Paul Weller 1991-2001

Whilst on holiday in Edinburgh this year, we had our annual visit to Unknown Pleasures, the record shop at the OTHER end of the Royal Mile. I picked up a copy, 11 years after it’s release, of Paul Weller’s “Fly On The Wall”, which was issued to mark the end of his record contract with Island Records, who by this point had consumed the Go! Discs imprint, the label upon which most Weller solo singles had been released thus far. The rarities set actually appeared after his first album(s) for his next label, Independiente, and cheated a bit by including something taped for a magazine CD cover mount freebie from 2002, but it’s a nice overview of the man’s flipsides from that first decade, along with the obligatory “previously unreleased song” included in carrot-dangling mode.

The early period of Weller’s career seems almost the work of another man. By the end of the 90’s, he had gone from being the celebrated Modfather, to the man who had invented “Dadrock” and lots of bad Oasis tribute bands, and even the man himself seems to have a bit of a problem with some of the things he recorded at times - the sleeve notes for “Fly On The Wall” included quotes from Weller admitting that some of these B-sides were massive throwaways. And in recent times, his latter period albums have featured levels of sonic experimentation that make even his Soul Boy days in The Style Council seem positively mainstream. But there are some decent songs in this part of the back catalogue, and some of those b-sides are exactly what b-sides are supposed to be - slightly off kilter, and a bit odd at times. Buying this boxset reminded me it was time for a Weller early years article.

Weller’s solo career might never have happened had there not been a falling out between The Style Council and their record label. In 1989, the band released a stand alone 45 called “Promised Land”, which was heavily influenced by the US house music scene. It was due to be followed by an entire album recorded within the same genre, called “Modernism” - but Polydor refused to release it, seemingly on the basis that it was just too far removed from the sort of music Weller had become associated with. The band promptly split up there and then, and after a brief break, Weller made the decision to carry on with music.

Much has been made of Weller’s early years as a solo performer, with numerous reports of how his first gigs as a solo artist were in miniscule dives of venues, but within about a year, he was playing slightly larger club venues, the sort of places he would inhabit frequently until the late 1990s. He formed a new band called The Paul Weller Movement, and set up his own label, Freedom High. The band’s debut single was 1991’s “Into Tomorrow”, a return of sorts to the power pop growl of The Jam, and a sound that would inform much of what he would record in the years that followed. Weller was excited by the songs he had recorded, and gained a new found confidence, even though the single itself went mostly unnoticed.

The band didn’t last too long - they managed one other release, a concert VHS called “Live!”, before Weller was signed to Go! Discs, and assumed the role of solo artist. His first single under his own name, 1992’s “Uh Huh Oh Yeh” was a masterful effort, mixing the guitar sounds of “Into Tomorrow” with an almost dance like groove, which was then overlaid by some psychedelic beeps and noises courtesy of producer Brendan Lynch. Lynch’s influence would be heard on numerous Weller recordings over the next few years.

His self titled debut LP was released, at first, in Japan in the spring of 1992 - which can sometimes suggest a UK label is stalling over a release (Alesha Dixon‘s debut never came out here, but did surface on RCA in Japan, for a modern example). But it did eventually surface in the UK in September, with an altered track listing. Weller still seemed like a cult figure at this time - Britpop hadn’t quite yet really happened, and neither the album nor follow up 45 “Above The Clouds” did a great deal chart wise, but it’s love of 60’s R&B ran through the album, and it essentially set up Weller’s soon-to-be-popular ‘back to basics’ sound for pretty much the rest of the decade.

It was with 1993’s “Wild Wood” that Weller’s comeback was finally sealed. Not that dissimilar to it’s predecessor, but here was a record that just arrived at the right time - it was home to a pair of sterling 45’s, the raucous thump of “Sunflower” and the Nick Drake-esque acoustic strum of the title track, and it catapulted him back into the mainstream. Lynch’s involvement helped to give the album, at times, that sort of left-field feel, there were a number of mini instrumentals placed at specific points throughout the record, and although it may well have paved the way for the likes of Oasis to emerge soon after, few of the bands that followed in it’s wake really did anything other than borrow the “guitary” bits of the record.

