Product Description

Career overview of one of the most successful British songwriters of all time, Paul Weller. All of his most popular andenduring material is featured here, from his angry, heavilypoliticised beginnings in The Jam through to the bluesier, retro work he turned in as a solo star in the mid-90's. Includes the tracks 'Eton Rifles' and 'You Do Something To Me'.

Track Listing

1. Town Called Malice - The Jam
2. Going Underground - The Jam
3. Shout To The Top - The Style Council
4. From The Floorboards Up - Paul Weller
5. Down In The Tube Station At Midnight - The Jam
6. Peacock Suit - Paul Weller
7. The Changingman - Paul Weller
8. Eton Rifles - The Jam
9. Come On/Let's Go - Paul Weller
10. Sunflower - Paul Weller
11. Beat Surrender - The Jam
12. Walls Come Tumbling Down - The Style Council
13. That's Entertainment - The Jam
14. Broken Stones - Paul Weller
15. Out Of The Sinking - Paul Weller
16. Long Hot Summer - The Style Council
17. You're The Best Thing - The Style Council
18. Wild Wood - Paul Weller
19. You Do Something To Me - Paul Weller
20. Hung Up - Paul Weller
21. My Ever Changing Moods - The Style Council
22. Speak Like A Child - The Style Council
23. Start! - The Jam

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3314 in Music
• Released on: 2006-11-06
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 80 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
With three decades of acclaimed songwriting behind him, former Jam frontman Paul Weller knows a thing or two about knocking up a catchy tune. It may come as a surprise, but Hit Parade is Weller's first major career retrospective, combining material from his Jam and Style Council days, as well as from his last 15 or so years as a solo artist. Released to coincide with a high-profile full-length BBC documentary, Hit Parade features 23 of his biggest hits. Seminal Jam anthems such as "Town Called Malice", "Going Underground", "Eton Rifles" and "Down In The Tube Station", sit surprisingly well next to Style Council selections like "Shout To The Top!" and "You're The Best Thing", connected of course via Weller's distinctive, raw vocals and his dual passion for soul and rock. Not all of his solo albums are represented, but most of his best loved records are here; "Wild Wood" and "Sunflower" (from Wild Wood), as well as songs from Stanley Road and 2005's As Is Now. It's a compelling profile of a man whose unique sound has proved not only thoroughly consistent, but also impressively enduring. --Paul Sullivan

Customer Reviews

ive just realised where is in the city?
how could they of left in the city off especially when they mention the song in the booklet in the city theres a thousand words etc i bought this when it came out i think it was a year gone last christmas cant remember buy so much!! lol i bought my mam it for chrimbo and i loved it myself so when and got my self a copy!! the box set is better it has more from the style council and more of his solo too buy the box set!!

Why Weller's finest hour will always be with The Jam
I read recently that Paul Weller regarded his time with The Jam as his creative low point, prefering both his solo material and that of the Style Council. I can't help thinking that this is in some way to further scupper any notion that the original 3 members of The Jam might reunite once and for all, after all, why should he revisit material that he regards as inferior?

However, what this Weller collection which covers some of his most famous material from all three stages of his career proves is that he is a songwriter of immense talent, an almost incomparable musician who offers very good value to his audience and that all of his musical phases are at least worthy and admirable. However, it also proves to me that while some of his solo material is excellent, and some of his Style Council stuff is decent, nothing compares to the raw genius of his Jam stuff, augmented by probably the best bassist and drummer of the era, Paul Weller shows in his Jam persona, at the tender age of 19-24, that he was a fantastic songwriter, singer, guitarist and easily one of the the best lyricist Great Britain has ever produced. While his later career is good, nothing beats his period in The Jam, and it seesm that he, or at least his record label, agress for out of the thousands of images they could have chosen for the cover to show the multitude of images he has presented, they chose him as The Jam's frontman.

Not the Best of Paul Weller
Is this meant to be a Best Of? It's not. Nothing from In The City or This Is The Modern World; only Tube Station from All Mod Cons.

Mr Weller has moved on since the disbandment of The Jam, but it's not been upwards. There's some of the better later Jam material like Eton Rifles and Beat Surrender here, but any later than that is easy listening for those who don't want to be excited by the fast and fresh early material like the title tracks from the first two albums or the real venom-filled classics such as David Watts, Billy Hunt or A-Bomb In Wardour Street from All Mod Cons. For slower stuff Tonight At Noon or English Rose, also not included here, are streets ahead of the pedestrian Speak Like a Child or Long Hot Summer.

Generally disappointing choices.