Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 20
 Not his best but..... June 3, 2008
ModdyBoy67 (UK)
If you're expecting Stanley Road all over again then you're in for some disappointment. This isn't Paul's best album by a long way, but there are still some fine songs on here!
Worth buying in it's own right, but more so, for me, from the perspective that it got me into some of Ronnie Lane's solo stuff, which truly blew me away. When we remember The Small Faces, we almost inevitably think of Stevie, but check out some of Ronnie's own tunes, too, and you'll be as pleased as I was! We pass this way but once.....
Whimsical Weller April 13, 2007
Magic Rat (uk)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
After the comparative soundblast of the barnstorming "Heavy Soul", Paul Weller attempted to return to the introspection and gentler themes explored initially on "Wild Wood". Songs such as "He's The Keeper", "Back In The Fire" and "Sweet Pea" are very redolent of that earlier, highly successful album, but nowhere near as appealing and in danger, particularly in the case of "He's The Keeper" of sounding more than a little formulaic. Just how many lines could Weller write about "keepers", "lanterns" and "stallions" without sounding somewhat hackneyed ? On many of the tracks, however, assisted by a string orchestra (so well used on the excellent showpiece DVD for this album "Live At The Royal Albert Hall"), Weller ventures into a laid-back, peaceful jazz-rock sort of groove. This is notable on cuts such as "Love-Less"; "Picking Up Sticks" with its Buddy Rich meets Deep Purple drum solo at the end; "With Time And Temperance" and the upbeat "There's No Drinking After You're Dead". These songs are slow burners and, after at least ten listens, you find you get into them. This is by no means an instant album, as "Heavy Soul" or "Stanley Road" are. In many ways it is close to commercial suicide and gives a lot of scope for "boring old Weller" comments.
Try to approach the album with patience and you will get there. Eventually. However, there is no denying that this is (to date) Paul Weller's least accessible album.
 Good day sunshine..... August 25, 2006
Merry Terry
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Aside from the opener ("He's The Keeper") which could come from "Heavy Soul", there is a warmth about much of this album lacking from its aforementioned predecessor.
The songwriting chops are still in evidence. "Dust & Rocks" is an un-hailed classic which even at some length does not out-stay its welcome.
Robert Kirby adds some charming string-touches that compliment the quality of Weller's songwriting. "With Time And Temperance" is a key example of this.
We know full well that Steve White is a virtuoso drummer. To give the man a drum solo on the decent-enough "Picking Up Sticks" sounds impressive but does not make for cohesion on what feels at times like quite a tentative album.
The closer - "Loveless" - is stunning and is a reminder of the talent of the man and his music.
However what undermines this album is the charming but inconsequential "Sweet Pea, My Sweet Pea" (nice to write songs for your kids but keep them to yourself, maestro) and the lumpen "He's The Keeper" which is chugging muso-rock by numbers unfortunately - given its aim as a tribute to the wonderful Ronnie Lane.
However, there's enough on this album to make it well worth a purchase.
A very underrated album June 6, 2002
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I have to say that this album is criminally underrated. I have listened to all of Paul's albums through the many different guises he has used, and this is up there with them.
OK, so there are a couple of pretty duff tracks, Sweet Pea and Whales Tale definitely fall into that category, as does the opener, He's the Keeper, but these aside, the album is a winner. The last few tracks, from Time and Temperance onwards are superb, a collage of music with a full string orchestra and electric guitars fused together by Steve White's energetic drumming (never more apparent than on Picking Up Sticks). I would urge anyone in two minds to go for this album without hesitation. Weller has never undergone the kind of artistic crisis that Bob Dylan and Neil Young experienced in the 80s, or Paul McCartney in his 70s Wings days, and this album, along with the rest of his back catalogue confirms that.
 Sun Certainly Is The Centre! May 31, 2001
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Paul has always had a solo obsession with the sun. Here it has illuminated him into a much needed change of direction after the raucous Heavy Soul. It's better produced, better thought out, and better played, as if to compensate the sometimes jarring aspects of it's rough and ready predecessor. More laid back and accoustic, but nevertheless essential, Heliocentric is a shining example of the man with his back against the wall, coming up with the goods. Not that there isn't time for rocking out. There's No Drinking After You're Dead leaps out of the speakers like nothing heard from Paul in the last twenty years. He's The Keeper is a tad slower, but never fails to grab the attention, and is well worth checking out live. TSC rear their head in the beligerent shanty A Whale's Tale, which while upbeat is probably the weakest song on the album. With some fans this competes with Sweet Pea, his ode to his daughter Leah. You either love or hate it. It's quite a nice jaunty little tune, and pleasant enough, but was a mistake as a single. Back in the fire almost goes back to Wild Wood, dreamy and surreal, with almost a touch of hip hop in the production technique. Picking Up Sticks is a great piece of psychadelia, addictive and interspersed with what is more a drum break, than a solo, it benefits from shifting up a gear into a funked up jam at the end. The real strengths lie in the ballads though. Frightened shows the vulnerable Paul in a way he's not shown before, and it's charming. Dust and Rocks is a high spot, tender and warm, it also boasts what is perhaps the finest outro of Weller's career. With Time and Temperance shows the Nick Drake influence to the full, while exploring the marriage break up yet again. Then there's Loveless. Epic and beautiful, it gets to where TSC's Confessions album never quite managed, and makes you wish he had in the first place. All of these bolstered by the superb string arrangements of Robert Kirby show the man maybe mellowing, but when he's mellowing so nicely, and obviously better than appeared after the dispensable Brand New Start, you don't seem to mind. A great summer album, and a great example of Paul's gentler side. Jam fans may be divided, but general Paul and music fans should find something worth the investment here.
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