(V2 Records)
They’re playing Weller’s cover of Sister Sledge’s disco classic “Thinking of You” on the radio in these parts, which inspired me to pick this up. Studio 150 - named for the Amsterdam studio it was recorded in; certainly it’s a less evocative name than Abbey Road - is Paul Weller’s collection of covers, and the former lead singer of the Jam certainly takes on an unusual genre-spanning selection - everything from Neil Young’s “Birds” to Rose Royce’s “Wishing on a Star”. It’s great to know that while the Jam were creating such modern classics as “A Town Called Malice”, they were also paying close attention to disco - I’ve noticed that the rock snobbery against disco seems a lot less pronounced in Britain - and indeed the general fascination with soul music first shown in the Jam’s Motown covers is present here too, shown by the inclusion of Nolan Porter’s Northern Soul classic “If I Could Only Be Sure” and Gil Scott-Heron’s “The Bottle”.
Weller certainly adds his own spin on the songs: the aforementioned “Thinking of You” is turned into a pensive piece for acoustic guitar, while the Burt Bacharach / Hal David classic “Close to You” acquires a horn section. He’s more Style Council than Jam these days, the rasp in his voice sounding more wistful than outraged, all the better to go with the funked-up arrangements of many of these tunes.
The only qualification, really, is the inclusion of a (gospel-tinged) cover of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower”: really, is there any point to covering a song Hendrix covered near-perfectly? Otherwise, Studio 150 finds the Modfather in fine form, imposing his unique style on his idiosyncratic choices.