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Showing posts from September, 2008

Meet Paul Weller Book Authors - Dennis Munday And Twink !

Two authors of recent books about Paul Weller will be participating in a book signing in London on October 25th. Twink, whose book of photography on The Jam titled, The Jam Unseen will be in attendance along with Dennis Munday. Dennis will be there in support of the upcoming revised paperback edition of Shout To The Top which will be released on October 8, 2008. For more information about attending the event please contact: jabnett@talk21.com Click HERE for more information about The Jam Unseen and Twink! Click HERE for more information on Shout To The Top and Dennis Munday!

OUT October 20, 2008! The Definitive History Of Paul Weller's Band, The Style Council!

This is a new hardback edition, expanded to 336 pages. The only book in existence dedicated to The Style Council. It contains an exclusive Foreword by Paul Weller - The 1st book he has contributed a foreword to that he is not officially involved in? ie A Thousand Things and Suburban 100. Also exclusives from Eddie Piller, Gary Crowley, Joe Smooth and a few others. There is a free 16 page PDF Sampler for download on the site . It shows the full contents, some sample pages, etc. Book currently on sale at 33% discount , Official release date 20th October with copies due in a few weeks time. You'll find all the details here: www.paulwellerbook.com eNewsletter!

Paul Weller Plays Exclusive Gig For The BBC!

With the end of the US tour and Paul taking a little break, we figured we would too. But we're back and looking forward to bringing you all the news, reviews, etc. as Paul finishes out the rest of the year with several tour stops and some new releases. On Saturday evening Paul played a set at the BBC Television Studios recorded for a later broadcast. Highlights were guest appearances from Graham Coxon and Gem Archer as well as airings of songs from 22 Dreams not yet played live including Black River , Where'er Ye Go , and One Bright Star . There was also a string section and brass to accompany the band. For an excellent review of the evening please stop by the blog of All Mod Cons . Photo Courtesy Of All Mod Cons

Review of Paul Weller Gig At The House Of Blues, Chicago!

Paul Weller @ House of Blues 9/16 From Chicago Transmission While many music acts from the '80s are living off the fame grid, save for the occasional reunion tour or award show appearance, Paul Weller is still working hard. The former front man of The Jam and The Style Council has built a very respectable and varied solo career. While his music is popular in Europe, Weller is virtually unknown in the States, despite his unique brand of soul-tinged rock. The crowd at the House of Blues last night was sizable (although not sold out) and for the most part looked like a crowd of middle-aged, well-dressed parents at a football game. Touring for his most recent album 22 Dreams (Yep Roc), Weller is incredible shape, jumping around onstage nursing drinks, and smoking (gasp! Are Brits exempt from the smoking ban?) throughout the evening. His energy matched his set, which covered his career reaching as far back as his days leading The Jam and lasted almost two-and-a-half hours. From the set&

Review Of Paul Weller Gig At The Trocadero In Philadelphia!

Holding Up Quite Well! Veteran Rocker Paul Weller Performs At The Trocadero. By Sam Adams The Philadelphia Inquirer Although Paul Weller's caustic disdain classified the Jam as punk-rockers, the music was covertly traditionalist, looking as much to the concise harmonies of American soul as to the band's spike-haired contemporaries. But if Weller's classicist leanings set him apart at first, they've stood him in good stead over the long haul. Long after most of his peers have been reduced to living off the fruits of past glories, Weller, 50, is still playing new songs to a loyal audience, who joined him at the Trocadero on Sunday night. For the most part, Weller's solo career has traded innovation for craft, focusing on a sound aptly captured by the title of his 1997 album, Heavy Soul. But with his new album, 22 Dreams, Weller has pushed himself in a new direction. Directions, actually: The sprawling, 21-track album ventures from ringing folk-rock to psychedelic soun

Review Of Paul Weller Gig At The 9:30 Club In Washington, DC!

From Paul Weller, Tasty Morsels of Jam Monday, September 15, 2008 The Washington Post Combining the Clash's fury with the Who's flair, the Jam became the most commercially successful punk band in its native Britain. So it's all the harder for onetime Jam frontman Paul Weller, who performed Saturday at the 9:30 Club, to escape the legacy of that group -- even in the United States, where the Jam was never more than a cult attraction. Weller's 9:30 set emphasized material from his nearly 20-year solo career, but was stoked by the promise of a few earlier numbers. If that formula seemed a bit coy, Weller's two-hour set could have been even more frustrating. He might have tried to reproduce the feel of his wispy new album, "22 Dreams," which dabbles in jazz, lullabies and electronica while reflecting on turning 50. Moving between guitar and keyboards, Weller plucked a few songs from "22 Dreams" but stuck to straightforward rock and soul tunes. During

Paul Weller Set list From The Highline Ballroom, NYC - September 11, 2008

Out Of The Sinking Shadow Of The Sun All I Wanna Do (Is Be With You) From The Floorboards Up Sea Spray Wild Blue Yonder Empty Ring You Do Something To Me Have You Made Up Your Mind Porcelain Gods Picking Up Sticks Wishing On A Star Wild Wood Echoes Round The Sun (w/Gem Archer of Oasis on guitar) Come On/Let’s Go Whirlpool’s End Encore: Broken Stones That’s Entertainment (w/appearance from Liam Gallagher) The Changingman Courtesy Of John From NJ!

Paul Weller's "22 Dreams" Review From The Washington Post!

