Search - Paul Weller :: As Is Now - Deluxe Version CD/DVD Set

The Return of "Fire and Skill"

Big Daddy Cat | Pixberg, PA USA | 10/20/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I will admit to being less than hopeful prior to purchasing Paul Weller's new album "As Is Now." His last few outings of original material were, in my opinion, too slow, unfocused, and meandering, with only occassional flashes of the Weller brilliance. But throughout his career, Weller has built a reputation for surprises -- and brand new starts. "As Is Now" delivers both.



From the ruggedly-gorgeous opening guitar chords of "Blink and You'll Miss It," through the Jam-like ravers "Come On/Let's Go" and "From the Floorboards Up," to the quitely beautiful numbers ("All on A Misty Morning," "Fly Little Bird"), Weller the songwriter re-establishes his knack for creating music that is passionate, direct, and insightful. Strands of sounds Weller has patented throughout his career in the Jam, Style Council, and under his own brand bubble up and filter through. "The Pebble and the Boy" evokes the beauty and grandeur of the Style Council's overlooked masterpiece "Confessions of a Pop Group," and "Bring Back the Funk" suggests that Weller, in the spirit of Bill Clinton, could be Britain's first black Prime Minister.



I had the opportunity to see Weller and his top band (with special kudos to the brilliant skinsman Stevie White, and Damon Minchella, who with the passing of John Entwistle earns my vote as rock's premier bassist) at Roseland in NYC last month. At 47, he is firing on all cylinders -- and that's a V8 under that hood. If the chain smoking doesn't catch up with him too early, "As Is Now" suggests Weller is only half-way through a brilliant career."