Customer Reviews

Days of Speed

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Critics divide over this. In the UK he is a rock n roll god. In the US, they just don't get it.

First a few admissions: I don't usually like live albums. Also, I don't usually like acoustic unplugged albums (most have been just godawful, especially the MTV efforts). And, true fans self-select and write reviews with 5 stars, which distorts the rating scale; I am a true fan but I'm not exaggerating this one.

I thought this would be something like what the Amazon review said. But I found myself absolutely taken with this CD. Somehow, using just voice and guitar (usually acoustic, sometimes subdued electric) he manages to capture the essence of some of his best songs from the Jam, Style Council and later solo stuff. I wouldn't have thought it possible until I was about one third of the way into this. I kept waiting for it to sound 'wooden' or 'bloated' like some critics said. Instead, I relived all those songs from the Jam, Style Council and his solo stuff and actually felt like, at least a bit, that I was in the audience as he was doing.

Thanks again Mr. Weller.

Paul Weller is probably one of England's greatest artists of the past 25 years that has gone virtually unknown and unrecognized in the US. This collection of songs from last year's (2001) wildly successful world tour in which Weller plays some of his greatest tunes solo, most on an acoustic, a couple on an electric guitar.

Weller delivers each tune with the passion and fire that has characterized his recent climb to the lofty post of Modfather among the likes of Britain's elite, including Ocean Colour Scene and Oasis. He even plays a few MODERN CLASSICS from his other successful incarnations, THE JAM and THE STYLE COUNCIL.

I can't recommend this CD enough. I was lucky enough to see Weller play these tracks at concerts in NYC and Boston. Not only is it a wonderful document of a fantastic experience, but it is a reminder that Paul Weller is a major talent whose relative obscurity in America can't disguise the fact that this incredibly SOULFUL artist can flat out sing and play!!

There's so much stuff on the U.S. pop charts, and at the same time, when somebody mentions the name "Paul Weller," your average Stateside music fan can only give a confused look and say "who?" Or even worse, they'll ask if that's the guy from the Robocop movies.

What a shame, since Paul Weller is one of the most talented and unique songwriters of the last 25 years. Whether a mod/punk in the Jam, a jazz/popster in the Style Council, or a rock/soul giant as a solo artist, Weller continually evolves while sacrificing none of his talent in the process.

"Days of Speed" is a document of his 2001 worldwide acoustic tour (which I was lucky to catch in Boston last July) and showcases his songs in a stark setting. His playing is assured, and his voice as soulful as ever. Songs like "The Loved," "Out of the Sinking," and his stellar version of the Jam's "That's Entertainment" are among the many highlights.

I like to compare this disc to Warren Zevon's "Learning to Flinch," since they're both discs by acclaimed songwriters, reworking their classics in an acoustic format. If you're a Weller fan, you'll undoubtedly pick this one up ASAP. But it's probably a good release for the uninitiated as well, since it shows how great a singer/songwriter Weller really is. As an import it may be tough to obtain, but it's well worth the extra $.