PAUL WELLER "22 Dreams" Yep Roc/Island Friday, September 12, 200 8 PAUL WELLER turned 50 in May, and he celebrated by finishing up his equivalent of the Beatles' "White Album," a sprawling, 21-track montage of every style the British rock icon has ever employed, including the punk basics of his first band, the Jam, the retro-soul of his second band, the Style Council, and the folk rock, pop rock and psychedelic rock of his solo years. The new album, "22 Dreams," even includes styles never before associated with Weller: spoken-word poetry, avant-garde space rock, electronica, chamber music and glosses on Elton John and David Bowie. It's as if Weller wanted to revisit not only everything he'd ever done but also everything he hadn't gotten around to yet. The first single, the noisy psychedelic anthem "Echoes Round the Sun," is a songwriting and recording collaboration with Oasis's Noel Gallagher. But in this era of downloaded ind

Review Of Paul Weller's Nokia Theater Gig From The New York Times!

English Energy, Motown Rhythms By BEN RATLIFF Published: September 11, 2008 The New York Times Almost 30 years ago, when he was in the Jam, Paul Weller described his influences as the Sex Pistols and Motown. The Jam ended in 1982, and the Sex Pistols are gone from his music. But Motown’s still there — a generalized, rock Motown, Anglicized through the Who and Traffic and the Northern soul nightclub culture of the ’70s and ’80s. A famous Motown beat, with the snare on all four quarter notes, anchors a lot of Mr. Weller’s songs. It’s an aggressive, energizing, crowding beat, one that leaves you no room — it wants your time and cooperation — and it kept surfacing at his show at the Nokia Theater on Wednesday. In England Mr. Weller is nearly a national hero, and his records enter the pop charts. Here he’s for Anglophiles, more or less, and his audience has never left him. You might think he’d be lukewarm to Americans in person: we are a sure but limited concern. Instead he was manic, shutt

Reviews Of Boston, USA Gig!

Paul Weller Fires Up New Tunes in Boston! The Modfather treats fans with obscurities, B-sides, and hits from across his vast catalogue. By Brian E. King 09.10.08 2:48 PM ( Spin Magazine ) In a packed sea of Berklee College of Music students, ponytail adorning hipsters, and homesick Brits, the legendary Jam and Style Council leader Paul Weller took to playing amped-up versions of old favorites while mostly drawing from his recent SPIN-approved release, 22 Dreams, last night in Boston. Weller, ever the elder rock statesman, strutted around the stage with his now silver, rooster-like mullet with the cocky energy of someone half his age. Without much chitchat, the Modfather shredded through classics like "From The Floorboards Up" and "Wild Wood," looking both sincere and sinister while lighting up multiple cigarettes on stage amidst a shadowy backdrop of purple lights. Doesn’t he know Boston’s strict non-smoking laws?! After a blistering 14-song rundown, Weller and his

Paul Weller Interview With Pitchfork Media!

Tue: 09-09-08 Interview: Paul Weller Interview by Joshua Klein Paul Weller is one of England's biggest stars, a veritable folk hero to the land of the Union Jack, and by now one suspects he'd remain that way whether he wanted to or not. He fronted the Jam before he broke up the band and formed the Style Council in its place, only to see that group become similarly successful. And after the Style Council ran its course and Weller went through a brief cooling-off period, he emerged once again as a steadily maturing solo artist. You'd think that several decades with such a familiar figure would preclude many surprises, but Weller's been adept at keeping even the faithful on their toes. His new 22 Dreams is a self-consciously eclectic double album that heads off in a dozen different directions, no doubt much to the frustration of anyone who thought they finally had a bead on Weller. We spoke with the singer about the current twists and turns of his career. Pitchfork: Happy

Paul Weller - Los Angeles - September 3, 2008 (Photos)

Photos Courtesy Of Kerry R.

Paul Weller Interviewed In The Boston Globe!

(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello) At 50, Weller is still pursuing his dreams ! Thirty-plus years, nine solo albums, and at least one legendary band into his career, British singer-songwriter Paul Weller remains a striking musical enigma. As the onetime teenage leader of the Jam, which exploded like a Pop Art spectacle of noise, color, and energy onto the fresh canvas of creative possibility that was England in 1977, Weller was both an adventurous agent of change and an unapologetic traditionalist with a sentimental streak. His cool demeanor, caustic outlook, and knack for blending both with melodic concision and power chords made Weller one of punk's brightest beacons. At the same time, he was a Mod revivalist whose tastes ran to American soul music, sharp suits, and Kinks covers. Weller pulled the plug on the Jam in 1982, five years into a run of hit singles, sold-out concerts, and devoted fan worship, and promptly launched the Style Council, a slick synth-soul outfit that alienated as ma

Link to Paul Weller's Performance On The World Cafe!

Paul Weller Counts Off His '22 Dreams' World Cafe, September 4, 2008 - British pop icon Paul Weller has described his new double-disc album, 22 Dreams, as "a year in my life." It tracks Weller's course through the changing seasons, even including the sounds of a rainstorm through the open door at his Black Barn studio. Maintaining remarkable cohesion amidst a kaleidoscope of influences from rock and soul to classical, Weller can always be counted on for a refreshingly ambitious and edgy effort. In a session with host David Dye, the former Jam front man performs material from 22 Dreams. Decades after the dissolution of his bands The Jam and Style Council, Weller remains one of the most influential Britpop acts of the past 30 years. He got his start as the front man for the late-'70s new-wave punk band The Jam, which came from modest beginnings to become a force atop the British charts. The Jam helped established Weller as one of the most visible and imitated r

Paul Weller Interview w/Richard Kingsmill & Performance On Australian Radio: Triple J!

Paul Weller Triple J Interview - Download/Listen Paul performed an acoustic version of "All I Wanna Do (Is Be With You)" which is included.