Reviews (page 5 of 8)
after listening to Wild Wood, i'm not thrilled to see i must endure more Paul Weller Mick's Blessings - 1/5 The Whole Point Of No Return - 2/5 Me Ship Came In! - 3/5 Blue Cafe - 3/5 The Paris Match - 4/5 My Ever Changing Moods - 2/5 Dropping Bombs On The Whitehouse - 2/5 A Gospel - 1/5 (can i go below a zero for this?) Strength Of Your Nature - 1/5 You're The Best Thing - 2/5 Here's One That Got Away - 2/5 Headstart For Happiness - 2/5 Council Meetin' - 1/5 Average score: 2/5 yeah, no. this went all over the place in terms of style, and not in any way that did this album any favors. with every genre hop, it shatters any immersion i would've had. and what the actual fuck was that attempt at hip-hop?? the one song featuring Tracey Thorn was probably the better song out of everything here, likely cuz it sounds like a masterpiece in comparison to the tracks Weller sang on. some of the purely instrumental tracks were okay as well. however, once i reached the last half, any sense of enjoyment quickly left me i've yet to hear anything from Weller's days with The Jam, but i really hope it's not as bad as what i've heard here. i think this was deserving of a two simply because of instrumentation alone
Not too awful but also nothing special. Not even distinctive let alone influential.
5/10…sophysti pop / new wave
I never realized how jazzy this album is. Plus, guest vocals from Tracey Thorn, and some early-80s rap on A Gospel. When are you going to find the strength of YOUR nature?
Not bad. 3
Bittelitt skuffa
This felt eclectic and a bit chaotic to me, and didn't really grab me overall. "You're the Best Thing" remains a decent track but isn't representative of the album and can't save it on its own.
not that into. Some tracks sounded like Mark Hollis singing Elton John covers
Never listened to the Style Council before - no idea what's going on but I like it, nice to hear from Comrade Weller
It's not a bad album by any means but it's carried by 'You're The Best Thing', can't see myself going back to it.
A Gospel one of the most deeply evil songs i've ever heard. It's an interesting album that's for sure. but a good album? I'm not convinced. You're the Best Thing is so madly different to the rest of the album, it's extra confusing. I don't think i'll be revisiting.
I only knew one song off their prior EP and I liked it. My friend had been telling me they suck and I was like, do they? I like that song. And then I listened to this and was like, wow they do indeed suck.
Difficult. Generally, I liked the album and I think that a 3 is too little. On the other hand I also don't find the album that good and therefore I think that a 4 is too high. Today I'll decide for a 3. Tomorrow I might have a given a 4.
Eclectic, somehow felt like 8a or 90s TV soundtrack material
I have no idea what Weller and co were going for here but it does not make for a great album. It’s like a pastiche at times, almost like they are trying out different styles but none of them quite fight. At times I was reminded of one of those Jools Holland shows where they’re jamming and then smugly congratulate each other afterwards. 2 stars
The Whole Point Of No Return // My Ever Changing Moods // You’re The Best Thing // 2.5/5
Wish I could do 3.5. It’s honestly pretty nice and versatile. Sad girl songs. Romantic. Hmmm maybe round up?
Me costó escucharlo, los temas instrumentales sacan dentro de todo
disorganized but some songs were nice
I got most of the way through but this didn't work for me. (27 known/59 new)
Shite
Attempt to do every style of music, none of them competently.
Once again, the Style Council is a band that I’ve never heard, or heard of. Generally, I did enjoy this album. I really didn’t know what to expect, so I liked it more than I anticipated. The only song I really did not care for was, A Gospel and that’s predictable, as I am not a hip-hop fan. Most of this album serves as pleasant background music. For me, this one comes in at three stars solidly.
Fav: Blue Cafe Least Fav: A Gospel It’s got a bit of everything, unfortunately that includes Paul Weller rapping
Mick's Blessing is fun! I like how jazzy it is. Occasionally I'm reminded of Geordie Greep. Okay the rapping on A Gospel was...unexpected. I ended up liking the first half quite a bit better than the second. Still, 3.5/5?
I'd heard the name and honestly expected The Style Council to be a lot cooler than this. It's a mess. A mishmash of different kinds of songs, strange collaborations and just didn't do any of many things very well at all.
Wild album. A handful of very 80s pop sounding sounds, but then there's like 5 insanely good lounge jazz instrumental tracks. Nailed both genres
Remarkable variety, track for track--really a tour de force. If you gave me the 13 tracks randomly and asked how many were from a single album, I would probably guess 2 or 3. This would be less impressive even 10 years later with the rise of electronic music, but they did so much of this themselves!
Album was amazing then it turned into random pop surprise casserole. Like they forgot what they were doing and said fuck it, what do have laying around to fill minimum track requirements.
Four stars for the top half, especially the instrumental pieces, fun jazzy vibe. One star for the back half, which is objectively terrible. So two and a half stars. I'd round up for My Ever Changing Mood but A Gospel is unforgivable.
wow, this was sure a variety pack of genres. we've had kind of a kick of that this week. the rapping didn't work for me, but i liked the other stuff just fine.
wow this is like stevie wonder meets huey lewis and the news, but i kinda dig it. the sound is all over the place and super cheesy, especially that incredibly cringey rap track, but it's kind of a jam (see what i did there) favorites: mick's blessings, the whole point of no return, my ever changing moods, strength of your nature, you're the best thing, headstart for happiness
I get that Paul Weller felt "restricted" by "the rock myth and the rock culture" but while he was restricted The Jam produced banger after banger whereas The Style Council produced twee muck.
Kaiken puolin aika monipuolinen levy. Jazzimpaa kamaa, new wavea ja yksi räppi kappalekkin. Tyylikästä. Parhaat: The Wholw Point Of No Return
Very confused by this album. Some of the songs ruled. Some of the songs sounded like the demo. Loved the jazzy shit and Paul weller is awesome. Love all the genre bending
Unfortunately unmemorable…
I really enjoyed the first half of this album. And then the '80s sounds came in.
Really uneven
Abwechslungsreich, jedoch ohne Richtung und klingt oft wie Jazz aus einem Werbevideo oder Computerdemo. Das Album ist so smooth, das wirklich wenig hängen bleibt.
I was expecting a lot more r&b/blue eyed soul based on how incredible Youre The Best Thing Is. But this was all over the place.
Meh, I don't even know what to write, bleh cafe.
What a wild ride! every kind of genre except death metal it seems. The Rap portion is not so cringy for me. It came out in 1984 (pre Public Enemy, NWA). This is what I’m here for.
