What a great, sprawling, glorious mess of an album this is. You never know what you’re going to get with Paul Weller – he’s one of music’s most prodigious dabblers, equally fluent in rock, soul, jazz, electronica, atonal contemporary, or acoustic folk. I know he’s not averse to the Grand Artistic Statement, either, so for weeks I’ve been poring over his latest album, wondering if there was some secret code or theme (for example: if it’s called 22 Dreams, why does it have 21 tracks? Why does it begin with “Light Nights” and end with “Night Lights”?). After all, Weller’s been pulling off this sort of high-handed artistic trick ever since he cast off the taut punk aesthetic of the Jam and went off on the long-winded soul- and jazz-inspired rambles of Style Council.
But along the way, I found myself utterly seduced by something much simpler: melody. It's an old-fashioned concept, really, in this rap- and hip-hop dominated era, but there it is, staring me right in the face.
I have to confess to a bad habit of trawling through an album on the first listen, looking for plum tracks to pluck off for my iPod (Ah, the curse of the digital age!). As I started working my way through 22 Dreams, I had to deal with a non-stop barrage of winners – the anthemic raga-flavored “Light Nights,” the buzzy uptempo rock-and-roll of “22 Dreams,” the loose-limbed syncopation of “All I Wanna Do (Is Be With You),” and the funky soul of “Have You Made Up Your Mind,” just to mention the first four tracks. These are songs that short-circuit your musical memory, with such satisfying melodic lines that you’re instantly certain you’ve known them for years. I have to surrender; they're all iPod-worthy.
That clear rock groove dissolves next into a stretch of jazzier pieces—the shimmery atmospheric “Empty Ring,” the tenderly mournful acoustic piano piece “Invisible,” and the infectious samba “Cold Moments.” We’re not in sing-along territory anymore, but there’s still a through-line of tunefulness that’s hard to resist. (I’ll admit I skip over “Song For Alice,” which despite an insistent rhythm track never fights its way out of the electronic haze of experimental sounds.)
Article comments
1 - guitanorak
Its a very mixed album alright I agree. I read on Amazon that Weller said 'I thought the time was right to make the sort of record I wanted to make'. Well I guess he has done just that.
The 'Grandfather' of Brit Rock has spoken :). guitanorak
2 - Christopher Rose
Guitanorak, the "grandfather of Brit Rock"? Wouldn't that be Keith or Mick from the Stones?
Weller was great in The Jam but pretty boring ever since and apparently he might think the same way too based on your quote above...
3 - Holly A Hughes
I think the PR label for Weller lately has been the Modfather -- which is equally silly and pretentious.
Well, I doubt that Paul Weller thinks he's been boring ever since the Jam. He seems to have a pretty healthy estimation of his own talents. Personally I think he's been interesting the whole way through, but he's such a musical shape-shifter, he's bound to alienate fans on every side.