Paul Weller - Wild Wood: Deluxe Edition

Transition from soul to growl

The “deluxe” phenomenon has thrown up some unexpected greatness in its time. There are nuggets across these two CDs too, but there’s no getting away from the fact the original material is always best. Wild Wood broke Paul Weller in the 90s, and a raft of “dadrock” followed. But for a few months at least, there was the feeling this was man who had been out in the cold too long. The title track spoke to a newer generation of fans who weren’t around for The Jam, but it wasn’t all melancholy. In fact, as the 30 bonuses here attest, the Wild Wood era marked the point when Weller dropped his guard, covering Neil Young, The Who – old grizzards, really – before becoming one himself, then getting mass acclaim. Most odd. The album still sounds like a man having fun, which is infectious. Hung Up remains a great lost single, the Portishead remix of the title track is still sublime, and 15 demos show just how much things developed in the studio. It’s better than what followed, but not as good as what came before.

Island | cat no tbc

Reviewed by Jake Kennedy
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