Fine
1.53
Lots of genre bending which is very fun. The rap song felt really out of place though.
Album 709 of 1001 The Style Council - Cafe Bleu (1984) Rating : 3 / 5 Wasn't expecting too much so was a little surprised. There were some low moments, such as their turn at rapping, but overall it was alright. A 1984 release, it seems a few years before its time.
This is... not good. The first half was generic, but inoffensive jazz pop type stuff. And then the second half came with the bad hip hop song. Then it just kept up with the terrible songs. Props for the attempt at genre hopping, and the talent is there on the first half, but this is just bad. I've had one other album I said I don't understand why it's on the list, but at least that album seemed to have been influential in some way. But this one's claim to fame seems to have been getting a reappraisal due to its inclusion in the 1001 albums book? At least if I'm reading the dates in the Wikipedia article correctly. So yeah. Album IMO that has no business being on this list, unfortunately.
Kinda easy lounge listening with a dance song thrown in. 3*
2.6 - Okay I think technically great and some great music. But I feel like this could be a band famous for playing on cruise ships or something. A bit of everything and just not that memorable
I was really enjoying this one until "A Gospel". Lots of loungey jazz. Vocal-less, chorus-less tracks where warranted. Second half was quite disappointing though. 3.6/5
Hyvin tyylikäs kansi, tyylikästä on musiikkikin mutta yllättävän lämmintä. Häiritsee kyllä, että tehdään silti enemmän konseptia kuin musiikkia.
Weller likes New Orleans. Lopputuloksena levy, joka antaa banaalihkon ensivaikutelman, mutta muuttuu astetta kiinnostavammaksi yllättävän rap-tribuutin jälkeen.
This felt so fucking pretentious from the band name to the album name to the music. Made me think back to going to the beach as a kid and the hotel had a "nice" restaurant that you went to one night. You had to pack a polo shirt just for the occasion. There would be a jazz quartet playing in the ballroom to signify that it was classy. This is what was probably playing.
This was surprisingly good, but the record absolutely has an identity crisis in my mind. One song is a jazz tune, the next an 80s synth, then a 70s ballad. While this might be the whole point of the band, it felt too jarring to listen to altogether.
This was a really weird one and I was really vibing with the jazz music, but then there was some rap music all of a sudden that I thought the album ended and Spotify started playing a different artist. Nope. Same artist, same album. Shame they didn’t just stick to jazz.
Boring boring bland blah beige WHAT THE FUCK?!?! That was certainly different.
half-baked jack assery that had potential. the Paris match is an amazing tune featuring the chick from everything but the girl.
3.5
when i saw paul weller's name attached to this one, i was pretty optimistic. i like his other work. oh my god, what the hell is this. sometimes it's a swing album. sometimes it's the most boring 80s pop album you've ever heard. sometimes it's a terrible rap album. sometimes it's a knock-off of a knock-off of a raydio album. genuinely a bizarre album that has no idea what its identity is. sure, let's throw everything at the wall and see if it sticks! well, nothing sticks. it's all not great. what the hell
A good album, I liked Strength Of Your Nature the most.
A very smooth, jazzy sound from this group I don't think I ever heard of. Really like the often tongue-in-cheek titles, like "The Whole Point of No Return."
Stylish, inoffensive elevator music. It was a nice day for a long walk and to listen to some records. As this came up on the queue I let it run on while I wandered off in my thoughts. After not long the shallow soul and vapid charm got my full negative attention. It reminded me of how my high school jazz band must have sounded as we were much more dialed into John Philip Sousa football game marches than swinging into twelve-bar blues.
Café Bleh!
Soft rock, fusion, good musicianship and easy to listen to. Kind of lounge-esque at points.
Huh, weird bt enjoyable I even liked one song
Usually I find diversity in an album refreshing, but in this case it might be too much.
This was cute! Maybe a little all over the place. The beginning of the album, I was enjoying the instrumentals and almost jazzy type of music. And then the album took a turn around halfway through. Not to say the second half of the album is bad, but I enjoyed the almost jazzy atmosphere more than the attempt at rapping or the more up-tempo music that almost felt like an attempt at disco. "The Paris Match" and "My Ever Changing Moods" were both really nice.
3.5
Fun lil 80s bops
Nice!
A personal favorite of mine even before this list. The Style Council has some of my favorite Paul Weller compositions. This album has a lot of instrumentals on it with other classics such as My Ever Changing Moods, You're The Best Thing and Headstart For Happiness. This album is a good transition album in the Weller catalog as it transitions from The Jam sound to The Style Councils best album Our Favourite Shop. The album gives you a look into Weller's mind as he reimagines the sound he is trying to find by surrounding himself with new musicians. This new sound came to a refined head in the Our Favourite Shop album that follows.
This album started off with some mellow jazz, then suddenly a rap song happened, followed by some upbeat punk. An odd mix, but it wasn't actively bad.
After disbanding his previous band, The Jam, singer-songwriter Paul Weller formed a new group with keyboardist Mick Talbot called The Style Council. It was a short-lived outfit that allowed Paul to branch out and explore different artistic avenues, and after a mini-LP, Café Bleu was the debut that would set the tone. What did we find in the café? Well, I found this to be a sophisti-pop album where the synthesizers largely took a back seat in favor of more jazz and soul influences. On side one, there is a degree of well-detailed compositions and warm production where Paul thrived in the ambiance. Tracks like "Mick's Blessings" and "Blue Café" were exquisite pieces with soft glossy guitars, keyboards, and ensemble arrangements. Not to mention, they made effective use of guest appearances such as Everything But the Girl coming in on "Strike the Match" and the horns adding to the tropical bounce of "Me Ship Came In!" But then came the start of side two with "A Gospel", where between the clunky rapping of Brian Beaton and the blocky percussion, I was snapped back to reality and reminded this album came out in the early 1980s. This was followed by the synthesizer blare of "Strength of Your Nature", and I was even less enthused with how dated the second half became. "You're the Best Thing" was a decent enough song to course-correct, but at that point the damage was done. I get that Paul was trying various styles with this group, but not every sound has aged well in hindsight. Suffice it to say, Café Bleu was an intriguing case of a man trying his best to break away from the creative limitations of his last group. While the result is far from perfect, it is admirable.
The big hits are timeless classics that you know well. The rest seems a bit more stuck in a time capsule for me. Very mid-60s pop.
Pretentious pop songs with predictable jazzy interludes
Favorite Track: You’re The Best Thing
And now presenting the more mellow and jazzier Modfather. Even though You're The Best Thing is such a classic song, this was such an inconsistent effort. It's amazing how in this case, 44 minutes felt like an hour and 44. Liked Songs Added: You're The Best Thing
Beautiful, and huge variety of styles!
