Paul Weller - 22 Dreams

Weller's Gamble Pays Off

While I don't agree with the industry reviewer's assertion that Paul Weller's solo career has not matched the creative heights of his years with The Jam and The Style Council, I do agree that his solo work tended to remain within his stylistic comfort zone. But here on 22 Dreams, Weller proves that he is not afraid to blend genres.
There is so much to like here and such a diversity of styles, its hard to know where to start showering it with praise, so I will begin with the very first song which assures the listener that this will be no ordinary Paul Weller album. My favorites are Light Nights, with its fine guitar work; the rocking Have You Made Up Your Mind; the soulful Empty Ring; a fine instrumental with Song For Alice; another excellent rocker on Cold Moments; the driving Push It Along, the rocking Echoes Round The Sun; the Latin-tinged One Bright Star; Lullaby Fuer Kinder, an instrumental evocative of Boz Scaggs; the religious introspection of God which really makes one think; and yet another fine rocker with Sea Spray.
That I have chosen so many highlights doesn't mean I don't like the rest. There is something to like about every song!
It is clear that with 22 Dreams Paul Weller's gamble has paid off. He says that this is the kind of record he's always wanted to make and I for one am glad he did. 22 Dreams comes with a mini-booklet containing pictures, album info, and a poetic short story called The Missing Dream AKA Dream #22 by some chap named Simon Armitage. If you are a Weller fan, don't skip this opportunity to hear him play the kind of music he's always wanted to play! October 15, 2008

Weller's Life Work...

This album is a giant effort Mr. Weller's solo career. It hits on all his influences and takes them a step or two further. Rockers, soul, ballads, mood pieces....just great. Highlights for me - All I Wanna Do, Push it Along, Echoes Round the Sun, Sea Spray. Any fan will love it and it might bring him some new converts. It's a work that shows a great artist still sharp with his craft. Props to all the other musicians too as they shine brightly. September 7, 2008

The Modfather still crackling at 50!!

"22 dreams" by British Mod Rocker Paul Weller is a sprawling opus that sees him fleeting stylistically from Blues to Soul to Electronica to Jazz to even Tango, ensuring there is a little something for everyone. Due to its length (21 tracks clocking in at about 70 minutes) it does take a while to get into, but its ended up becoming my favourite Weller album.

The title track "22 dreams" and "Echoes round the sun" are both Blues-tinged rockers, while "All I wanna do (is be with you)" and "Have you made up your mind" fall into the Soul category. The instrumental "Song for Alice" is a Jazzy tribute to the late Alice Coltrane.

"Invisible" is a fragile sounding sparse piano ballad, and "Why walk when you can run" is an absolutely brilliant acoustic ballad (yearning vocals set to delicate strumming, like those Rick Rubin produced Johnny Cash/Neil Diamond/Jakob Dylan songs), my absolute favourite song! In fact, along with "Black is the colour" and "You do something to me", it's one of my favourite Weller songs ever.

Other standouts include the haunting Tango of "One bright star", "Lullaby fur kinder" (a touching piano sonata), the eerie acoustic ballad "God" (a spoken conversation with God - "And I looked up/and I spoke to God/and God said look at you/don't look at me/you only call on me when you need me/and when you don't/you hardly think of me at all"), the swirling electronic instrumental "111", and the closing hypnotic instrumental "Night lights".

The Modfather shows he's still got it in spades. Eclectic and brilliant!! September 3, 2008

GREAT ALBUM!!

ALMOST EVERYTHING PAUL WELLER DOES I ENJOY.THE ALBUM "22 DREAMS"
GOES IN A DIFFERENT PLACE SOMEWHAT-BUT THE MORE I LISTEN I'VE
BECOME REALLY CRAZY ABOUT IT! 4 STARS! PAUL, WE WILL SEE YOU
AND YOUR BAND IN SAN FRANCISCO SEPT. 4TH! August 28, 2008

22 Dreams

Paul's back, with more of the great tune revival we heard in Illumination.
Much of his earlier solo work left us pining for Style Council and Jam, but melody is back in this deep collection of well written songs.
Of particular interest to me was the song about God, where the singer suggests that people just lead their own lives, ignoring God, until they're in desperate need of something, and then turn to God for help. So true so often. August 28, 2008

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