PAUL WELLER Vinyl & CDs

Review: Ahhh, Paul Weller's difficult sixth. Well, in reality by this point in his career - 2002 to be exact - The Jam hero-turned-soloist has already perfected his lone guitar man sound, having long since established himself among the UK's finest rock 'n' roll songwriters. As such this record was always going to do well.

With appearances from Kelly Jones (Stereophonics) on 'Call Me No.5', Noel Gallagher and Gem Archer (Oasis) on 'One X One', the release showcased some real British indie royalty at the time, and the impact is still impressive today. And this is before we come to the likes fo Carleen Anderson and Jocelyn Brown. Only the second time Weller hit number one in the LP charts as a solo player, which gives some idea as to just how well received it was, singles like 'It's Written In The Stars' and 'Leafy Mystery' remain some of his best.

Review: RECOMMENDED
Paul Weller really does seem capable of evading the exhaustion many of his peers eventually succumb to, artistically at least. He's a mod at heart, a flyer of the Brit flag, and a guy whose middle name should be something like 'Cool', or perhaps a slightly less lazy cliche. Even now, 50 years on from when many of us first fell in love with him, this is unarguably true, and on Fat Pop he again proves just how many ideas are buzzing around this silver fox's head.

Remarkably, album #16 is up there with his farthest reaching efforts. Stylistically, he paints with broad brush strokes to create an album unmistakably Weller. From the motoring rock of 'Cosmic Fringes' to slow grooves of 'Fat Pop' itself, and the epic romance of 'Glad Times' and 'Cobweb/Connections', we can't think of anyone else who could possibly have made this record.

Review: Five tracks from Paul Weller's critically acclaimed 2020 LP On Sunset, with five remixers taking the stems and crafting something new from that original material. And what remixers they are, comprising James Skelly of Liverpool band The Coral (Skeleton Key), Welsh synth-y songwriter Gwenno, Senegalese drummer Seckou Keita, psychedelic folk star Jane Weaver and French indie pop troupe Le SuperHomard.

With that lineup you'd expect the results to be varied, but that's something of an understatement in reality. From the tripped out surrealism of 'Rockets' as read by Weaver, through Keita's pared back percussive take on the same track, the sparse minimalistic harmonies of 'Old Father Thyme' to the sublime and sexy downtempo jazziness of 'More', it's a taster menu right down to the number of dishes.

Review: Jules Buckley can do absolutely no wrong in our eyes. The conductor responsible for leading the globally revered Heritage Orchestra has made a name for himself experimenting with the limits and limitless potential of classical music, taking influences from the world of dance and club tunes to open up orchestral performances to new demographics and generations.

He also has the honour of heading up the BBC Symphony Orchestra at select performances, another of the world's finest ensembles. This is just one recording from one of those shows, but clearly proves there's genius at work. The same could be said for Paul Weller, the iconic UK guitarist and singer who here invites said players to rethink tracks from his back catalogue for a staggering 75-minute set that elevates the rocker's oeuvre to greater heights than ever before.