Heavy Soul

Paul Weller | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 5, 1997)
• Original Release Date: August 5, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Universal Int'l
• ASIN: B000001E9W
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,917 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Japanese only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD - playable on all CD players) paper sleeve pressing. Universal. 2008. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Changingman Does it Again, May 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Heavy Soul (Audio CD)

Let's paint a picture. You've got "Wild Wood", you've got "Stanley Road," and you love them both. You're excited when you hear that Paul Weller is coming out with a new album, thinking it will be much of the same style music. You get the CD, and you look at titles, then you throw in the CD. From the ragged opening chords of the title track, Paul takes you down a road you've never been down... or at least with him. This album is full of raunchy guitars, heavy drums, and throbbing bass. It comes off as rough, it's hard to listen to coming off his previous albums, and it comes at you like a rusty jagged knife. AND I LOVE IT! I admit, the first time I heard it, it was tough, but it grows on you fast. The guy wants to get back to some old fashioned garage rock, and there's nothing wrong with it. The title track and "Peacock Suit" are brought forth with funky riffs, and elementary but lovable lyrics ("I don't need a ship to sail in stormy weather/I don't need you to ruffle the feathers of my peacock suit/Do ya fink I should?") There's stellar beauty in "Up In Suze's Room" which combines acoustic guitar, rollicking drums, a soaring electric guitar solo, and even some strings thrown on to some steamy lyrics. "Driving Nowhere" is a simple but painfully earnest song, "Science" is built off a funky guitar riff and Paul's beliefs ("I can be who I am/I have no pretense") There are many songs that highlight this album, as in his last efforts. "Friday Street" reinforces the meaning of blues and rock and roll, "Mermaids" is a fun punchy number that you can move your feet to built a lot of the choruses of "Sha la la la la", "As You Lean Into the Light" is a beautiful love song, but the centerpiece of this album is Paul's heartfelt ballad "I Should Have Been There To Inspire You". Somewhat Al Green Inspired, and achingly beautiful, Paul shines more than anything else on this song, which is one of the album's best selling points. "Heavy Soul" reinstates the power of the electric guitar in rock and roll, and you will eventually acquiesce to this mind blowing album.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars He's the UK's Neil Young, he is., November 19, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Carbondale, Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heavy Soul (Audio CD)

Weller's ability to keep his fans on their toes is evident here. Great guitar, refreshingly so from the hippy-trippy tone of his last two efforts. Recorded whilst separated from his wife and kids, Weller focuses his isolation and frustration into well crafted songs that are simple without being vague. And given some of the songs' apparent gloom, there is still hope in Weller's voice that comes with being an old revolutionary. A heavy soul indeed, but worth repeated listens.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soul never dies!, June 23, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heavy Soul (+1 Bonus Track) (Audio CD)

Weller's fourth solo studio album is not his best, but it is his most sonicly raw! Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad record, it's grand! The songs are great, but they're not his best batch. One gets the feeling by listening to this album that this is a bookend to his 90's output, and he's getting geared to explode into something fantasticly new. "Peacock Suit" is the most genuine expression of love for style and the MOD attitude that has ever been recorded. "Mermaids" applys this same urgancy in close to three minutes, only this time for a girl . Buy this record NOW!!!!!!! THis is the ONLY forty year old Rock n Roll (or should I say SOUL) artist out there who still has the guts, the balls, and the passion for the music he makes. If you say Sting, you don't know Rock n Roll. (I'm at work now, can't write anymore.) MODS RULE!!!