's boom / knowing, just where you're blowing / getting to where you should be going"), a message underscored by the music video that depicts a busy London. This song's spiritual, questioning element is a feature repeated throughout the album, with tracks like Has My Fire Really Gone Out? seeing Weller muse about his musical vocation. The quality of the songwriting on tracks like Sunflower, 5th Season and The Weaver is proof that Weller was still as creative as ever, while the soulful quality of his singing is even more apparent in his solo work. I also love the instrumentals, inspired by the jazzy folk of Steve Winwood's Traffic, which enhance the flow of the album, while Shadow Of The Sun is one of his finest songs. Weller's next solo album, Stanley Road, though not as consistently brilliant as Wild Wood, would be an even bigger hit. He continues to forge his own path, resisting calls to reform The Jam, and instead producing brilliantly original albums like 22 Dreams and Wake Up The Nation.
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