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2010 album from the veteran British singer/songwriter and former leader of the Jam and the Style Council. The follow up to the Brit Award winning 22 Dreams, Wake Up the Nation is Paul Weller's 10th studio album in his 18 year solo career. Coming 28 years after the Jam split up, two tracks on Wake Up the Nation feature his first band's bass player Bruce Foxton, as well as contributions from My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields, the Move's Bev Bevan and legendary session drummer Clem Cattini. Includes the single 'No Tears to Cry'.
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5.94 x 5.67 x 0.35 inches; 3.39 ounces
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You have to give Paul Weller credit, he plays what he wants to play, critics and fans be damned. We should all be grateful that he doesn't feed us warmed-over musical pap left over from his last burst of musical energy but always seems to come up with something new and challenging. On Wake Up the Nation, it is no different. Experimental is the word. He really comes out swinging and charges hard and fast, punching out sixteen songs in just under three-quarters of an hour. Though it reminds me in the way it flows of Elvis Costello's great Imperial Bedroom and Spike albums, it sure wasn't love at first listen. As a matter of fact I didn't like it at all the first time I heard it. But this is Paul Weller, and I knew I'd eventually come around and so I have. And though this doesn't reach the glory of what I consider to be his best solo effort, As Is Now, it is a fine album nevertheless. Here's what I like best: The title cut; No Tears to Cry; the driving Find the Torch, Burn the Plans; Aim High, a song unmistakeably Weller; the rocking Grasp and Still Connect; and the raucous Two Fat Ladies. Paul Weller is one of the most talented musicians and songwriters on the scene today and along with the aforementioned Costello, should certainly be considered in the first rank of those who came from punk. He reinvents himself continually and it takes an adventurous listener to stay with him through thick and thin. But those who do will be aurally rewarded. Wake Up the Nation is housed in a standard jewel box and is accompanied by an attractive booklet containing album info, lyrics, a few pictures, and a little commentary. If you are a true Weller fan, give this one a chance even if you are turned off at first as some have been. It's bound to grow on you and you will be glad you stayed with it.
Wake Up The Nation is yet another mixed-bag of an album from Paul Weller, despite continuing the renewed sense of exploration that came to the fore with 22 Dreams.
The covers of the two albums reflect the overall feel of the music fairly well, with Wake Up The Nation being more hazy and in your face than the slightly sharper, often pastoral 22 Dreams.
Unfortunately, the haziness of Wake Up The Nation applies to more than just the arrangements and production. The audio itself suffers from the same lack of clarity, thanks to too much compression and clipped sound waves everywhere. The remixes on disc 2 tend to sound more open, but clipping is still present.
Consequently, there's not as much ebb-and-flow as there could have been, and I find it difficult to maintain interest in the album as a whole. Which is a shame, because Weller is clearly at one of his creative peaks...
Update--8/13/2013: Picked up a copy of the LP edition today. The sound is still hazy and lacking in clarity, but I see no signs of clipping so far in my digital backup copy--and dynamic range is *slightly* better (the waveform actually has contours).
Verdict: By a slim margin, the vinyl LP is the best-sounding format for this album.
Well ill start out with my few complaints- first do we really need two more songs with sha lla la" choruses- second there is some occassional lyrical "laziness' on a few tracks and third great songs like no tears left to cry and fast car slow traffic are far too short while trees and grasp and connect perhaps stretched further then they warranted! And finally moonshine should have been left off as a bside! But now on the the many great things about this album! Simply this is one of wellers best and most "jamlike!" In fact many parts of this remind me of the spirit of Sound Affects! But there is a creeping Bowie influence and even a splash of U2 on tracks like Andromeda and an achtung baby zoo station feel to the title track! Both artists who weller has dismissed in the past! But ultimately its Wellers manic approach to blending and opening up to new sounds and arrangements that makes this a winner! This is wiry metallic guitar pop and soundscaping at its best- backwards guitars -spoken word vocals- bubbling pysche synth and guitar mixed with traditional songs like the northern blue eyed soul of No Tears and the style council funk groove of Aim High with falsetto voice and wahh wah guitars! The tracks are short sometimes only a few verses and a chorus but its a welcome sign from a man who can write a standard song in his sleep! Of interest is the great instrumentals like In Amsterdam and Whatever next which are clearly in debt to the odd 60s hazy electronic pop of the group Broadcast whom weller has been championing lately! As many know old mate bruce foxton adds his ricky bass sound on the very jamlike fast car slow traffic and My bloody valentine's kevin shields completely layers guitar feedback on top of 7x3 is the strikers name- both weller's more unique and driving numbers in recent years! But Wake up the nation is like a high speed run down the freeway- its quick and things fly fast and furious by you- but the good news is when its over you want to do it all over again! For a man in his early 50s this a pop record that has the sound and feel of a 20 something artist at their best- thank god hes left his mellow dadrock and song by numbers style behind- hes the changing man indeed! Evolve or die! All in all this is his most rewarding listen in years and one of his best albums!