I like the Jam. I like Paul Weller’s solo stuff. This was nearly unlistenable.
It might be that sophisti-pop just isn’t for me. It’s not for nothing that I’d rather listen to almost anything else Paul Wellar has done (“almost” because there’s no way I’ve heard all of it … demonstrably, there’s some skeletons in the closet alongside all those parkas and nicely cut suits). And nor did I love EBTG’s – who appear on Cafe Bleu – early 80s sophisti-pop output either (to the extent I had to chase it with hits from “Amplified Heart” just to resettle myself). It feels like, in Cafe Bleu, Paul Wellar is forcing me to listen to what he learned on his gap year inter-railing around Europe. But also, in a self-reflexively superficial way, it might also be his most punk statement. There’s a ready-made antagonism shot through it; like it wants to be misunderstood, under-appreciated or even disliked – all so that it can turn around and tell you that you just don’t get it. And I don’t, really. There’s plenty of evidence of Wellar’s songwriting chops (“My ever changing moods”; “You’re the best thing”; “Headstart for happiness”) but then there’s also lots to make me cringe (including some of the lyrics in “Headstart…” – syrupy stuff even by the standards of the early 80s). I’m happy for the Modfather that he branched out. And dear me, haven’t we all been invited to think a little deeper while surveying the scene in a Parisian cafe? But I guess there’s a reason Dave didn’t include the Style Council in my musician education. 1.5.
Nope.
It's brutal to give me hope for good jazz and then replace it with rap.
I don't understand. This album is so inconsistent that I don't know what to make of it. It has some truly painful songs that made me feel like I was stuck in a smooth jazz hell (You're The Best Thing was absolutely THE WORST), some okay instrumentals, Council Meetin' that I absolutely loved and two funk songs just thrown in the middle. The funk was refreshing but I'm very confused and not in fun 'wow, that was a wild ride!'-way.
Very inconsistent
While I was listening to this I thought it was just a short album and autoplay kicked into the next album. Turns out the latter half is just completely different, whats nice is that it does both pretty well. I really enjoyed the first half, I got a lot of lo-fi smooth jazz vibes and then the latter half with all its 80's style pop funky energy was a treat. Cafe Bleu is probably my favorite off the album, and A Gospel just for the enjoyable whiplash.
What a treat this album was! Fun jazzy lounge music in the first half, pure 80s nonsense in the second. A Gospel hits like a brick and the album really doesn’t let up from there. The two halves are completely incongruous with each other and I wonder why the album was made that way? Either way I enjoyed the heck out of it!
Some pleasant songs
Sophisto-what?
not bad
Once again, I have gotten an album that does not deserve to be on this list. Cafe Bleu by The Style Council was as bland as toast with no butter and about as interesting as my grandfather's trip to Walmart last week.
Well this one's jolly peculiar isn't it? From 1984 but without a synthesiser in sight, some of it could be on a jazz album, some sounds a bit like the Jam, there's even a completely implausisble rap track in there. And a decently charting single, too, "You're the Best Thing". Three stars for trying absolutely everything, but not more because it's not clear how much actually works.
Weird album. All over the place. It's hard to have an opinion here.
3.5
#483. This was some mediocre jazzy nonsense that I was fully ready to give two stars, but then he started rapping. 1/5: no thanks, buckaroo Song added to playlist: My Ever Changing Mood I've created a playlist on Spotify that consists of the best and/or my favorite song from each of the albums in this book. This list can be found here if you are interested: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7MAXDGLWlwLkFLb8veGfkA?si=FqkQQPgZTFWG0jAUJXLFZA&utm_source=copy-link
Pleasant surprise, though the more hip-hop leaning songs kind of feel out of place.
Sorpresivanente me pareció entretenido y probablemente guarde algun track en mis Playlist, se mantiene dinámico pero no repetitivo, las voces acompañan y le dan un extra pero permite seguir apreciando lo que sucede musicalmente. Me gustó bastante
This is pretty cool, easy to listen to, but still engaging.
Not much to say about this one. It was fine. Upbeat, pretty fun to listen to. Not much more beyond that.
Interesting but all over the place. Not exactly a coherent theme to the album. Almost felt like a movie soundtrack.
I love the bouncy, jazzy fun of the faster instrumental tracks. Less interesting when we get into lyrics. And "A Gospel" is just the usual kind of self-righteous rap. I'd be rating this higher if they'd just cut the less interesting songs and left a slimmer, stronger album.
All over the place and it doesnt really work out. Standout songs: You're the best thing
This album is all over the place. Not bad though.
I definitely recommend this album. Just skip "A Gospel" and “Strength Of Your Nature” which are complete duds and don't belong on this otherwise sublime record. https://open.substack.com/pub/richcain/p/project-1001-cafe-bleu-by-the-style?r=4ztyq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Booooooooriiiiiiing adult contemporary jazz. Sorry Paul Weller
Beyond (some of) the singles, I never really got The Style Council, although late Jam was probably pointing in this direction. First time I have lists to the album all the way through as I recall. It’s cool jazzy lounge music. I like Mick Talbot’s keyboards, particularly on the instrumentals. I’ve never liked Tracy Thorn’s voice, and “Paris Match” doesn’t change that. And then there’s the second side. “The Gospel” - Ill -advised and poorly executed - followed by an awful, in both senses, EWF/Trouble Funk karaoke abomination “Strength of Your Nature”. “You’re the Best Thing” is good, returning to the lounge, but it’s not enough.
Stylish
Really like this new-to-me album!
Ok. I’m not smart enough to understand jazzy piano music.
First song felt like an intro to some eighties sitcom. Second track is an actual song. Though the inclusion of lyrics typically adds to the song, these lyrics left me more confused. What is he talking about? Feels pretentious. “My Ship Came In!” is another instrumental. These aren’t bad. The production is solid and instrumentation is very well done. They just need more. This track that features Tracey Thorn actually makes me feel bad for her. Like, don’t drag this talented singer into your nonsense project. Ok. What the hell. Why did he feel like he could pull that off. You know what song I’m talking about. What the hell. What’s with all the jarring changes in genres. I’m getting whiplash, this album is really succeeding in becoming one of the most annoying pieces of music I’ve ever had to listen to. If “You’re the Best Thing” was the only song I knew off this album, I’d probably be a little interested to hear the rest. Easily the highlight of the album and it isn’t even that good. I did not enjoy this and I do not feel at all bad about that fact. This doesn’t feel like a project that the artist put too much effort into. If he did, then that’s a fucking shame. 2/5
Great in places
You know, I’m giving it points on diversity and groove alone.