Tracks 1-9 (minus English Rose, which, though better than the original, still has an incongruous, hermetic Victorian feel) are an ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE, a clinic of live solo acoustic guitar. This album showcases a mature artist at the pinnacle of his craft. The show begins as a mildly melancholy/romantic introspective confessional. This aspect of Weller's personality is not surprising. We've known it in him all along, even from The Jam days and heartbreaking songs like "Life From a Window." Hiding first behind punk attitude, then behind Euro/sophisticate in the Style Council, Weller finally abandons all pretense here as a solo act. This is the man entire, his voice pulsing with the electric immediacy of a raw nerve. Admittedly, Weller represents a style of songwriting which is charmingly passe; he could never write, say, a Dave Matthews song. If popular music had not taken a left turn somewhere a few miles back, it would sound a lot like Paul Weller. How he continues to wring fresh material out of the same Motown, R&B, funk, etc. influences is a credit to his well-secreted work ethic. Tellingly, the liner notes of his Studio 150 album charge modern song writers as being "just plain lazy. That's the truth."
As an opener, "Brand New Start" draws you in in a way that no cliched "big opening number" could. You can picture an ocean of lighters swaying in the darkness for "Loved." Weller sings with absolute assurance. Far from being "wooden" (as the pretentious review above charges), Weller is too cool for school. Not a single unnecessary note is to be found. "Clues" benefits from not having the "rocking flute solo," or the overwrought Ginger Baker tom tom fills of the studio version. It has much more mystery than the original. Who would have thought that "Out of the Sinking" could sound so good with half the chords of the original? Yet it does. It's muscular and cocky, a song with shoulders and a fist. As a performer myself I can tell you that people love this version without ever having heard it before.
"Above the Clouds" sounds like a Marvin Gaye song. The audience sing-along is a nice touch. This version of "You Do Something To Me" breaks my heart at the dissonant chord over the line "hanging on the wire." "Amongst Butterflies" actually sounds like children chasing funky butterflies in the summer. The funk is turned up on "Science"; how do you write a funk song about science? Yet the Modfather pulls it off.
"That's Entertainment" is a bitter but delicious little song, an indictment of stupidity, complacency and modern suburbia. "Wild Wood" is dead wood in my opinion, an overrated clunker. But if you want feel the pure joy of life and love captured in one three-minute masterpiece, it's "Headstart for Happiness." This may be the greatest song he has ever written. "Town Called Malice" rounds out the album.
It is an f___ing crime that this man is not more famous in America. It's no hyperbole for me to say that one of my great privileges in life is to be able to listen to this man's music. He is a rare example of talent that has not dried up. Compare him with Bob Dylan, who should have bowed out in 1974. You get the feeling that Weller's restless soul is moving on a trajectory well past the scope of a normal life. He won't live to see his best work. Days of Speed, indeed--he's moving fast toward something that's always just out of reach: commercial success in America, the bottom of the creative well--whatever it is, Godspeed Paul Weller. Oh, and the cover is very cool.

I don't find this "heavy going" at all! On the contrary, "English Rose" sounds far more tender than it did when Paul Weller sang it in his Jam days. And songs such as "Amongst Butterflies," "Out Of The Sinking," and "Headstart for Happiness" get a lift from the one-one-one contact Weller has with the audiences while he's playing. These versions are at least as good as the studio versions, in some cases better. Even if you're more a fan of his studio albums, this album gives proof positive that Paul Weller, stripped down to one guitar and voice, can deliver the goods. Which he does in spades.

A wonderful document of an artist reaching back and re-sounding his songs. I love the imperfection of the recordings. There's a casualness and comfortability to this album. It's a treat to hear songs from the Jam and Style Council era sung from the richness of the man he is today. Passionate and full of fire.

I saw him as far back as '80 with the Jam and again solo in '90. I'm afraid this is no landmark album. A true test of a live album is whether it stands up as an introduction to an artist rather than providing fans with striped down versions of songs they already love. The thing that strikes me is how unremarkable the performances are. They feel run of the mill. No 'magic'. I wouldn't be surprised that if Paul played incognito in a pub, most people would just talk over him - so ordinary are his renditions. Average busker quality strumming, and a voice that while brilliant on album is very par here, this album amounts to an obvious purchase for a completist fan but it's rather forgettable if you don't know him. While he may [be great]as a rock guitarist he completely lacks acoustic fidelity on this solo effort. Sorry Paul but despite being a huge fan, I'd have to say this is not worth the [money].

I'm glad I didn't read the Amazon review before I bought this, because it would have confirmed my impression that Weller was a spent force. But this album has reinvigorated my old enthusiasm for this artist, who was one of my favorites (with The Jam) in the early 1980s. The Amazon review touches on some of Weller's long-standing weaknesses. His singing has always been wooden. I think he actually sounds looser and more convincing here than he did fifteen years ago. He's also always churned out his fair share of mushy love songs. The new tunes here, many of which I haven't heard before, sound pretty good to me. Maybe not his finest ever, but quite enjoyable for those who like his particular style. Like, say, Billy Bragg, Weller seems quite able to put his songs across with just voice and guitar -- I just don't understand why people would say that he can't deliver without a band.

In sum, I'd say this is well worth a listen, especially if, like me, you're looking to reconnect with this artist.

...to the brilliant music of Paul Weller. A man who has never been afraid to change, and who is open minded about life and musical influences.

Finally purchasing "Days of Speed", instead of relying on a song here song there on the radio, fully confirmed my initial impressions of a great musical adventure. A must buy for anyone wanting to further their horizon into absolutely enjoyable music and appreciate this talent. Put it on and let it play, even loop it, it will not disappoint.