Review of Style Council: Live At The Full House

Introduction

Many of us who had enjoyed The Jam`s early outings became perplexed as Paul Weller moved away from his high octane aggression fuelled three chord anthems to the soul inspired pop of their latter days. And we were completely dumfounded when he donned the soul-boy cardigan and started bashing out lukewarm easy listening soul with The Stye Council. But that was just us. Plenty of others clearly enjoyed these oxford bag musings and The Style Council went on to enjoy some six years of chart success with tracks like `Long Hot Summer` and `My Ever Changing Moods`, and albums like `Cafe Bleu`, `Our Favourite Shop `,and `Confessions Of A Pop Group`.

I guess after seven years with The Jam it was time for Weller to pursue his other musical influences in a way not really possible with a core three-piece.

Weller, initially fuelled and inspired by The Kinks and The Who, had begun to dig a little deeper into the roots of the music he loved and was constantly name-checking artistes like Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin, along with pure Jazz and Blues. For me though he was never going to be a Marvin Gaye, and the music, in common with other eighties white-boy soul, sounds kitsch and derivative in the cold light of day, more than a decade later.

Fans filled with a nostalgic appreciation of the group may well already own the fairly comprehensive double dvd set doing the sounds which neatly rounds up a number or performances, as well as all the promos from the band`s six-year career. For most that should be enough.

This very brief (30 minute) TV concert is OK, and would have made a reasonable `extra` on another release, though judged on its own merits is hardly worth issuing all on its lonesome. It`s a video recorded concert of the band some four years in, recorded in Hamburg, Germany with a line-up that differs in part from the original, with just the curiously un-charismatic Mick Talbot and Weller recognisable from their first incarnation (I think).

It pretty much covers most the hits including "Money Go Round" and "Shout to the Top", though it noticeably omits their one and only US hit, "My Ever Changing Mood".

Weller fans may enjoy seeing their hero in these halcyon days, though whilst the performance is very professional, it hardly ignites.

Video

It`s a fairly cheesy mid-eighties video recording in 1.33 X, probably taped on Hi_Band U-Matic PAL format, which has an intrinsically `soft` look.

Audio

Someone`s at least taken the time to revisit the audio, providing a workman-like Dolby Digital 5.1 which goes some way to recreating the live sound, albeit briefly!

Features

Also included is an interview between the programme presenter and the band. But these are in German. Weller speaks in English but with an inseparable simultaneous German translation obscuring his words, though subs are provided, making the whole experience irritating in the extreme.

Conclusion

I`ll keep this opinionated summary brief, rather in keeping with the brevity of the disc itself which, without the 10 minutes of barely watchable interviews, has a running time of a meagre 30 minutes.

This is a rather cheesy German broadcast of a short concert. It`s not bad if you`re a fan of the band, though it`s certainly not their finest hour either.

With some very comprehensive material already available on DVD, I`m unsure why anyone would want to part with their hard earned cash to buy such slim-pickings.

Maybe one for completists only. Anyone else should avoid.