Enjoyable, but all over the place. Is it bossa nova, is it hip hop, is it 80’s?
Not really sure what to think of this one. I didn't hate it but I don't know who this album was made for. 3/5
I respect the boldness to completely change your musical direction. Hip-hop, jazz, and cheesy pop? Sign me up!
Got me horny
Paul Weller was 25 when he started The Style Council... and frankly, he was old enough to know better.
Can’t really be pissed about a guy who wants to play what he wants. But the Jam was, and still is, perhaps the best pop/punk band to come out of the U.K. To tear it down for something so mediocre was sad, self-centered, and in the end, not terribly bright. I’ll keep spinning The Jam, and try to forget the misguided behavior of their squirrelly frontman.
I kinda liked it because it was jazzy. But I could see the complaints from the artist description about the artist being a little on the nose with his social complaints in music.
A tedious record. Feels like a random collection of tracks
Great jazz, terrible rapping.
What was even going on on this album?
2.0 Imagine quitting the Jam and then coming out with this. Jesus christ Paul. All over the place, it's foray into different genres not helping itself given its a scattergun of shite. Even the only half decent track, you're the best thing, gets tiresome very quickly. After two listens of that I'll be happy to not hear it again.
Quite nice actually
Interesting for the purposes of this list for its embrace of jazz in an era where pop music was reaching for something new in the post-punk era. Paul Weller, a fitful pioneer in early post-punk, clung to the 60's mods in his sound, with a strong Beatles and Who influence. It came really as no surprise that he'd go for easy jazz as an influence with The Style Council. In all, it's not a great record, but it's a worthwhile experiment. The rap interlude halfway through aged like milk, but leave it to Weller to experiment.
It feels like they where trying to write song to be in the background of movies. They tried a little bit of everything, hoping something would stick. Nothing really memorable though.
I completely didn't get this when it came out, like a lot of people I wanted more Jam. Now I think I see what Weller was trying to do with it: move beyond the abstract, coded cool of the Mods back to the earlier, actual stuff that inspired them.
Schöns erschts Lied, s 2. passt aber grad nöd dezu. S ganze Album isch nüd stimmig. Jetzt bini aber entosche - han meh erwartet. Öppis wie "Walls come tumbeling down"
noniiie ghört vo dene kei ahnig wani söll erwarte. micks blessings isch sochli gospel klavier findi huuuere geil? whole point of no return sehr schöni gitarre tönt irgendwie noch 90er neo soul aber seehr cool. wer sind sie?? sie sind sehr cool? me ship came in chli easy listening jazz type bossa instrumental. blue cafe au ehner es lahms instrumental aber de gitarrebueb cha öppis het öpus knopfler mässigs. the paris match au schöön i like aber was mached brite ide 80er??? scho ein biiitzli hölzern irgendwie. my ever changing moods au sehr cools klavier aber s ischmer chli zu easy listening gad. droppng bombs on the whitehouse chillliigg. aso isch fr e sehr chilligs instrumental sehr modern jazz recht normal. a gospel isch en rap? iich weiss nich. irgendwie isch das ganze bis etz seeehr white gsi. jo s ischs immerno. strength of your nature isch meh da woni eigentli vo dem album erwartet hett. passt jetz eigentlich meeeega nöd drii. aber finds no geil uuuhuere nervös. chli thomas dolby. alte s goht recht dumm. aber wiso sind nöd alli songs chli meh i dem stil, bzw wiso isch de song do? youre the best thing sehr cute song, bass isch goofy as hell. ok rieeeese song banger certified geil sehr cool. heres ine that got away mit de fiddle?? es isch so all over the place hooly shit. aber seehr coole song sie singed recht schön zeme immer zweistimmig finds super. isch bitz dexy's (de pianist isch glaub ex dexy's). okay da isch e komischs album gsi wo nöd weiss wases will irgendwie. alles recht cool, ussert d jazz instrumentals hets nöd uuunbedingt brucht, hetmer meh gfalle wenns singed.
mivk's blessing mega fun finds recht abwechsligsrich und cool bis jz! jz kei banger aber sehr schön, mengisch würkeds meh wie ideä hahahaha dropping bombs on thw white house tönt nöd so violent wie de titel tönt hmm gospel findi passt jz scho nöd so unglaublich jaa coole bass aber naja ouh ja ich han di erst paar lieder um einiges besser gfunde als das au you're the best thing findi chli flach? here's one that got away hani gar nöd gern erinneret mi chli ah dexy midnight runners hmm huere schwierig, I guess es 3? han de ahfang und denn wieder geg de schluss spass gha, aber de mittler teil mit rap und chli meh pop-orientierte (?) sache hemmer nöd gfalle
The 80s were a hell of a time. This fails on almost every level - it either needs to be pulled back or aim higher. As it result it’s a middling sounding hodgepodge of jazz/rap/dance/easy listening.
Gets points for trying something different and has it's moments, but frequently gets boring
not convinced by this really although it had its moments
Solid
When the Style Council emerged I remember the music press journalists wet their pants and fell over themselves in their efforts to praise and pile on the accolades. The Jam to me were OK equally liking and also disliking their output. So their demise was no great loss to me unlike the music press but who were quick to jump onto anything Paul Weller did next. This album was an early example of this. I hated it then and as a consequence have not given it another thought until my listening today. It hasn’t improved with age. My one concession to it is that my opinion of Paul Weller has improved from someone who annoyed me because of his political values encroaching into his music to his elevation to become somewhat of a national treasure. And for that he has my minor admiration. 2/5 22/12/24
Good musicians but did not like the jazz/pop style
Good
Generally a fun pop album to listen to. It really transformed over time, and the end felt nothing like the beginning. The one rap song was pretty bad, and there are definitely turns that I wish they didn't go, but I respect them for trying.
Jazz and pop together in one album with an 80s noise. Some moments of good, but lots of moments of "wow there are so many better songs out there"
It had a couple of songs that I liked. But a few that were just awful.
Early acid jazz? I like some of this - generally the earlier songs on the record. The synthy poppy stuff not so much.
Genuinely not good
Based on the country of origin, vintage, and name of this band I believed I knew what this would sound like. The vocals came in as what I expected, but I underestimated the jazziness on the instrumentation. Exceeded expectations.
I liked a lot of this but that rap song in the middle was an abomination.