LLegó perfecto! rápido y nuevo. Muy satisfecho con la compra. Muy buen disco del gran Pau weller, contiene una de mis canciones preferidas. Aim high. Muchas gracias.
C'est à peine croyable! Le Modfather, littéralement touché par la grâce depuis 10 ans, nous en remet pour seize morceaux prodigieux. Et pas de la resucée des chefs-d'oeuvre précédents. Non, non. De la pop feutrée et champêtre de 22 Deams, il fait table rase et reprend la mixture à zéro. Pour un résultat moins traditionnel, plus urbain, plus fouillé. Grâce à Simon Dine peut-être? Producteur et instrumentiste divers depuis Illumination, il est cette fois crédité comme co-auteur de tous les morceaux. Ce touche à tout apporte une touche de modernité à l'écriture traditionnelle de Paul Weller. Autant de blip-blips que d'instruments classiques de l'enluminure pop. Se percutent vents, samples, cordes, effets électroniques, flûte, nappes synthétiques... dans un fourbi miraculeusement limpide. La remise à l'actualité parfaite des marottes de l'ancien Jam qui copulent ici dans tous les sens: soul, pop, psychédélisme, rock... Il est d'ailleurs difficile d'assimiler tout ce bazar. Seize morceaux d'une richesse inouïe, où l'on passe d'un style à l'autre sans discontinuer. On n'a plus trop l'habitude de se coltiner des albums de cette teneur. Des plages brèves, dépassant rarement les deux minutes. Nous obligeant à ouvrir les esgourdes un maximum pour absorber le plus d'éléments possibles. On est loin de la pop prémâchée et sans effort nécessaire. Ce n'est qu'après moult écoutes que Wake Up The Nation dévoile la richesse de ses ambiances. Et là c'est l'orgie! Glam nerveux ("Up The Dosage"), soul blaxploitation sulfureuse ("Aim High"), pop sixties précieusement arrangée ("Find The Torch, Burn The Flames"), lounge-jazzy ("In Amsterdam"), retour au Jam nerveux des débuts ("Wake Up The Nation")... le tout passé à la moulinette de la modernité. Un résultat unique, sans précédent. Une déconstruction méticuleuse avant rafraichissement salvateur. Même l'autiste Kevin Shields, invité sur "7 & 3 Is The Strikers Name", se montre pertinent pour la première fois de sa carrière. Mais l'invité de marque, lui, c'est bien sûr Bruce Foxton, bassiste des Jam, en froid depuis des années avec Weller. Rabibochés suite aux décès consécutifs de la femme de Foxton et du père de Weller, le duo retrouve sa flamme mélodique sur l'énergique "Fast Car / Slow Traffic" et l'aérien et psychédélique "She Speaks". Un autre évènement en soi.
For far too long, in my opinion, Paul Weller was treading water. From 'Heavy Soul' on, the sparkle was disappearing slowly from his work. 'Heliocentric', 'Illumination' and 'As Is Now' all meandered from the occasional wonderful riff or 2 or 3 barnstorming tracks, only to be dragged down by what I thought at the time were fillers. I yearned for Paul Weller to begin to experiment once more and ditch the 'formula' he'd been using.
Finally, with his previous album '22 Dreams' he showed signs of re-igniting the fire and finding the torch. Although that album sprawled and lacked a little focus, it did show some wonderful moments and at the very least, it showed that Weller still could surprise us and challenge us. One of the main criticisms he has had to take from people who 'don't get Weller' has always been that he is derivative, unoriginal and bland. '22 Dreams' refuted that and 'Wake Up The Nation' buries the notion once and for all. Mind you, if you always hated him, this won't change your mind, but if you listen with an open mind, then you might like it.
My one issue with this album is that it begins with, I think, one of the weaker tracks in 'Moonshine'. It's an up tempo 'welcome mat' of a song, but it isn't indicative of what's to come at all. With the title track 'Wake up the Nation', Paul makes his point in typical Weller fashion. It's his wake up call, the way he does 'politics' these days I guess - close your laptop, enjoy your life in real time and wake up. It's catchy, stompy, short and sharp and I love it.
He then immedaitely jumps off at a tangent to 'No Tears to Cry', which is a lovely Motown-esque, bass driven catchy song with a lovely hook. It was a double a-side single with 'Wake up the Nation' but received precious little airplay sadly.
Former Jam bassist. Bruce Foxton appears on 'Fast Car/Slow Traffic' which is another short, sharp song with a wonderful and typically Foxton bassline. It is very reminiscent of The Jam and it was certainly uplifting to me when I heard it. It's almost 1978 again with this one and let's face it, this is as near as you'll ever get to a 'new' Jam song, so enjoy it.
