Name the greatest album Paul Weller has released? Jam/solo/ or Style Council

OF COURSE

Although http://plaza15.mbn.or.jp/~modskyushu/1978ALL%20MOD%20CONS.jpg comes a very close second, and if we're allowed to nominate comp.s then http://image.com.com/mp3/images/cover/200/dre800/e830/e83099l4mxj.jpg (or failing that http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000001G1U.01._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg ) wins hands down.

Which is a bit like Sound Affects performed by the Style Council.

The production on All Mod Cons always struck me as too thin sounding. There album versions of, say, "Billy Hunt" or, perhaps most espectially, "A Bomb on Wadour Street" are vastly inferior to their live counterparts. No such problem on the excellent Setting Suns, but the album does suffer from some extremely weak tracks, e.g. "Heatwave", Smithers-Jones. So, Sound Affects has it- a consistent set of songs from start to finish and a production job that does justice to them.

(Although, I must admit that I have practically zero familiarity with the Style Council and solo Weller.)

Sometimes the obvious answer is the right one.

(I thought Marissa was going to haiku there!)

So, now that Paul Weller has spent three albums turning into David Bowie, I wonder if things have changed. I know that Charles Eddy is a big fan. Weller's newest album Sonik Kicks seems like another pretty strong one, maybe not quite as good as Wake Up The Nation, but not a retread either. I never liked The Jams.

I can see the Jam singles comp argument, they had that impeccable run from Tube Station to Funeral Pyre.

Excellent special edition of Uncut Magazine on Weller's work throughout his whole career has had me re-investigating his discography recently...

At the moment I'd say:-

Best album with The Jam: undoubtedly Sound Affects, with All Mod Cons and Setting Sons in 2nd and 3rd place.

Best album with The Style Council: Our Favourite Shop, although I have a hell of a soft spot for the first side of Confessions Of A Pop Group. If Cafe Bleu had been better assembled from the amount of decent material Weller had at the time, it probably would have been that. I don't think I'll ever like The Cost Of Loving.

Best album solo: Heliocentric and Paul Weller are my favourites, although Wild Wood is probably the best one overall in terms of material/performance etc.

I haven't liked anything Paul Weller has done since Heliocentric to be honest, even his recent Simon Dine collaborations; I dislike the way his voice sounds these days, and don't think the albums are as well produced as they were during the Brendan Lynch era.

My go: I'd put Sound Affects top, with AllModCons 2nd. There's too much of Setting Sons I dislike, I'd put "Modern World" above it in 3rd with "In the city" just below it. That leaves "The Gift" there, haven't played it for decades!

Style Council, Cafe Bleu follerd by Shop, then.. Modernism!

Solo, hmm I think I got all of them but don't love any of them really. Sonic Kikz I think I like best, 22 dreams, then a greatest hits one will do.

clarifying- city just below world, then gift, then setting.

brendan lynch.

whatever happened there.

i really liked his mix of rock and f*cked up dub/psych excess.

he seems to have just dropped off the planet, which is a real shame.

I have absolutely no idea what Brendan Lynch is up to these days, or what he's been working on. I should look into that, because I always liked the often spacey effects he added to some of Weller's stuff. Apparently Weller stopped working with Brendan Lynch because he felt that he'd taken way too long to mix Heliocentric. I find this bizarre, because the mix is one of the things I like most about that record! Great headphone listening.

Style Council, Cafe Bleu follerd by Shop, then.. Modernism!

What, wait, really? The house LP? Maybe I should give that a few more listens; I recall not really connecting with it, though.

Yeah.

I think because I disliked Cost/loving, and really didn't have the time to sit and give Confessions my full undivided.

But, the singles were pretty much alright to the end.

So, when the big box came around, got to hear Modernism, and liked it much more than the previous 2 albums, actually I'd say I liked it independantly of comparing it to the other albums..

Interesting, I've got the Complete Adventures box set, so I'll dig that out soon and give it another go!

I definitely share your dislike of The Cost Of Loving... there was nothing wrong with the style of music he was trying to attempt at that point (well, I don't find anything wrong with it myself), but I just don't think he was firing on all cylinders on the songwriting/production front. I guess 'Waiting' comes the closest to the earlier Style Council standard for me (incidentally, I was surprised to see that Uncut chose to rate this song quite low in their recent special edition).

As for Confessions..., I just find myself wishing that Side Two was more like Side One, although 'Why I Went Missing' and 'How She Threw It All Away' are kind of okay, I guess. But that first side, oh god.

I gave up on Paul Weller 20 years ago but recently have been hearing that his last three, "22 Dreams", "Wake Up The Nation" and "Sonik Kicks" are a genuine return to form. Anyone have any thoughts on these?

It's easy to dance to Town Called Malice.