Omg, j’t’avais complètement oublié, toi! J’me souviens que j’avais eu bien du fun en t’écoutant, j,vais te donner un 4 pour ta patience
'You're The Best Thing' sounds like it's coming from my Sega Mega Drive.
J’ai trouvé l’album un peu éparpillé, après ce qui s’annonçait comme influencé par le jazz; les styles se succédaient
This was the most unexpected sounding album I’ve encountered so far. These brothers gave me mid for almost an entire project and then “You’re the best thing” played and it upped this albums rating for me. That song is just so good for no reason at all.
Nice.
Felt like a very weird mix of the sugar hill gang and the b52s
Didn’t care for this.
Very Jazz, but some great singles on here. Both of which I hadn't realised were Paul Weller to be fair. Not horrible singles picked it up.
01) Mick's Blessings - 6,0 02) The Whole Point of No Return - 7,0 03) Me Ship Came In! - 6,5 04) Blue Café - 6,5 05) The Paris Match - 6,5 06) My Ever Changing Moods - 7,0 07) Dropping Bombs on the Whitehouse - 5,5 08) A Gospel - 6,5 09) Strength of Your Nature - 6,5 10) You're the Best Thing - 7,0 11) Here's One That Got Away - 6,0 12) Headstart for Happiness - 6,5 13) Council Meetin - 5,5 TOTAL: 6,38 (64/100) Current ranking: 292/390
I don't know what it is about whatever this type of music is but it's great. It was all over the place genre-wise and I enjoyed everywhere it went.
Fun jazzy themes throughout. Some country mixed in there too I feel like. 3.5 just because as some other comments say I think it lacks a bit of soul.
I iiis all over the place, but individually all songs are actually pretty good
Really fun album, super random but kinda love it
“Kick out the style bring back the jam” as Tears for Fears once sang! 3 maybe 4 top tunes on here, some pointless musical noodling and a God awful rap about sums this up. Not Wellers finest but a brave change in direction from a great British musician/songwriter.
Not for me. Interesting and fairly advanced for its place in time but maybe a bit too immature in some ways? Felt like fat boy slim as a toddler?
An interesting mix of jazzy blues and old school punk - weird combo but I liked it!
This album has a little bit of something for everybody. There's eurofusion, piano that could be from the soundtrack of every Peanuts movie ever made, and 80's white rap. And it's better than a lot of the albums from this list that I've already listened to.
The instrumental jazz tunes aren't bad but nothing to write home about. The rest of the album sucks (with "Here's One That Got Away" being the only one not abysmal).
I don't like Paul Weller. I find him irritating. However, many of the songs on this album are instrumental or feature guest vocalists, so I liked two of the short jazzy instrumental ones. Overall, though, it does what it says on the tin. It's background music for a café rather than something I would actually choose to listen to (aside from one very-dated sounding rap track... and some funk/soul songs that I found genuinely annoying). It's a bit like a forerunner to Nouvelle Vague.
1. blezzingz - 1 2. return - 1.5 3. zhip - 0 4. cafe - 1.5 5. pariz - 1.5 6. moodz - 1 7. bombz - 1 8. gozpel - 0 9. nature - 0 10. thing - 1 11. auuay - 0 12. happinezz - 1 13. meeting - 1
I like you, Mr. Weller, but this ain't it.
Some cool blue-eyed soul, smart mod jazz, a very clunky rap, and the wonderful "My Ever Changing Moods", which is a CHOOOOON!
The first few songs felt like I should be chasing Michael Caine chase Roger Moore across Parisian arrondissements, Italian beaches, Moroccan rooftops. With some sensual interludes, of course--maybe even between the two of them whaaaaaaaat asking for a friend. ...that friend being Elton John, whose vibes are all over the middle third of this album, from the clanging love-politic piano to the pseudo-rap-be-bop stuff. And then the last third, I must say, beyond "Marvin Gaye chasing Stevie Wonder around the piano" (I'd hate to ask Stevie to evade anyone in any larger a setting), I don't even know how to describe it. An ecclectic album, to be sure. Amazing that one band produced it all. My enjoyment level fell in inverse proportion to the number of tracks I listened to. But in terms of the project--definitley one I'm glad to know exists that I didn't before.
Didn’t know about this. Fun album.
Agree. It seemed pretty thrown together. Loungey jazz for the most part was pretty forgetful. The hip hop track seemed to kick off the B side which for me was the side of more interest but at the same time not very good (simply red/housemartins bargain bin)
Naff.
This was fine, lulls you in with a bit of jazz then goes a bit off piste. Decent listen and some tracks I had no idea were them.
I think I can do without the lame 80s jazz.
This started out pretty strong but lost some interest towards the end. Overall I liked some of it. Maybe a 3.5 or a flat 3/5
Pop com alguma tentativa de parecer cool sem ser pretensioso. Só não conseguiu.
Posh twat university student core.
This album is actually great, you all are just mean (the rap song does suck though)
I didn’t recognise the band name The Style Council, but was surprised to find that I definitely recognised the track You’re The Best Thing. Apple Music describes this as rock, but it’s definitely more of a Smooth FM vibe than rock. It got interesting and a little jazzy in areas that made my ears prick up, but this didn’t happen often enough. This feels like a decent coffee shop album to have on and help people unwind, but it’s not something I’d consider to be an essential listen personally.
2/3
Another cheap British white guys imitation of Black music. The author of this list certainly let his British biases shine through, and this is a prime example of this. It wasn't even that bad until it got to the incredibly cringe "A Gospel". I'm all for musicians taking styles from different peoples and bringing forward the art, but this is just a cheap imitation. Give me the original stuff that predates this by about 20/30 years.
Never heard of this before, but I enjoyed the variety of the album. Not my top fav, but I didn't hate it. It's a 2 for me. It's fluffy, without substance - which there is a place for, but overall I found this un-remarkable.
5/5 Loved this. Given my previous knowledge of Weller's greatness, I naively assumed that The Style Council would be indistinguishable from The Jam. Of course there's some interesting crossovers between the two, but this album plays with jazz and even some reggae-esque beats too. Reminded me a little bit of Arctic Monkeys's controversial departure from their indie sound on their latter albums, particularly with the elevated 'lounge music' feel. Brilliant, will listen again.
Should this even be on the list?
A decently fun time, though not much I'd return for
—-
Such an oddity of an album. So many different genres here. Goes from jazz to pop to almost old school hip hop. Almost makes me wonder if this was a soundtrack or something. I feel like I should listen to it again.
Weird record. Some really cool stuff, some really bad stuff. Will need to come back to it at some point. 3/5
Shit
Okay, album. Jazz sounds but, more like 80s sound.