“Wild Wood” was the first time for which Weller would issue singles that featured identical track listings on each format, with the title track issued as a 2-track release irrelevant of which edition you purchased, and “The Weaver” was later issued as a 4 track EP on multiple formats, Weller’s first such release. Indeed, every (regular) subsequent single he released on Go!/Island were always issued in the same manner, meaning that some of the vinyl and cassette pressings are just as worthwhile hunting down as the CD versions. With the man himself now on a critical and commercial roll, he issued a stand alone single, the sublime beauty that was “Hung Up”, soon after the album’s release. “Wild Wood”, the LP, was then reissued in 1994 with said 45 tagged on as a bonus track followed by a live album, the punningly titled “Live Wood”.

The next two studio albums were both previewed, many months in advance, by what might have seemed at the time to have been stand alone singles. 1995’s “Stanley Road” was preceded by a masterful late ‘94 single called “Out Of The Sinking”, all Who-esque strutting and a power chord romp of a chorus, that was so good, it was later reissued in revamped packaging in Feb 96 to coincide with Paul getting a couple of nods (and a win) at the Brit Awards. In the weeks leading up to “Stanley Road” (which took it’s name from the street in Woking that he grew up in), the album was previewed by a second 45, the Lynch-assisted “The Changingman”, which stole it’s famous riff directly off an old ELO single, “10538 Overture”, which probably went straight over the heads of the youngsters who were now digging Weller via the Britpop link.

“Stanley Road” remains, for many, Weller’s stand out solo album - possibly even more so than the later “left field” releases like “Wake Up The Nation”. It retains it’s love of mod, it’s obsession with R&B and wears it’s Beatles and Traffic influences on it’s (tailored) sleeve, but it’s never less than enjoyable - be it the slushy piano mush of “You Do Something To Me”, the soulful groove of “Broken Stones” or the snarling roar of “Porcelain Gods”. You could even view it as his own “Sgt Pepper” - the man himself loves it, and it even came in a Pepper-esque collage style sleeve designed by the very same Peter Blake, complete with images of Lennon, Georgie Best and the circular Mod target on the front. Unashamedly retro perhaps, but all in all, very cleverly done. Weller, by now being lauded by just about everyone, and given the ‘Modfather’ tag on a “Time Out” magazine cover, was putting those troublesome post-Style Council years behind him, and was becoming a huge star yet again. In the summer of 1996, he even put on his own festival - with himself as headliner - at Finsbury Park, dubbed “Lazy Sunday Afternoon”. A far cry from those little gigs at Subterania in 1991. So confident was he by now, that he had mostly abandoned performances of old Jam and Style Council songs from the setlists, and usually filled his shows with material drawn exclusively from his solo repertoire. A newspaper issued a three track freebie CD led off by "Into Tomorrow" the day before the gig, to coincide.

1997’s “Heavy Soul” was, again, previewed by a single a year earlier, another spiky piece of slightly agitated guitar rock in the form of “Peacock Suit”. As for the LP itself, released after he had shifted sideways from Go! Discs to Island, it seems to divide opinion. Some will tell you it’s a work of genius, the sound of a man moving onwards and upwards, away from what he had done before, but I am convinced the music rags at the time grumbled a bit about it, more or less dubbing it “Stanley Road-lite” and moaning that he still sounded exactly the same as he had done in 1992. Still, I love the cover (a big “Heavy Soul” logo, but no mention of the artist’s name - a bit surreal really), and the fact that the title track was so long, it had to be split into two halves (Prog Mod, anybody?), whilst there is no denying the melodic joy of “Mermaids” nor the anthemic catchiness of the short, sharp, but sweet “Friday Street”.

1998’s “Modern Classics”, which spawned a ‘follow up’ in 2014, was his first hits set. It doesn’t mess about - all 16 of Weller’s singles released thus far, albeit in “random” order, and thus does what all singles collections should do. Initial copies included a free 13 track live album taped at a gig that summer in London’s Victoria Park. The show had originally been recorded for radio, but the track listing on this freebie disc differed to the original FM broadcast.

As with “Heavy Soul”, depending on who you ask about “Heliocentric”, 2000’s last studio outing on Island, they will tell you it’s either the sound of a man going round in circles and ultimately getting stuck in a rut, or is the sound of a man outgrowing and outstripping his past and continuing to make forward thinking good music. The NME loved it. I particularly like the cover again, Weller looking like he’s stepped straight out of the 60s, with similar retro activity in action courtesy of the song titles being printed on the front. For those of you who have been, perhaps, cryogenically frozen for the last 25 years, you can play catch up with the five studio efforts courtesy of another recent release, “Paul Weller Vol.1 : Classic Albums Selection”, which includes repressings of these efforts in their original sleeves, with “Hung Up” still in situ on “Wild Wood”.

