Review of Paul Weller: Live at Braehead

Introduction

Being a thirty-something, it`s not too hard to remember when Paul Weller was being written off in the music press as a has been.

After the Style Council hit the skids in the late eighties, and were subsequently dropped by their label, Weller couldn`t even get a UK deal.

He decided to focus all his efforts on his live performances instead and it paid off, but it`s hard to imagine now that no one would take a chance on the former Jam frontman.

He hit back hard with his underrated eponymous debut solo album in 1992 - and then a year later turned out the classic Wild Wood.

This was a huge turning point and won Weller a whole legion of new fans.

Since then he has had some massive-selling solo efforts. 1995`s Stanley Road is probably the most notable although his most recent release, As Is Now, is being hailed as one of his very best.

Live at Braehead was filmed on 16th October 2002 in support of his album Illumination.

The second night of a two-date residency at the virgin venue, it`s a two-hour romp through Jam classics such as Man In The Cornershop, In The Crowd, Pretty Green and Town Called Malice.

He doesn`t forget Style Council fans either with Down In The Seine and Man Of Great Promise, both from the album Our Favourite Shop.

Acoustic moments feature Wild Wood, Going Places, the keyboard heavy Picking Up Sticks and the beautiful Broken Stones, making this an diverse, all round package.

1.A Bullet for Everyone 2. Into Tomorrow 3. Bull Rush 4. It`s Written In The Stars 5. Going Places 6. Friday Street 7. Man In The Cornershop 8. Now The Night Is Here 9. Leafy Mysteries 10. One X One 11. Hung Up 12. Sunflower 13. In The Crowd 14. Broken Stones 15. Picking Up Sticks 16. Bagman 17. Who Brings Joy 18. Down In The Seine 19. Man Of Great Promise 20. Brand New Start 21. All Good Books 22. Can You Heal Us Holy Man 23. Porcelain Gods 24. Pretty Green 25. Whirlpool`s End 26. The Changingman 27. Peacock Suit 28. Town Called Malice 29. Standing Out In The Universe 30. Wild Wood

Video

Aspect Ratio 16:9 Widescreen.

A perfectly clear transfer.

There are no regional restrictions on this disc.

Audio

Dolby Digital 5.1
DTS 5.1

Features

None

Conclusion

This fantastic DVD captures the great man at the very top of his game. He is supported by long-term contributors, Steve White on drums, Steve Cradock on lead guitar, Damon Minchella on bass and Seamus Beaghan on keyboards.

The disc features all the songs but one from his 2002 album Illumination, and though this is not the best Weller release he structures the set well and the songs taken from it easily hold their own.

The unprecedented excitement surrounding these two nights in Glasgow though came from the promise of the Style Council and Jam classics - something Weller hadn`t done (except acoustic) in years.

In total we get 30 tracks spanning three decades, forcing PW to flit between a range of instruments during the show.

For the musical anoraks like myself, I can tell you that he uses both twelve-string and six-string Gibson acoustic guitars, a cherry red Gibson SG with whammy bar, his beautiful liteburst Epiphone Casino, and a Telecaster 52 re-issue - he also has a flash at the piano and Wurlitzer keyboard.

I`ll do my best not to bore with instrument details anymore though.

That`s why admire Weller though, he`s versatile.

This is evident in the music as he effortlessly goes between gorgeous acoustic ballads and full-on anthems.

He kicks off with A Bullet for Everyone. Definitely one of the strongest on Illumination and a nice opening track.

He has a great guitar technique, attacking the whammy bar Pete Townshend style, and in spite of having Cradock there he takes on solo duties as well.

This is something we see him doing much more of these days and although I admire Cradock`s tone and style, Weller`s face melters are every bit as good. Just check out what he did for Oasis` Champagne Supernova.

Two from the 1992 self-titled release are next, Into Tomorrow and Bull Rush.

Both are fantastic songs, the latter has a great first line and borrows heavily from Strawberry Fields for the keyboard intro.

As expected he re-visits Illumination again many times during the set, but there are too many tracks to go into full detail about them all.

Stand out moments for me were: It`s Written in the Stars, with its fabulous brass intro. Acoustic ballad Going Places, with a nice bit of interaction between Weller and Minchella as PW hits a bummer chord.

PW`s vocal on Now the Night is Here, a personal favourite and another tremendous first line.

Sunflower, Porcelain Gods, The Changingman, Can You Heal Us Holy Man, Peacock Suit , Broken Stones and Wildwood are all first class, and if these alone made up the entirety of the content, the disc would still be worth the money.

The Changingman is a complete rip-off to ELO`s 10538 Symphony but as Weller once said himself: "Some of my songs have been out and out copies, but I wasn`t expecting anyone not to notice."

The crowd really start to have it though as soon as the first chords are struck on, Man in the Cornershop. It`s a really good song, very similar to The Bitterest Pill and you can see plenty of forty-something Jam fans in the audience sending their heart rates dangerously high. The Jam tracks are definitely the best received on the night providing testament to just how influential a band they were.

Personally though I think Weller is at his best when he performs his acoustic tracks. He has a fantastic voice and writes excellent lyrics.

The rest of the band is also on form. Cradock performs his usual, wah-wah heavy solos but also plays some nice piano parts and a bit of Spanish-style guitar.

Minchella seems solid as a rock as does Beaghan but Steve White pulls off some extraordinary drumming, including a two and a half minute solo. He`s been Weller`s right hand man for a long time now and the pair of them seems to telepathically know what the other`s going to do.

The only down point about this disc is that there are no extras. If you know anything about Weller though this won`t surprise you in the least.

The man is definitely all about the music.