Aural Fixations

PAUL WELLER
Illumination
(Independiente/Yep Roc)
Paul Weller is a British rock superstar of the first magnitude. He's scored dozens of hit singles in his native land, with his punk-era band the Jam in the 70s, his lounge soul combo the Style Council in the 80s and with his omnivorously stylized arena rock solo career in the 90s. He's a much beloved figure in the U.K. rock scene, admired by luminaries like Pete Townshend (who the young Weller sought to emulate), young turks like Oasis' Noel Gallagher and millions of British rock fans, young and old. His solo music has ranged from strong blue-eyed soul (his self-titled first solo album) to brilliant psychedelic folk rock that recalls Traffic (Wild Wood, considered by some to be his finest album) to an update of Who-like classic rock (Heavy Soul, which consolidated his iconic status in the U.K.). He's continually updated and modified his sound according to his whims, rarely standing still for long, and if his experiments don't always succeed (his last studio set Heliocentric sounded uninspired and exhausted), at least he impresses by never resting on his laurels. He's also turned into a fine singer over the years, his burnished tenor evolving from the energetic yawp of his Jam days into a soulful, more measured tone that conveys maturity and hard-won dignity. He's a song-oriented, heartfelt, forward-thinking superstar, a rarity in any age.

But if you lived in America, you'd never know it. Despite some minor success with the Style Council and the iconic status of the Jam in American underground rock circles, Weller has never broken through to anything even close to a mass audience in the colonies, despite the fact that he's got that British blue-eyed soul thing down at least well as Steve Winwood (certainly better than Eric Clapton). But he's never achieved any lasting success here, indeed, has given up on the prospect. His last couple of albums wasn't even released over here. But Illumination, his latest record, has reached these shores via the fine folks at Yep Roc, who included a slew of bonuses to go with it (see below). Alas, this probably isn't the record that will gain Weller the large American audience he deserves.

Undoubtedly the highlights are the three singles, all of which made chart inroads in England. The folk-rocker "Leafy Mysteries" and the cosmic psychedelic pop nugget "Standing Out in the Universe" are two of Weller's best cuts in years, and the super-catchy, spiritually-minded hit "It's Written in the Stars" sports one of his best vocal melodies and a sprightly horn sample that serves as an irresistible hook. Those aren't the only pleasure to be found here, either. The album starts off with the gently romantic "Going Places," a folky paean to making a lover's dreams come true. Immediately following is the peace-loving rocker "A Bullet For Everyone," which shows that neither Weller's bitter political edge nor his guitar skills have dulled. The three bonus cuts added to this edition, including the delightful music-hall tribute "Push Button, Automatic" and solid rockers "Horseshoe Drama" and "Talisman," also stand out, making one wonder why they weren't included on the English version. (They were probably B-sides.) He's not really trying anything new on these cuts, outside of the samples, but he quite handily shows off how well he does what he does.

Unfortunately, about mid-album, things start to go wrong. Somewhere along the line Weller was apparently overcome by the urge to become a balladeer; a full six songs in a row find Weller crooning gooey sentiments over languid melodies, with lush orchestration augmenting a few tracks. Tunes like "Now the Night is Here" and the wordless "Spring (At Last)" sound uneasy and clouded, as if Weller knew he wanted to go in this direction but wasn't quite sure how to go about it. Worse, he doesn't really have the voice for this kind of material; the sappy "Who Brings Joy" might have succeeded on sheer sweetness if not for Weller's inability to sing it effectively. His vocals, so strong on midtempo and upbeat material, are too shaky and unsure for this kind of mood music. It doesn't help that the melodies are simply too lugubrious to overcome the leaden weight of the arrangements. Though he expands the parameters of the subject matter past romantic relationships with "One x One," a call for peace and unity that almost has a passable melody, and the acoustic introspection of "Bag Man," the results are only vaguely tolerable. Even "All Good Books," an attempt to recapture the white soul of Weller's first album disguised as an anti-organized religion screed, succumbs to the drag. It's puzzling; Weller has sought to expand his sound before, usually with results that are at the very least interesting, often surprisingly good. Other songs on the record in a similar style work fine ("Going Places," the title track). And he should be commended for being unwilling to merely go through the same old motions. But the half-baked half-dozen in the middle bring this album to a crashing halt, sinking it into a mire from which it can barely pull itself out of via "Call Me No. 5," a duet with the scratchy-voiced Kelly Jones of the Stereophonics that would seem unremarkable if it didn't follow such tedium. (more)

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