Weller’s deal with Island came to an end with this record, and he moved to Independiente, debuting on that label with a live album, which was a tad odd. “Fly On The Wall” was released in 2003 on Universal, and succeeded in making several of the now hard-to-find flipsides from the Go! And Island era available once more.

Discography

“Fly On The Wall” was designed as a boxset - each disc in it’s own sleeve, with booklet and photo. The cover versions that were included were siphoned off and placed exclusively on disc 3, which was given it’s own individual title of “Button Downs” (a Mod reference), housed in a cover showing a Pop-Art image of Weller and model Kate Moss.

It’s not complete, by the way - some B-sides appeared multiple times in alternate forms, and at no point does the box ever cover this repetition. Live tracks did, or did not, make the cut, depending on...well, I have no idea really. So whilst certain singles saw all their B-sides make it into the box, others, simply, didn’t. Therefore, you will see that for some releases listed below, only the “extended play” formats are shown, and this is because their 7” and Cassette cousins omitted flipsides that even today, are only available in the UK on the original 12” or CD pressings.

The 45’s list below, as ever, lists formats that are of interest if you have “Fly“, and also the recent-ish expanded deluxe editions of Weller’s first three LP’s, as these between them do include many of the flipsides that failed to make “FOTW“ (but, again, not quite all of them - still). A handful of singles were later reissued, and these are detailed alongside their original releases for ease of use. For the albums, I have listed the original pressings, for those of you who simply want a copy without added bells and whistles and for some reason don’t want to get the recent box set, alongside important limited/deluxe pressings, for those of you who simply have to have everything. The likes of “Paul Weller” were issued in digipack form, and then later, in “standard” casing, but I have just listed the “standard“ catalogue numbers.


ALBUMS

Paul Weller (LP, Go! Discs 828 343 1)
Paul Weller (Cassette, Go! Discs 828 343 4)
Paul Weller (CD, Go! Discs 828 343 2)
Paul Weller (2xCD, Island 06007 5322339, 2009 “Deluxe“ reissue)

Wild Wood (LP, Go! Discs 828 435 1)
Wild Wood (Cassette, Go! Discs 828 435 4)
Wild Wood (CD, Go! Discs 828 435 2)
Wild Wood (LP, Go! Discs 828 513 1, 1994 reissue with “Hung Up“)
Wild Wood (Cassette, Go! Discs 828 513 4, 1994 reissue with “Hung Up“)
Wild Wood (CD, Go! Discs 828 513 2, 1994 reissue with “Hung Up“)
Wild Wood (2xCD, Go! Discs 530 1916, 2007 “Deluxe” reissue)

Live Wood (LP, Go! Discs 828 561 1)
Live Wood (Cassette, Go! Discs 828 561 4)
Live Wood (CD, Go! Discs 828 561 2)
Note: there were also corresponding VHS/Laserdisc releases issued simultaneously.

Stanley Road (LP, Go! Discs 828 619 1)
Stanley Road (6x7” Boxset, Go! Discs 850 070 7)
Stanley Road (Cassette, Go! Discs 828 619 4)
Stanley Road (CD, Go! Discs 828 619 2)
Stanley Road (CD in 12” box, Go! Discs 828 629 2)
Stanley Road (2xCD + DVD, Go! Discs 928 840 1, 2005 “Deluxe” reissue)

Heavy Soul (LP, Island ILPS 8058)
Heavy Soul (Cassette, Island ICT 8058)
Heavy Soul (CD, Island CID 8058)
Heavy Soul (Limited CD, Island CIDX 8058, foldout sleeve)

Modern Classics (2xLP, Island ILPSD 8080)
Modern Classics (4x7”, Island IBX 8080)
Modern Classics (Cassette, Island ICT 8080)
Modern Classics (CD, Island CID 8080)
Modern Classics (2xCD, Island CIDD 8080, with free “Live Classics” bonus CD)

Heliocentric (LP, Island ILPS 8093)
Heliocentric (Cassette, Island ICT 8093)
Heliocentric (CD, Island CID 8093)


