Photo: Michael Hussey (YoughalOnline.com)

Paul Weller ‘In The City’

Paul Weller played Live at the Marquee, Cork in support of his new album ’22 Dreams.’ As the leader of the Jam, Paul Weller fronted the most popular British band of the punk era, influencing legions of English rockers that ranged from his mod revival contemporaries to the Smiths in the ’80s and Oasis in the ’90s. During the final days of the Jam, he developed a fascination with Motown and soul, which led him to form the sophisti-pop group the Style Council in 1983.

As the Style Council’s career progressed, Weller’s interest in soul developed into an infatuation with jazz-pop and house music, which eventually led to gradual erosion of his audience. By 1990, he couldn’t get a record contract in the UK, where he had previously been worshipped as a demigod. As a solo artist, Weller returned to soul music as an inspiration, cutting it with the progressive, hippie tendencies of Traffic. Weller’s solo records were more organic and rootsier than the Style Council’s, which helped him regain his popularity within Britain.

By the mid-’90s, he had released three successful albums that were both critically acclaimed and massively popular in England, where contemporary bands like Ocean Colour Scene were citing him as an influence. Just as importantly, many observers, while occasionally criticising the trad rock nature of his music, acknowledged that Weller was one of the few rock veterans who had managed to stay vital within the second decade of his career.

Weller finished the evening with an encore featuring a fantastic rendition of The Beatles ‘All You Need Is Love’ just like Neil Young finished with his mind-blowing version of The Beatles ‘A Day In The Life’ the previous week.
Info: http://www.paulweller.com/