Ok.
groovy album with a variety of sounds between songs. easy listen but not jaw dropping, would give a 3.5
Really had me in the first half. More genres than i expected based on album cover. Fav songs the paris match, blue cafe, me ship came in. Might be good playlisy for chill days with joey
Enjoyed it
Great rock album by Paul Weller after The Jam. Standouts: The Whole Point Of No Return, My Ever Changing Moods and You're The Best Thing
I liked a lot of the stuff on this, but then there was some stupid 80’s stuff. What was it doing there? It doesn’t fit the rest of the album at all, and it just served to make me remove a star. That being said, the softer stuff is nice.
If you like it, you like it I suppose. I like Paul Weller and the Style Council. Fella like they were just finding their way here though. I didn't hate any of it, and quite liked a lot of it. Three jazzy stars.
Sounds pure 80s music evolved and thisbdidnt stopd the test of time. Good album easy to losten like elevator background music.
This album is all over the place genre wise, and none of it worked for me. I wouldn't listen again, not even as a background listen. I just didn't find it musically or lyrically compelling. Like, the track A Gospel has such a cheesy vibe and delivery to go along with the message. The instrumentals were pleasant but not super memorable.
That was a pretty interesting, eclectic listen. Didn't expect all the jazzy instrumentals -- most of which were really good! Unexpected bangers: Strength of your Nature, You're the Best Thing
This is not the worst on this list but it's pretty lame and boring.
The Paris Match My Ever Changing Moods You're the Best Thing
Good and enjoyable.
Really nice surprise
Fun album. Hard to categorize the musical style, because they changed genres several times. Little bluesy jazz, some rap, some other pop styles. A good, eclectic listen.
Interesting, not my thing
Another what the hell is this?? I kinda liked it. 2.5
🥱
Pretty bad, very forgettable. My new policy means I'm not listening to the end. Life's too short.
This sounds like the soundtrack of a C movie from the eighties. I think the editors put this album on the wrong list. I should be on the “Don’t Listen To” list. It adds nothing but the commentary that you can make music that is entirely forgettable. Two stars because it wasn’t horrible, just pointless.
Music they play when you’re on hold on the phone, but not as catchy.
Love the variation that they've brought, they haven't stick to a formula restricted to their genre, i like this album and its worth revisiting (this review is after my 2nd listen ) so yeah its a thumbs up album.
Weird shit
Not bad. Very jazzy.
Forgettable
I wonder how many frontpersons have two bands as good as or better than The Jam and The Style Council?
what the fuck is this
Despite the criticism this album has gotten on this app, i really enjoyed it. And im not the type of person who necessarily enjoys new wave music. People were calling Weller's vocals corny and cringy but I loved what he did for this project and how he made it better. Favorite song: My Ever Changing Mood --> I love the emotional piano part on here so much it makes this such an enjoyable song. Plus, Weller did his thing on this song.
Exceedingly middling, save for My Ever Changing Moods. Entirely inoffensive and entirely bland.
This is a really solid album. It reminded me a bit of George Michael, which is a good thing. Not really my regular listening but I enjoyed it a lot.
Paul weller
Kind of a strange one. The rapping was a bit much but it wasn’t bad. Light 3.
Paul Weller is a musical chameleon. Style Council shows his smooth and melodic side. You're the Best Thing and My Ever Changing Mood are both great songs. The rest of the album is good, but doesn't get to that level of excellence. Should get a 3.5.
Man the rap track was tough to listen to. The rest was decent though and there was a complex sonic palette. I liked the stripped down acoustic song in the beginning best. Organ on "strength of your nature" was awesome too. Low 4
At first it was cheesy, then it was boring, but I think most offensively it was obviously made purely to jump upon the success of black artists' musical stylings and genres. This may seem like a brash accusation, but if we can critique Jamiroquai for his Stevie Wonder "impressions" then it seems ignorant to turn a blind eye here. At first you just get stocky sounding Olive Garden jazz that is generic, but the B-side opens with perhaps the most "we can make money off this "rap" thing" song I've ever heard, trying its best to copy the flow and delivery of the best of the disco-rap acts of the early 80s, obviously in the best way a couple European white guys can, and it doesn't stop there, with various (terrible) takes on genres and influences the pair just quite frankly has no business attempting, not only because they really shouldn't, but also because they cannot. It sounds awful, going past cheesy into the realm of disturbing quickly, and even if songs after that and Strength of Your Nature do try to gather their composure, the damage has already been dealt, and it's impossible to not see every song as disingenuous and only in it for some sort of financial gain or at the very least brownie points for trying something so different to their prior work. Songs tend to start with good hooks, but get old quick, and in that time I'm left waiting for the song to end, only thinking of the middle of the album offense that is hard to ever forget, and frankly has soured my little views on Paul Weller to an extreme degree. This is, frankly, not good, and should be forgotten into a bygone era, for everyone's sake.
Cafe Bleu is all over the place, some nice but hardly original instrumentals, some average 80s crap, and then rap :D at least it's not Weller trying to rap, that would've been horrific, but it's a mess of an album that only gets a 2 because it's not outright awful, it just makes no sense as a piece of work.
Pretentious twaddle. Clear that he wanted to do something completely different to the Jam, but this is not a particularly interesting direction. It's taking a lot of other genres and badly bastardising them, the instrumentals work better than the rest but it's still not good. 2/5.
Shockingly enjoyable opening and closing instrumental tracks. Unfortunately every song with vocals was very bad. Seems like you need to hear this album in order to remember why people rag on music from the 80s. I guess that is a useful exercise, because the disrespect for 80s music has always baffled me since the music that endured from that decade is some of the best. This stuff is some of the worst.
Loved it from the opening Peanuts piano intro song. Mixture of jazz and rock with some random old school hip hop thrown in for extra why the fuck notness. very cool and unique.
Not bad for elevator music
Plesantly suprised, would be 4 stars if they didn't include a rap.
I can imagine many Jam fans being a bit bemused by this. It doesn't seem to know what it wants to be, but I suppose there's at least a little bit of something for everyone.
What a treat
Not quite sure what to make of this... usually I like some genre-wandering but this just felt really disjointed. Individually the tracks are mostly fine I guess. "Strength of Your Nature" a funky highlight. "Council Meeting" a happy noodle. I've never been a fan of the slick smooth sleazy r'n'b sound in "You're the Best Thing".
Not as good as I hoped for. Their best is great, I like the classic sound of that single which took them all around the world, but the rest of their catalogue is not really engaging for me. High three stars, not quite 4.
