reviews / 2022

PAUL WELLER - JAM - STYLE COUNCIL - Will Of The People

Name: PAUL WELLER – JAM - STYLE COUNCIL - Will Of The People
Item: JAM - STYLE COUNCIL - Will Of The People
Rating: 6.5
Author: Claudio Lancia

2022 (Universal)

art-pop, singer-songwriter

by Claudio Lancia

6.5

Singolare che il titolo della nuova raccolta di outtakes & rarities firmata da Paul Weller coincida con quello del disco da poco pubblicato dai Muse: un indizio di quanto poco l’originalità abiti ormai da queste parti? “Will Of The People” è una selezione compilata dallo stesso Weller (sue anche le note del track-to-track) che setaccia il periodo 2002-2021, includendo B-side, singoli estemporanei e alternative take. In pratica, si tratta della seconda parte di “Fly On The Wall”, altra antologia diffusa nel 2003 per fare il punto fino a quella data.

Trattandosi di brani non finiti sui (tanti, troppi?) dischi ufficiali degli ultimi vent’anni, è chiaro che la qualità media sia altalenante, con sostanzioso spazio riservato a quelle tracce dal respiro acustico (“Into The Sea” una delle migliori) fra le quali il Modfather si sente spesso nella propria comfort zone. Ma l’energia di “Big Brass Buttons”, “Alone” e “Rip The Pages Up”, l’afrobeat supportato dai fiati di “Mother Ethiopia” (incisa insieme agli Stone Foundation), lo slancio jazzy di “Golden Leaves”, le ambiziose orchestrazioni di “Serafina”, le sane schitarrate elettriche di “Portal To The Past” meritano senz’altro di avere una nuova opportunità.

C’è spazio anche per il demo di “Let Me In”, canzone poi incisa dal giovane cantautore britannico Olly Murs, e per le cover di “Birthday”, l’evergreen dei Beatles, e “How Sweet It Is”, un superclassico del soul portato al successo da Marvin Gaye nel 1964 e già riproposto da James Taylor nel 1975.

A completamento del box (formato da tre dischi per complessive 31 tracce) sono state incluse alcune versioni remix, fra le quali meritano segnalazione le derive noise-psych che emergono dal lavoro eseguito da Richard Fearless in “Super Lekker Stone” e l’intervento dei Pet Shop Boys, perfetti nel confezionare il lungo eighties trip di “Cosmic Fringes”.

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05/01/2023

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This article is an English translation of the original Italian text by Claudio Lancia, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.

Read the original in Italian · About the English edition

Tracklist

Disc 1
1. The Piper
2. Into The Sea
3. Big Brass Buttons
4. Super Lekker Stoned (Richard Fearless mix)
5. Saturn Pattern (StraightFace/Young Fathers remix)
6. Let Me In (demo)
7. I Spy
8. Oranges And Rosewater
9. Praise If You Wanna
10. Mother Ethiopia - Pt. 1
11. We Got A Lot
12. I’ll Think Of Something
Disc 2
1. Devotion
2. Sun Goes
3. Alone
4. Lay Down Your Weary Burden
5. The Olde Original
6. Pure Sound
7. Landslide
8. Dusk Til Dawn
9. The Ballad Of Jimmy McCabe
10. Rip The Pages Up
11. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)
12. Golden Leaves
Disc 3
1. Birthday
2. Serafina
3. I Work In The Clouds
4. Portal To The Past
5. Hopper (White Label remix)
6. Cosmic Fringes (Pet Shop Boys triad mix)
7. Alpha

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