New Paul Weller album "True Meanings" due in September 2018

Dear Patrick,

Today, Friday May 25th, Paul Weller celebrates his 60th birthday and to mark this momentous occasion, Paul has a special treat in store for his fans with the release of a beautiful new tune Aspects.

The string-laden, largely acoustic and Nick Drake-esque Aspects is a taster for Paul’s hotly anticipated 14th solo studio album True Meanings which will be released later this year and from the sound of this track alone, promises to be a truly special release.

Paul said of Aspects; “I don’t know if it’s indicative of the album, but it’s certainly the cornerstone to the record for me. It’s also where I got the title of the album from…”.

Tune into Radio 2 from 3.30PM this today to hear Paul chatting to Jonathan Ross about the new album True Meanings and reaching the landmark age 60.

We’ll be in touch soon
Weller HQ

 

Yea, he's channeling Nick, no exaggeration there.
Can't say it's super catchy, but it is one of the better PW ballads I've heard in years

 

Great news. Will. Look forward to that. I know it's not a popular view but I prefer his solo work over anything else.

 

I'm with you there. That's how I discovered him and I backtracked to Jam & Style Council days. His earliest and latest solo works resonate with me more than the rest of his career.

 

Actually, probably even more sacrilegious is that I really don't care for much of The Jam discography! I came to Paul via the somewhat divisive The Style Council, who I absolutely love -- and I'd love to see him work with them again since I think his vocals with those of Dee C. Lee are magical. Since then, I've loved most of his solo albums -- two exceptions are "Sonik Kicks" and "Wake Up The Nation".

 

I love Sonik Kicks and Wake Up The Nation. It's Heavy Soul, Heliocentric, Illumination, Studio 150 and As Is Now that I have problems with. He seemed to lose his way for 10 years before getting back on track with 22 Dreams. I'm looking forward to the new album.

 

Interesting: I love that whole series of albums you mention ("Heliocentric" is a real favorite) up to and including "22 Dreams" (brilliant from start to finish) -- it's the two after that I could not get into. Thankfully he returned to sounds I love on the next two!

 

And I split the difference.
PW>Heavy Soul are all winners for me.
Heliocentric>Wake Up is a bit of a "lost in the wilderness" time.
Sonik>SATURN>Revolution definitely seem stronger to me, with Saturn's Pattern being a real home run.

NOTE: I do think As Is Now is another very strong album (just cut Pan!). I found 22 Dreams rather pretentious, though; did we really need him to do jazz (Song for Alice), spoken-word (God) and a frickin' tango (One Bright Star)??? I could probably get a nice 12 Dreams set out of that, though.

 

Seriously, I don't think any of his albums can be taken as "weak". I'm still discovering a few tracks, to be fair. Some of them are quite sophisticated, so it takes time.

 

I went to see him play and wasn't a big fan but after the show I certainly was. For me his solo stuff is much better than The Jam.

 

I came in at The Jam,loved most of The Style Council but it is his solo work that I like most.A musical giant whose work has remained interesting and relevant for over 40 years.Even the stuff I haven't been a big fan of has been innovative and kept me always coming back for the next instalment.
And he's great live too.

 

It's so weird that the album that will be hard to top isn't "Stanley Road" or "Wildwood" but "A Kind Revolution". At 60 Paul really seems on fire.

 

"Sonik Kicks" is an awful album.

 

I love it

 

Nice. Sounded a bit Springsteenish at times.

 

Paul Weller performing On Days Like These (from the Italian Job) at Quincy Jones’ 85th Birthday Concert in London on June 27th

 

His first few solo albums are now classics, but it's true, his last few are as good as anything he has ever done.

 

"True Meanings" officially announced today! Check out all the details at Paul Weller News!

 

What does "gatefold tip-on sleeve" mean for the vinyl set? Don't think I've ever heard that term before...

 

If you've bought any of the Music Matters Blue Note reissues, or say... the 2014 mono reissue of Magical Mystery Tour, it's that style of sleeve. Heavy cardboard, artwork pasted on.

 

Best explanation, "...the print is done on a separate sheet of text-stock paper, and then wrapped/glued to a thick corrugated core. Conversely – most modern record jackets are called “direct-to-board” print, where the printing is done directly onto the cardstock itself). Many record consumers view Tip-On jackets as a luxury, or very upgraded packaging option compared to direct-to-board print."

 

Thanks, guys! Know what it is now, just never heard of the term before.

I like the album artwork - classy. Not sure what I think about other writing lyrics for him to sing (?), but I guess if the results are good that's all that matters.

 

Very much looking forward to this.

Been a while since he has followed up an album within a year, but counting last year's soundtrack, this makes three albums in the space of two years -- plus the "Mother Ethiopia" single and his contributions to two Stone Foundation albums. That would be an impressive work ethic for anyone in music these days, but it's even more so considering he just turned 60 and he tours regularly.

 

Gonna keep an open mind, but from the first single and the "Nick Drake-esque" description, I'm a little less excited about this one than I was for his last several records.

 

Steve a White wrote the lyrics to "With Everything to Lose" and "Push-Button Automatic," so there's certainly precedent.