What was this?! Felt like it was split into two completely different, individual, mutually exclusive albums—the first being significantly better, nearly five worthy. Latter half was nothing special. Overall, surprisingly intriguing, I’m already listening to it again (but only the first 20 mins).
Trying to think why this would be included on the list and then you’re the best thing came on and I remembered Dimmery will chuck any old album on there if it has one popular song. This was such a smug choice. Pretentious generic instrumentals. This can’t be considered a good album by anyone
Oh, it's a super group of a member from The Jam and Dexy's Midnight Runners. I guess that makes some sense. I'm meh on Dexy's, and pretty cold on The Jam, and this doesn't move the needle much. It sounds like two talented dudes fucking around in the studio and trying different genres on for style. The hip-hop track is especially ill-advised. I never know why groups make one hip-hop track early on, and make it about how we need to come together, peace and love, rah rah shit. This record sounds like a homemade mixtape. Call it a 1.5. Favorite track: "Here's the One That Got Away"
Golly gee. What a fruity little pastiche of an album. I rate it.
I liked the album surprisingly well. The 80s were sometimes terrible. The smooth jazz was quite nice. However, the album as a whole didn't excite me enough to make me want to listen to it more often, even though individual tracks are very nice. 3/5
Average
Style Council remembered as kinda upbeat smooth jazz with a modern electronic twist. They got some play on the soft rock station with My Ever Changing Moods and You’re The Best Thing. Best song is Dropping Bombs On The Whitehouse (the title of which may have gotten them on the 1001 list.) Totally forgot about this band, but enjoyed the listen (3.3*s)
This album is really incoherent as a whole, it skips back and forth between instrumental jazz and cheesy soft rock (and then goes even more bonkers). There's a decent song in there somewhere but what a mess. I expected a lot more from "Dropping Bombs on the White House" and what in the love of god was happening on "A Gospel," was that a Paul Weller rap? I can't go over a 1.45 here.
What is this? Why is this? Weller trying out every genre from bad lounge to jazz to actually rapping? It's mediocre at best...like he read music for idiots and followed the formulas. Am I missing something here? I did like the last track "Council Meetin" for the beat but I think he even copied that from "Were an American Band?" Even the band name is lame and trying to sound too cool. This is an album Patrick Bateman would eagerly explain every nuance to each song before burying an axe in your skull (thankfully). Still better than Beyonce. Drop mic...I'm out...1.45.
Not a bad jazz fusion album. Nothing special but far been the prior jazz entries. There are a couple of decent jams (Strength of Your Nature, Mick's Blessings) included but also a horrible spoken-word rap jazz rap track that cancels out any positive favor. My takeaway I guess is that Paul Weller is a name that I should have been familiar with since he has shown up on this list previously. I'm not going to delve into his other work but I guess I can sound sophisticated by dropping his name into a music conversation moving forward. 2.01 stars
Meh
Cool highlights but it dragged on in a few places
Was going to give it three stars but the rapping sucked so hard it gets two stars.
Weller not at his best but they were particular in eighites
Paul Weller was day 2 of this odyssey. I thought this would be good. Disappointing.
Álbuns instrumentais são legais, mas nunca chamam minha atenção.
Definitely eclectic but I couldn’t quite find anything I really liked
Loved it want to listen to it again
Surprising. A brave move. Varied throughout. Jazz, hip hop. I really like this.
If you were to ask me what genre of album Cafe Bleu is, I would respond “yes” without a hint of irony. Wikipedia says it is sohisti-pop, which sounds like a bullshit genre. Just call it jazz pop or something. But this album goes so all over the place that those two genres don’t even describe half of Cafe Bleu. It’s one thing that half of the songs are instrumentals and the other half are sung. But this album goes everywhere. One minute it’s the Weather Channel (Blue Cafe), then Paul Weller is serenading me with his voice (My Ever Changing Moods, The Whole Point of No Return), then it’s high energy jazz(Dropping Bombs on the Whitehouse), and then Paul decides to rap (A Gospel) and I die a bit inside. I am very conflicted on this one. Obviously the album’s lack of focus kind of hurts it for me. Variety is good, but this feels a little too much. However, I did really enjoy some of the songs, mostly the slower ones. The aforementioned Weather Channel vibe hits in a good way. Mixed with Paul’s vocals, I almost considered this album a guilty pleasure. I kind of wish that is was the whole album, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more (and it would have spared me from some god-awful rapping). As is, I give this a 3, but it’s more of a 2.5. Favorite track: My Ever Changing Moods Other hits: You’re the Best Thing, The Paris Match, Blue Cafe, Strength of Your Nature (this song is kinda stupid, but I kinda dig it, even if the lyrics are literally two sentences)
Nope.
Lemppari: You’re the best thing Vähiten lemppari: Mick’s blessings
It feels like a lot of half ideas. It's okay, and I'm always going to like it if you throw a bit of jazz in there, but it doesn't really elevate itself.
Already forgotten it
Well that was unexpected. Five or songs of slightly dull tinkly piano jazz and then he whips out the drum machine and launches into a criminally embarrassing white boy rap. Why did no one stop him. Paul, think of the children! Sadly it was pretty much downhill from there.
Weird album. The track A Gospel is a strange turn of events, committing to the rare combination of jazz and rap. It's very ahead-of-the-curve for its release year, 1984. I kind of like it, though I could probably only take it in moderation. Strength Of Your Nature continues this odd "modernisation"-esque trend. I have no idea what to think of most of the latter half of this album. You're The Best Thing and My Ever Changing Moods, the two biggest tracks and my favourites on the album, are the only two standouts. 2/5 Key tracks: You're The Best Thing, My Ever Changing Moods
alright, sounds a lot like wet wet wet
I'm not sure that this is a cohesive album at all, but man did I have fun listening to most of it. Favorite track: Strength Of Your Nature
This started strong and got odd. When You're the Best Thing came on I realized why it got on the list. I wish this had picked a direction and went for it.
I was like "Oh okay not what I expected, mediocre jazz." Then *record scratch* rap like Barney Rubble in a fruity pebbles comercial. Then it kind of bounced back, a bit more listenable. Left me a little confused. There were some good bits in there tho.
Didn’t really get it
Kind of a weird mix, sounded like a playlist rather than an album, but I liked it.
Favourite songs: My Ever Changing Moods, Strength Of Your Nature, You’re The Best Thing
Catchy and jazzy. A few songs very likeable. A few not so great. Truly a hodge podge of an album with different tempos and vocal styles. This one is kind of an odd bird.