Standout tracks are aplenty elsewhere on this album though. 'Find the Torch, Burn the Plans', in spite of its weird title, is a cracking singalong song that drips with hope, camaraderie and passion. 'Aim High' sees Weller go falsetto for the first time in a while and he pulls it off. It's a wonderful track and very much what The Style Council were trying to do, but never quite pulled off 100%. This one has it all, funky guitar, lovely strings and jazzy Gil Evans style arrangement.
'Trees' is unlike any other song I know. It's like a five part story told from the point of view of those he saw when he visited his ailing father in a care home before he passed away. It's original, off kilter, intriguing and it takes you to places that you probably never thought you would see Paul Weller go. This is as good a track as he has written in his career I would say.
'Grasp and Still Connect' will almost certainly go on to become a live favourite (hopefully even the people who only own the Greatest Hits and infest his gigs nowadays will love it) and '7&3 is the Striker's Name' is an angry, feisty rant with a cracking arragement and here I must compliment Simon Dine's contribution on this album. I think he has helped to reinvigorate Weller.
If you like Weller to take some chances, surprise you and you don't give a toss what anyone else thinks of him, then buy it and I don't think you will be disappointed. This album really ought to win some awards.
Schon komisch. Da schaut man in seine über Jahrzehnte gewachsene Plattensammlung und stellt fest, dass einige Namen unverhältnismäßig oft auftauchen. Musik, die einen über einen Großteil des Lebens begleitet hat und man wurde sich dessen lange Zeit gar nicht so richtig bewusst. So geht's mir (unter anderem) mit Paul Weller. "Setting Sons" war meine erste Begegnung mit seiner Musik und seither sind etliche Platten hinzugekommen.
Mir gefiel beileibe nicht alles sofort und im gleichen Maße gut, aber dafür haben einige Songs im Laufe der Jahre für mich den Status von "All time favourites" erlangt. "Wake Up The Nation" war jedoch sowas wie Liebe auf den ersten Ton. Der Mann hat offensichtlich Selbstbewusstsein, Geschmack und Stil. Man meint Anklänge an seine eigene musikalische Vergangenheit und an die Musik seiner Vorbilder herauszuhören, aber absolut nirgends gibt's eine platte Kopie. Es ist eher wie bei einem Palimpsest: der alte Text schimmert hindurch aber das Neue dominiert. Ich für meinen Teil höre Stax-, Verve- und Motown-Soul ("No Tears To Cry", "Pieces Of A Dream" und vor allem "Aim High", mein Lieblingssong auf diesem Album) ebenso heraus wie Folk, Boogie, Disco(?!) und vielleicht sogar Krautrock. In den Liner Notes wird von einem im Vergleich zum Vorgängeralbum "22 Dreams" mehr "urbanen" Sound gesprochen und die Musik mit "Stockhausen meets The Small Faces" umschrieben. Kann sein, man könnte aber auch behaupten "Marvin Gaye meets Can". Wäre ebenso richtig und ebenso falsch.
Was mir auch gut gefällt, ist, wie Wellers Stimme gealtert ("gereift") ist. Seine Technik ist mit der Zeit immer besser, seine Ausdrucksmöglichkeiten sind umfangreicher geworden. Die Stilbandbreite scheint größer und die Gebrauchsspuren stehen seiner Stimme gut. Mit bald 52 Jahren klingt Weller jünger als die meisten Musiker seiner Generation, zorniger als viele jüngere und unendlich viel frischer und lebendiger als jeder Retorten- "Superstar". In punkto Authentizität kann ihm ohnehin kaum einer das Wasser reichen. Solange sie so abwechslungsreich sind, wie seine letzten beiden Platten, wird mich seine Musik hoffentlich noch lange begleiten.
The Jam and The Style Councilのリダーと言えば、英国ロック界の兄貴分Paul Wellerである。 その新作「Wake Up the Nation」は、全16曲で印象深いナンバーが多く含まれている素晴らしい作品だ。1曲目の「 Moonshine」からアルバム・タイトル曲 「 Wake Up the Nation」 、シングル・カット曲の「 No Tears to Cry 」「 FastCar / Slow Traffic」「 Andromeda」 までの頭から5曲は、どの曲もギター・サウンド中心の構成ばかりで分かり易く素晴らしい。特に「 No Tears to Cry 」の出来は抜群で、今年の中でもベスト５に入る佳曲ではなかろうか。Paul Wellerのハスキー・ヴォイスにのって、ポップス要素も加味された味わい深いナンバーが多く、全体の印象もとても聴きやすく親しみやすい。ベテランならではの余裕があってこそ出来る作品と、妙に納得させられ楽しませてもらいました。文句なく☆５つです。
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