SINGLES

Into Tomorrow/Here’s A New Thing (7”, Freedom High FHP 1)
Into Tomorrow/Here’s A New Thing (Cassette, Freedom High FHPMC 1)
Into Tomorrow/Here’s A New Thing/That Spiritual Feeling/Into Tomorrow (Original 8 Track Demo) (12”, Freedom High FHPT 1)
Into Tomorrow/Here’s A New Thing/That Spiritual Feeling/Into Tomorrow (Original 8 Track Demo) (CD, Freedom High FHPC 1)
Into Tomorrow/Wild Wood/Out Of The Sinking (The Guardian freebie CD, Go! Discs PWGCD 1)

Uh Huh Oh Yeh/Fly On The Wall (7”, Go! Discs GOD 86)
Uh Huh Oh Yeh/Fly On The Wall (Cassette, Go! Discs GODMC 86)
Uh Huh Oh Yeh/Arrival Time/Fly On The Wall/Always There To Fool You (12“, Go! Discs GODX 86)
Uh Huh Oh Yeh/Arrival Time/Fly On The Wall/Always There To Fool You (CD, Go! Discs GODCD 86)

Above The Clouds/Everything Has A Price To Pay (7”, Go! Discs GOD 91)
Above The Clouds/Everything Has A Price To Pay (Cassette, Go! Discs GODMC 91)
Above The Clouds/Everything Has A Price To Pay/All Year Round (Live)/Feeling Alright (12“, Go! Discs GODX 91)
Above The Clouds/Everything Has A Price To Pay/All Year Round (Live)/Feeling Alright (CD, Go! Discs GODCD 91)

Sunflower/Kosmos SXDub 2000/Bull Rush - Magic Bus/That Spiritual Feeling (New Mix) (12“, Go! Discs GODX 102)
Sunflower/Kosmos SXDub 2000/Bull Rush - Magic Bus/That Spiritual Feeling (New Mix) (CD, Go! Discs GODCD 102)

The Loved (Big Issue Flexi Disc, no catalogue number)

Wild Wood/Ends Of The Earth (7“, Go! Discs GOD 104)
Wild Wood/Ends Of The Earth (10“, Go! Discs GODT 104)
Wild Wood/Ends Of The Earth (Cassette, Go! Discs GODMC 104)
Wild Wood/Ends Of The Earth (CD, Go! Discs GODCD 104)
Wild Wood (LP Version)/(Paul Weller VS Portishead - The Sheared Wood Remix) (7”, Island IS 734)
Wild Wood (LP Version)/Science (With The Psychonauts - Lynch Mob Remix)/Wild Wood (Paul Weller VS Portishead - The Sheared Wood Remix) (12”, Island 12 IS 734)
Wild Wood (LP Version)/(Paul Weller VS Portishead - The Sheared Wood Remix)/Science (With The Psychonauts - Lynch Mob Remix) (CD, Island CID 734)
Note: every B-side, including those from the reissue, are on “Fly On The Wall”.

The Weaver EP: The Weaver/This Is No Time/Another New Day/Ohio (7“, Go! Discs GOD 107)
The Weaver EP: The Weaver/This Is No Time/Another New Day/Ohio (Cassette, Go! Discs GODMC 107)
The Weaver EP: The Weaver/This Is No Time/Another New Day/Ohio (10“, Go! Discs GODT 107)
The Weaver EP: The Weaver/This Is No Time/Another New Day/Ohio (CD, Go! Discs GODCD 107)

Hung Up/Foot Of The Mountain (Live)/The Loved/Kosmos (Lynch Mob Bonus Beats) (7“, Go! Discs GOD 111)
Hung Up/Foot Of The Mountain (Live)/The Loved/Kosmos (Lynch Mob Bonus Beats) (Cassette, Go! Discs GODMC 111)
Hung Up/Foot Of The Mountain (Live)/The Loved/Kosmos (Lynch Mob Bonus Beats) (12“, Go! Discs GODX 111)
Hung Up/Foot Of The Mountain (Live)/The Loved/Kosmos (Lynch Mob Bonus Beats) (CD, Go! Discs GODCD 111)

Shadow Of The Sun (Live in Wolverhampton)/Sunflower (Lynch Mob Dub Edit)/Wild Wood (Paul Weller VS Portishead - The Sheared Wood Remix) (NME freebie AAA 7”, Go! Discs PNME 1)