Dreadful. Is that a word the cool kids still use, 'dreadful?' This is obviously a British album because it sounds like a white karaoke version of pretty much any legit soul album we have here in the states. I'm pretty sure this was an strong influence for all of Color Me Badd's work.
The purpose of a style council should be to choose a style. In that, The Style Council has failed its assignment. “Cafe Bleu” is the result of not being able to pick a style. It’s all over the place. And while a few bits are decent, the lack of cohesion and jarring shifts made me want to adjourn the meeting.
Wikipedia says The Style Council is "Sophisti-Pop". They got the pop part right, but not as in popular. Rather, they seem to make an album out of whatever pops into their heads! Some of this is really quite pleasant but the back half of this album is schizophrenic and off it's meds.
The sound of this album is timeless. It should be the soundtrack to a romantic comedy set in Paris. Unfortunately the run from Dropping Bombs On The Whitehouse through You’re The Beat Thing lets the rest of the his album down.
Quirky little album. Fusion of all kind of weird stuff
Not a favourite of mine
As a child of the seventies, I grew up with The Jam, enjoying their energy. The Style Council was a bit of a shock to the system, and seemed rather bland. This album hasn't changed that opinion.
Pretty eclectic. An interesting variety of styles. Interesting even if I didn't fall in love with it. Would listen again.
I really dig this album. It has a varied style for each track and kept me engaged listening throughout.
The Jam are a highly respected band, oozing street cred. Paul Weller should be embarrassed. This album is an abomination - smooth jazz and bad rapping. Style Council was a serious wrong turn in his career.
This album was actually quite relaxing to do work to and it kept me going but didn’t put me quite to sleep, however once I stopped working then I kind of got slightly bored by it. I don’t think I would ever pick it to listen to but it was nice to have non distracting background noise.
A definite / hard turn from The Jam - and more than a bit precious and bouncy at times i.e. the heavy mod rock from Paul Weller is gone gone gone but it's quite a nice listen for the most part. Musicianship is outstanding which carries the load even in most of the weaker parts (notable exception: the embarrassing rap of "A Gospel" which is hilariously out of step and just terrible). I don't know that I'd ever heard this album version of "My Ever Changing Moods" before which is so different from the single/video - I like this piano-driven one better. Overall I don't know how much I truly connect with it even if it's "nice" to listen to throughout (the terrible rap the high/notable exception) - damning with faint praise, that. Almost a classic 3.5 here - not quite enough to put into keeper status but I'll also never be upset to hear it. 7/10 3 stars
I like the jazzy style of this album. It is a classic, with some important voices and tracks.
Not my thing. Typical 80s stuff. Not bad though, but not more than a 2.6
The Style Council was Paul Weller's project after he broke up The Jam because he did not like the band's musical direction. Weller wanted to add elements of jazz and soul to his songwriting, and he didn't think the Jam was up to the task. The Style Council made "sophisti-pop," R&B based songs, with technical musicianship typically found in jazz recordings. Cafe Bleu is the band's first album, and may be their best work. It was also their most successful, perhaps attributable to Weller's previous success, and one single, "My Ever Changing Moods," which was close to the sound of a Jam song. Most of the album is outside of the bounds of typical pop music, and far enough from Weller's previous work to limit the Style Council's appeal to his previous fan base.
interesting. more jazz but eclectic
Its alright. It just doesn't offer anything special among the many many more sophisti-pop works that do just about everything else better.
Some good moments some absolute dross
At first this is a nice palette cleanser after the Bon Jovi I was made to listen to. Really digging the more straightforward tracks like Paris Match and My Ever Changing Moods that focus on the vocal performances and overall tone of the song. These guys really run the spectrum here though. Many of these feel like experimentations and overall this album feels like the council hasn't found an agreement on their style of choice. Dropping Bombs On The Whitehouse for instance, firmly plants itself within the jazz genre without really adding anything to the genre. It's nice and good jazz, and I suppose that is sometimes enough, but when a lot of jazz musicians can innovate 1000 times better, what is the point? Then you got everything from a piano improvisation to a rap song? Now I have to know more about who these guys are.. This is borderline irresponsible experimentation and I'm a little impressed by their sheer abandon. I'm coming down hard on these gents, but I feel like they have a lot to offer and are missing an opportunity by sounding like they're just passing through styles rather than by helping to define them.
Straight from the beginning, there's a stark contrast between the bombastic, jazzy instrumental intro, followed by a mellow pop song with heavily understated instrumentation. Side one continues like this. It's either peppy instrumental jazz, or pop with great vocals but understated instrumentation. Seems like they decided either instruments can be intense, or vocals, but not both. Side two then caught me completely off guard. Every track is in a different style. When the album was done and music by other artists started playing, I didn't even notice, thinking it was just a different track in again a different style. In the end, there was nothing bad on this album. Every single track had its qualities and was well-executed by itself. I could have done without A Gospel, since I don't like rap, but that's personal preferences. But what keeps this record from being really great is that it ends up being a collection of tracks, rather than an album. It's more like a random spotify playlist than an album. Still good, but all over the place.
This is wild. Complete genre mash up. Some great stuff but I don't think I'd ever listen again because I don't know what mood i need to be in to say "cafe bleu is what I'm craving"
The definition of random shit mix. Like it’s genuinely the most random assortment of music I’ve ever heard on an album. It was ok but could not get into it at all lmao
Just boring and soft. Not a top 1001 contender not 10001
En ollut henkisesti valmistautunut kierrepallo-räppibiisiin levyn keskivaiheilla.
Different to what I usually listen to. Listened through the album, but did not add to my overall playlist.
This is kinda a cool and weird album. I experienced it mainly as background music, but it's done in a neat style that I wouldn't have expected for a mid-80s album. Lots of orchestration that makes the sound feel really full. Still, though, it kinda played through without ever making me pay much attention to it 3/5
Soul, jazz, and rap - doesn't portend a good listen. If you like these genres, it's good work - listenable, even for me, but quite unexciting.
2 stars
It's actually got some pretty decent jazzy bits, but there's also quite a bit that should have stayed in the '80s.
Absolute bullshit from Weller here. Who the fuck did he think he was. Jesus
It’s quite fun listen but stays very safe.
A bit of a mess, frankly, but with some high points
I didnt hate this album, I like the instrumental tracks. The vocal are bland, and the rap vocal track is not great, but the overall vibe isnt bad. That said, I probably could have died without ever hearing it, you know? 3/5
jazzy piano pop which is fun. Favorite track: my ever changing moods other picks: the whole point of no return, paris match, you’re the best thing