I’m just not cut out for that sort of thing. I couldn’t do that heritage route easily, not with any sort of conviction at all. So, for me, having two or three moments on each record that I’ve managed to do that, then it’s successful for me. In fact, it’s next to impossible to always come up with something different, but I’m always conscious of trying to reach somewhere else or get to some other place with it. ![]() I’m always just trying to keep my own interest and not repeat myself, which when you have been recording music as long as I have, can be difficult. Paul said: “I just wanted every song to be strong on its own, like each one could be a single. With a back catalogue and reputation like his, he could easily go down the heritage act route if he wanted to and just churn out the hits for the rest of his life, but that’s just not how he’s wired. He makes music that interests him and that he wants to be proud to let people hear. We’d really missed it we’d missed each other, and we’d missed playing together.”Ī new Weller album isn’t ever something you can predict what it’s going to sound like, which is just how he likes it. Just having us all back in the same room again, having a bit of banter and playing some music together. I would say it was like the first day of school, but I hated school, so it was more like the last day, just a real f***ing joy. Getting back together in person though, that was really special. Paul said: “In the first bit of the lockdown, I was just recording my vocal and a guitar or piano to a click track, then I’d send that to the various band members who’d do their part and send it back to me, so there was a bit of to-ing and fro-ing for a while, until we could all get together, It was very weird, I wouldn’t say it was completely enjoyable as little things kept coming back that we could have easily fixed if we were all together, but it did enable us to keep moving forward and stay working. It wasn’t an ideal way to do things, but they made it work. The initial parts of the album were recorded remotely by Weller and his band – Steve Cradock, Ben Gordelier and Andy Crofts – with the musicians trading files from each of their respective homes and only came together at Paul’s Black Barn studio in Surrey when restrictions were lifted. There was nothing particularly challenging in there though, just what are in my opinion, 12 really great songs.” The prospect of all that time off meant I was going to have to utilise my time in other ways, so I just put my time and energy into making a record. Looking back at the genesis of what became Fat Pop (Volume 1), Paul said: “Most things become more apparent when you’re working on a record, so I don’t think I had any masterplan for it, I just wanted to make a record as I was facing a whole year or more of not doing anything, as all the live stuff had been cancelled obviously. ![]() As far as he saw it, if you can’t get out and play music, what else is there to do than make some more? No filler, all Weller in other words.Įven by his standards, it’s been a quick turnaround since the last album but it’s a record he had already started planning that was just moved forward when lockdown kicked in last year. There’s no waste on the album, no offcuts making up the runtime. As usual too, his quality control is as strong as ever too. ![]() It’s a typically diverse collection of songs, taking in influences and inspirations from across the board, but with every track sounding unmistakably like nobody else other than Paul Weller. His 16th solo album since his self-titled debut dropped way back in 1992, it comes less than a year after its predecessor, the equally astonishing On Sunset, which earned him his fifth Number One album as a solo artist. It’s no surprise then, that he’s back with another new record that does just that, the incredible Fat Pop (Volume 1). Never one to rest on his laurels or repeat himself, Paul Weller somehow has managed to keep producing new material that holds its own with his ever-increasing back catalogue of classic albums while always exploring new ideas at the same time. Since Paul Weller first burst into the national consciousness with The Jam in 1977, up through The Style Council and beyond with his prolific solo endeavours, the 62-year-old Englishman has always been about one thing – moving forward. There are not many artists who are still making vibrant and relevant music over four decades into their career, but Paul Weller has always done things differently.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |