Weller, Paul - Heavy Soul
****
Rawer, more rocky and influenced by late 60s guitar rock than other Weller albums, Heavy Soul still has some excellent songs, singing, playing and exciting moments as well as a good live feel.
Released - 1997
Acquired by me: 8.10.01 - Borrowed (Library)

Weller, Paul – Hit Parade
****1/2
For the first time, Hit Parade brings together the three ages of Weller onto a single CD.  Featuring seven tracks by The Jam, six by the Style Council and 10 by Paul as a solo artist, the compilation obviously only scratches the surface of Weller’s vast repertoire but is a very good overview or greatest hits set by this major artist.
Obviously virtually all of Paul’s biggest hits are present on Hit Parade but are these necessarily his greatest and most significant songs?  By and large, they are with particular highlights for me including The Eton Rifles and Town Called Malice by The Jam, the brilliant Shout To The Top by the Style Council and Changingman and Wild Wood from the solo years. I imagine that Paul was especially thrilled that two tracks from his (then) most recent LP As Is Now are also included on Hit Parade.  Even more proudly, the tracks in question – the exhilarating From The Floorboards up and Come On / Lets Go – stand up to anything else featured on this compilation.
The only real omissions from Hit Parade for me are singles representing Weller’s early punk years (In The City would have been the best choice) and a track from his first solo album such as Into Tomorrow which signified the beginning of his creative rebirth following the downward trajectory of the later Style Council years.  Neither song was a particularly big hit though they were highly significant releases and warrant inclusion on that front.
Good as Hit Parade is, it doesn’t really do Paul Weller justice in the way that a two CD set also including further singles as well as key b-sides and album tracks would.  Unfortunately Paul hasn’t been featured in the excellent Essentials series yet so the best path for those wanting more Weller is a compilation of each of his three main acts.  For those just wanting a one-CD overview however, Hit Parade is a very good place to start.
Acquired by me:  Autumn 2009 – Borrowed (Library)

White Stripes – Elephant
*****
How far can you develop your sound with just electric guitar and drums.  Quite a way though surely the point comes when your increasing creativity and musicality demands the introduction of further instruments.  On Elephant, the White Stripes’ Jack White also plays piano, organ, acoustic guitar and bass though thankfully in a very sparing way to enhance the songs.  The raw White Stripes sound is still there on this brilliant and exciting album.
Like one of his clear influences Kurt Cobain, Jack knows about dynamics and how to arrange a song featuring just a few parts to maximise it impact.  He also share Cobain’s gift for a good melody with virtually every song containing something particularly memorable to make the listener want to play it again and again.  For example, piano ballad I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother’s Heart contains a glorious warms slide guitar solo whilst Hypnotize has an excellent bowed guitar effect followed by an exciting drum-beat.
Ah the drums!  Although Jack is clearly the main musical talent in the White Stripes, Meg White's drumming should not be overlooked.  Meg’s primal playing may be described by some as rudimentary yet it is highly effective in bringing real tension to the White Stripes sound.  Her style is similar to the Velvet Underground’s Maureen Tucker with the art-rock of the VU another influence on the Stripes in general – particularly in the spoken intro. to the bizarre Little Acorns.
Further highlights of Elephant include the tracks most casual listeners are likely to know  - the fantastic singles Seven Nation Army and The Hardest Button To Button as well as the band’s thrilling take on Bacharach and David’s I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself.  Further highpoints include the incredible loud guitar solos on the lengthy Ball & Biscuit and catchy organ work on The Air Near My Fingers.
At the time of Elephant’s release, I believe that there was still a lot of intrigue about the nature of Jack and Meg’s relationship, a ruse cleverly exploited by the duo and their people for their own publicity.  They play with these rumours further on the closing cod-country track, Well It’s True That We Love One Another, which also features guest vocalist Holly Golightly.   As it happens, the truth was stranger than fiction when it was finally revealed that Jack and Meg were not a current couple nor brother and sister but an ex-married couple!  Quite bizarre…
A bizarre and very individual band perhaps but certainly an excellent one.  Elephant is the best new music I’ve heard for a good while with the White Stripes broadening their musical palette without sacrificing their sound.  A thrilling and fantastic punky blues ride.
Released:
Acquired by me:  4.07 – Borrowed (Library)

Whittle, Jonathan – Mythology
****1/2
Jonathan Whittle has been composing and recording (mostly) instrumental music since at least the early 90s as well as playing with a number of live and studio-based bands.  His latest album Mythology is probably his best release yet.
Jon’s solo sound is built around heavily effected electric guitar and keyboards backed by electronic drums and bass.   His bass parts are always interesting and often hold the compositions together which is not really surprising bearing in mind that the four-string guitar is Jon’s first instrument.
Jon is getting better and better at moulding these components together to create memorable melodic pieces which are not over-cluttered by too many parts.  On Mythology, he also uses vocal samples to great effect including a female soul voice on the rave-like Snakes In Your Bed.  He also skilfully employs some classic quotes from a film adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 in Thought Police though I feel that this song would be even more effective if the drums were as harsh as the sentiments a la Radiohead circa Kid A.
Other highlights from Mythology include Wonderful Journey with its triumphant keyboard melody and the seductive, glacial Night Of A Thousand Kisses though the best track of all is possibly right at the end of the LP.  Green Light Signalling, Celestial Light Answering is surely influenced by The Orb from the title onwards.  It is actually based on a recurring dream which Jon frequently has but can also be interpreted as a slightly quirky yet glorious evocation of a beautiful morning including bird song and an alarm clock.
A fine way to end an excellent album of strong melodies and arrangements, Mythology was recorded in the Blue Room at Milton Keynes and can be obtained from Jon via jandewhittle@talktalk.net – it is highly recommended.

Released:  2009
Acquired by me:  Present (From Jon) 4.09

Who - The Who Sell Out
****
60s Who album recorded as a tribute to pirate radio. Nicely reissued with some excellent extra tracks. A bit inconsistent but theres superb, exciting musical interplay and a handful of great songs.
Released - 1967 (original release)
Acquired by me: 19.9.00 - Borrowed (Library)

Who, The – Tommy (Deluxe Edition)
*****
I read recently that The Who thought that Tommy was unfinished and wanted to add more electric guitar but time and financial constraints dictated otherwise.  If this is the case, then lets be thankful for once to the schedulers as the sparseness of the arrangements play a major role in making Tommy such a brilliant album.
The strengths of Tommy are many.  Musically it contains a fine selection of melodic songs with brilliant harmonies and superb playing in particular by Pete Townsend (often on acoustic guitar) and John Entwhistle on sympathetic melodic bass – before he felt the need to over-complicate his playing.  Add to this Entwhistle’s effective, occasional brass hangings, Roger Daltrey’s vocals and Keith Moon’s spectacular but not yet over-indulgent drumming and you have a band at the absolute peak of their powers.  Then of course there are the lyrics…
Not quite the first rock opera but definitely the best, Tommy tells the story of a traumatised “deaf, dumb and blind kid” who suffers horrendous abuse before he is amazingly cured as a young adult and is subsequently treated as something of a Messiah, a role he ultimately rejects.  The story looks at religion, fame, exploitation and so much more though, unlike Pink Floyd’s The Wall, the lyrical concepts don’t weigh the album down with weariness due to some wit in the words and the strength of the music.
Virtually every song on Tommy is excellent though some particular highlights for me range from the famous Pinball Wizard and We’re Not Gonna Take it to the lesser know Christmas and Cousin Kevin via the Overture and Underture instrumentals.  The Deluxe Edition contains a second disc of out-takes and demo's including the band joking through Sally Simpson and the fairground organ instrumental demo of Tommy’s Holiday Camp.
All brilliant stuff, enhanced further, as already noted, by the acoustic sparseness of the arrangements. Tommy finds The Who at the absolute intellectual, artistic and musical peak of their powers.  Far reaching yet accessible, it is a sure-fire classic which should find a place in any serious music fan’s collection.
Released:  2004
Acquired by me:  25.9.07 (Present - From Mum)

Wonder, Stevie - Innervisions
**½
Classic 70s album including the famous Living For The City and Higher Ground. None of the other tracks really grabbed my attention. Rather of it's time musically and lyrically and obviously not to my taste at the time of acquisition even though loads of other people love it.
Released - 1973
Acquired by me: 16.9.99 - Borrowed (Library)