Product Description

For the U.S. market, the word "classics" is perhaps employed here with a certain irony, given that the vast majority ofAmerican listeners continue to turn the proverbial deaf earto Weller's work. (of course, back in England, where he's agod, of course, these songs really were hits.) In any case,MODERN CLASSICS collects the best cuts from Weller's four solo albums released between 1992 and '97, the period when the former Jam-meister finally forged a coherent style out of his love for late-'60s artists like Traffic, the Small Faces, the Move, et al. What's particularly impressive is how thewhole thing coheres. Despite the varying recording locations, dates, and personnel, the songs here sound like they wereall bashed at one marathon all-night session.

Track Listing

1. Out Of The Sinking
2. Peacock Suit
3. Sunflower
4. The Weaver
5. Wild Wood
6. Above The Clouds
7. Uh Huh Oh Yeh! (Always There To Fool You!)
8. Brushed
9. The Changingman
10. Friday Street
11. You Do Something To Me
12. Brand New Start
13. Hung Up
14. Mermaids
15. Broken Stones
16. Into Tomorrow

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #502 in Music
• Released on: 2006-02-06
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 54 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
After making his name with the Jam and then nearly losing it (in some quarters) with the Style Council, Paul Weller reemerged in 1992 with a self-titled album. Since then he's released four studio albums (and one live set, Live Wood); Modern Classics is a democratic collection, choosing three tracks from Paul Weller, four tracks from each of the rest, and adding one new single, "Brand New Start", for good measure. There's not a loser in the lot, but the remarkable thing to note here is the coherence of this collection: Weller's mature rock and love of classic soul has resulted in a sound that's remained remarkably consistent over the course of the 1990s. There's plenty more that could've been included--his cover of "Sexy Sadie" and the touching "Has My Fire Really Gone Out?" just for starters--which simply means there are plenty of reasons to mine his catalog after Modern Classics whets your appetite. --Randy Silver

Customer Reviews

Modfather "Lite"
This album shows the progression Paul Weller has made as a purely solo artist from 1992 to 1998. The tracks on it are stunning and include "Changing Man" "Out of the Sinking" "Broken Stones" "You do something to me " and many more it does not however include any of the stunning tracks which were not released as singles and therefore the collection is rather incomplete.

I would advise anyone buying this to treat it as an introduction to Paul Weller's solo work and then go on and buy his back catalogue as I am sure you will find songs on the albums which are better than some of the tracks included. I say this as a die hard Weller fan that first saw the Jam in the 1970's and still enjoys his work today.

Changingman gets selective....
This is a tight well compiled and presented compilation containing all Mr Weller's singles from 1992 to 1998. What shows up is a stylish collection of strong songs ranging from the R&B charge of "Peacock Suit" to the soulful "Broken Stones."
"Brand New Start" is an effective addition to this showcase of the man's solo songwriting.
So there's no experimental ambient house in here. So what. Here's an album of great songs played well by one of the UK's best songwriters. Respect due.

Never out of the CD changer
The quality of this collection is stunning - there is not a single duff track. Weller's raw, bluesy style is in evidence everywhere here from the pounding opening bars of 'Out Of the Sinking' and continues throughout, with the exception of the lighter, more 'Style-Council-y' 'Above The Clouds' and the Beatle-esque 'Sunflower' and 'Uh-Huh Oh-Yeh' which actually sit very happily here as a reminder of Weller's range and gift for melody writing. Though it is hard to choose my favourite tracks, the opener, the immortal, beautiful 'You Do Something To Me' and the classy 'Broken Stones' are without equal. Whenever I play this album around the uninitiated, they always end up asking me 'what album is this, it's great!' and I add another convert to the list. These are the kinds of songs that other artists only dream of producing. The guy is a god - and this album deserves every one of its 5 stars. This is music that never ages, dates or bores.