Out Of The Sinking/Sexy Sadie/Sunflower (Lynch Mob Dub) (7“, Go! Discs GOD 121)
Out Of The Sinking/Sexy Sadie/Sunflower (Lynch Mob Dub) (Cassette, Go! Discs GODMC 121)
Out Of The Sinking/Sexy Sadie/Sunflower (Lynch Mob Dub) (12“, Go! Discs GODX 121)
Out Of The Sinking/Sexy Sadie/Sunflower (Lynch Mob Dub) (CD, Go! Discs GODCD 121)
Out Of The Sinking/I Shall Be Released/Broken Stones (KRO Radio 3 1.10.1995)/Porcelain Gods (KRO Radio 3 1.10.1995) (7”, Go! Discs GOD 143)
Out Of The Sinking/I Shall Be Released/Broken Stones (KRO Radio 3 1.10.1995)/Porcelain Gods (KRO Radio 3 1.10.1995) (CD, Go! Discs GODCD 143)

The Changingman/I’d Rather Go Blind/It’s A New Day Baby/I Didn’t Mean To Hurt You (Live) (7“, Go! Discs GOD 127)
The Changingman/I’d Rather Go Blind/It’s A New Day Baby/I Didn’t Mean To Hurt You (Live) (Cassette, Go! Discs GODMC 127)
The Changingman/I’d Rather Go Blind/It’s A New Day Baby/I Didn’t Mean To Hurt You (Live) (CD, Go! Discs GODCD 127)

You Do Something To Me/My Whole World Is Falling Down/A Year Late/Woodcutter’s Son (Live) (7“, Go! Discs GOD 130)
You Do Something To Me/My Whole World Is Falling Down/A Year Late/Woodcutter’s Son (Live) (Cassette, Go! Discs GODMC 130)
You Do Something To Me/My Whole World Is Falling Down/A Year Late/Woodcutter’s Son (Live) (CD, Go! Discs GODCD 130)

Broken Stones/Steam (7“, Go! Discs GOD 132)
Broken Stones/Steam (Cassette, Go! Discs GODMC 132)
Broken Stones/Steam (CD, Go! Discs GODCD 132)

Peacock Suit/Eye Of The Storm (7“, Go! Discs GOD 149)
Peacock Suit/Eye Of The Storm (Cassette, Go! Discs GODMC 149)
Peacock Suit/Eye Of The Storm (CD, Go! Discs GODCD 149)

Brushed/Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City/Shoot The Dove/As You Lean Into The Light (Acoustic) (7“, Island IS 666)
Brushed/Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City/Shoot The Dove/As You Lean Into The Light (Acoustic) (Cassette, Island CIS 666)
Brushed/Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City/Shoot The Dove/As You Lean Into The Light (Acoustic) (CD, Island CID 666)

Friday Street/Sunflower (Live 1997)/Brushed (Live 1997)/Mermaids (Live 1997) (7“, Island IS 676)
Friday Street/Sunflower (Live 1997)/Brushed (Live 1997)/Mermaids (Live 1997) (Cassette, Island CIS 676)
Friday Street/Sunflower (Live 1997)/Brushed (Live 1997)/Mermaids (Live 1997) (CD, Island CID 676)

Mermaids/Everything Has A Price To Pay (‘97 Version)/So You Want To Be A Dancer (7“, Island IS 683)
Mermaids/So You Want To Be A Dancer/Everything Has A Price To Pay ('97 Version) (Cassette, Island CIS 683)
Mermaids/So You Want To Be A Dancer/Everything Has A Price To Pay (‘97 Version) (CD, Island CID 683)

Brand New Start/Right Underneath It/The Riverbank (7“, Island IS 711)
Brand New Start/Right Underneath It/The Riverbank (Cassette, Island CIS 711)
Brand New Start/Right Underneath It/The Riverbank (CD, Island CID 711)

He’s The Keeper/Helioscentric/Bang Bang (12“, Island 12 IS 760)
He’s The Keeper/Helioscentric/Bang Bang (CD, Island CID 760)

Sweet Pea, My Sweet Pea/Back In The Fire (BBC Radio Theatre 27.5.2000)/There’s No Drinking After You’re Dead (Noonday Underground Remix) (12“, Island IS 764)
Sweet Pea, My Sweet Pea/Back In The Fire (BBC Radio Theatre 27.5.2000)/There’s No Drinking After You’re Dead (Noonday Underground Remix) (CD, Island CID 764)

Helios EP: Frightened (BBC Radio Theatre 27.5.2000)/There’s No Drinking After You’re Dead/Bang Bang/Helioscentric (Record Store Freebie CD, Island WELLERCD1)