| Days of Speed, recorded live and acoustic at various shows during his 2001 global tour, will do little to further Paul Weller's standing among critics, who have a blind spot when it comes to Paul Weller. How is it, they want to know, that the man responsible for one of the most inspirational commercial punk-era bands (The Jam) and the cosmopolitan verve of the early 1980s nouveau jazz/pop Style Council is so seemingly content spending his twilight years turning himself into a third-rate Eric Clapton? Clearly, he's not lacking in talent (or fervent support, as the applause on this album proves). Yet he insists on singing in a wooden fashion--you could kindly compare him to Steve Winwood, if Weller wasn't so clearly his own man--and writing songs that continue to ignore the outside world. Contrast the older songs here--a lacklustre "That's Entertainment", a desultory "Headstart for Happiness" from the Council's excellent 1984 album Café Bleu, "Town Called Malice" divorced of its driving Motown beat (surely its main part)--with the newer version of Weller, a "mature" Weller, a Weller that clearly thinks the concerns of the world are no longer his. "You Do Something to Me" (from 1995's successful Stanley Road) still shimmers above the hedgerow, "Amongst Butterflies" (from 1992's Paul Weller) possess a certain naïve charm, but on the whole this is heavy going indeed. One indistinguishable love song follows another. The fall and fall of Weller certainly adds fuel to the fire of those who believe rock & roll to be a youth music, but really it comes down to one simple test for old Jam fans: which song did you prefer, "Going Underground" or "That's Entertainment"? --Everett True |
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