Tweet

Album Details

• Artist: Paul Weller
• Album: Illumination
• Label: Yep Roc / Independiente
• Year of Release: 2002
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2003-04-05

The mighty and once influential Paul Weller thrown to the indies. It’s really hard to believe that Island, Go or whatever Universal affiliate would let Paul slip without a record deal. Sure, his albums don’t sell the way they used to but Weller is a songwriter and performer extraordinaire and Illumination is as good as any of his solo material since Wild Wood. It may be the simple fact that Heliocentric was to be Mr. Weller’s final album but as many musicians before him he just couldn’t stay away. Paul has clocked 57 top 40 hits in his life with the Jam and Style Council as well as solo and his influence cannot be overlooked. He may have mellowed out a bit over the years (Paul’s pushing close to 50) but he sure knows how to write a song. Illumination gives you more than any Paul Weller fan could ask for. There are 13 tracks proper on the album as well as 3 “bonus� tracks. As if that’s not enough, Paul has included a 5 video DVD (3 live tracks and 2 videos) with the North American release. The music of Weller is maturing but he still gets a little raucous at times like on “A Bullet For Everyone�. The album starts out with Wilco sounding “Going Places�, which is one of the most pleasant songs on Illumination. Illumination is a fine album showing that Paul is amongst the cool aging Brits (Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe).

User Reviews and Comments

Log In or Register to Rate Albums