Reviews (page 6 of 8)
Interessant å høre, mye variert. Men likte egentlig kun de rolige jazzspora
For en potpurri. Noe er jo ganske hyggelig, liker både bossaen og jazzen. Mye annet her som ikke er mulig å lytte til, som Strength of your Nature. Plata blir gradvis verre og verre.
Startede jazzy og fint, men der gik 80'er i den. Nåede ikke helt igennem.
Fattar inte grejen här alls, känns som något som kanske kändes spännande när det kom men som inte riktigt håller idag
Någonting genomgående irriterande över det här.
Det starter ret kedeligt frokost-jazzet ud for så at gå full blown weird med hvidmands-rap, funk og soul.
As a fan of the jam and some style council songs this was disappointing. No one needs half-baked jazz on this list.
A complicated messy album that hasn’t worked out what it is yet
If I hadn’t read that Paul Weller was behind this I would never have put two and two together. There’s no point comparing this to The Jam, because the aims are so different. It’s an interesting ensemble piece with plenty of variety that would play well in a cafe. Some songs have stood the test of time better than others but never really gets better than “cute” or “listenable” for me, and at points “boring.” Overall I couldn’t work out why Weller went down this route at all.
I really enjoyed a couple of tracks and really disliked a couple, the rest varied from enjoyed to disliked and as an album it simply doesn’t work, landing at a high 2 for me
This is a mid-80s bland, at best.
I don't think an album could be blander than this one.
Bit of a rough go for me on this one, even as a big jazz enjoyer. Such a weird hodgepodge of an album, couldn't really find the through line of the project. Who was listening to this in 1984? Some OK instrumental tracks, but the rest delved deep into cheeseball territory. 2.5/5 from me.
I’ve never been so disappointed in an album before. Not because it was all bad but I was really enjoying the first half and right when A Gospel started, that’s when it all went downhill. Shame.
This one is a 2.9/5 for me to be specific.
So I knew a few a few Style Council songs, and they all made me think "ok so Paul Weller broke up The Jam and then went blue eyed soul." Which is kind of a natural evolution, honestly. I was not prepared for how fucking all over the place this album was gonna be (like I'm sure the rapper you recruited was top of his trade as far as early-80s British white guys go, but what bar are we setting here?). Quite a bit disappointed with it. Still love "Your the Best Thing" and "My Ever Changing Moods," which are right up there with the best Jam tunes. But I have genre whiplash and I'm not ok.
First half was okay, but the second half lost me completely
They should really change the name of this whole thing to "1001 Albums BRITISH PEOPLE Need to Hear Before They Die." Paul Weller was definitely involved in some essential music, but I do not consider The Style Council to be part of it. I had never heard of this band or album. I actually kind of like it but I certainly don't find it essential listening. I like how eclectic it is and I really liked a couple of the instrumentals. I ended up liking this a lot more than I expected to. Still not essential though, lol.
2.4 2x a few good tracks but all over the place
Not much to get excited about here. A little cheesy and didn’t catch my interest.
I was hoping by the fact this is from 1984 that it would be cool new wave or 80's pop music. Turns out it's a weird mix of piano ballads and some boss ass jazz that sounds like it's straight out of a black band from the late 50's. Did I hate this? Fuck I could not tell. This thing is a genre bender the whole way through. I was taken well out of whack when I heard a fucking Vanilla Ice ass rap song right after the jazz music of Dropping Bombs (best song on the album. And holy FUCK did that show its age. I had to skip it, it was terrible. Then Strength Of Your Nature sounds like a fucking ad for a Buzz Lightyear toy? What is this album, seriously? There's too many skips on here and a complete lack of continuity for this to be rated higher than a 2.
Their debut album. New Wave / Pop. A bit of a strange mess this one. The album is all over the place. A Gospel is an embarrassment really. Some odd choices all round.
i was excited to hear this because this is Paul Weller's band after The Jam (guy on the right). i never heard them, so it really peaked my interest. well, now, with the good things said.....what the F**K was he thinking? it's a mish-mosh of songs from a thousand different genres, crumpled together with no flow or reasoning. One of the global reviews was "Easy listening music for pretentious twats". might be the truth. put them with Roxy Music in that ranking. i wont give out alot of one stars because just to make the list, you might be doing something right. just dont know what that was...two reluctant stars
Eerder gewoontjes
Feels European Has all the sound of someone who "thought their punk band couldn't do something this complex" and left the band, causing it to completely dissolve, and create this piece drawing from American culture. Sounds good I guess He was so busy being inspired by ther genres he forgot to do something new and creative...I hear a lot of other bands like Beastie Boys and Depeche Mode more than an original sound
Listened previously. Expectations: Mid - Verdict: Alright - In the words of Tears For Fears: "Kick out the style, bring back The Jam!". This is a good album but I much prefer Weller writing sharp rockers (and his later groovy rollers) to jazzy pop.
Half of it sounds like phone hold music. Pretty good hold music, but still.
Muy experimentales los muchachos, metieron varios géneros en el mismo álbum, La que más me gustó fue la de Café Bleu No lo repetiría, pero no estuvo mal 2.5
I have this album on vinyl (the American release titled My Ever Changing Moods). Not by choice, mind you. I took a chance on an ebay offer for a grab-bag of random vinyl for a low price. You were able to choose genres or decades. I chose 80s & 90s and this was one of the records I got. I don't care for it. It is all over the place. Often I see albums like this heralded for exploring multiple genres, but this one doesn't meld at all - it's a hot mess.
First half, it was a one star, but the last four songs pushed it to a two
The No-Style Council
Pretty boring pop 2
Don’t care for this
Is that Jesse Eisenberg on the cover? The other day, I got to listen to Graceland by Paul Simon which is an all-time favorite of mine. I've listened to that album thousands of times and despite hearing Simon name-check Clifton Chenier, I've never once bothered to check out Chenier's music. Curious, I did. And it was fantastic. Haven't been able to get enough of it over the past few days since hearing it. And now I've listened to this and I don't understand why this is on this list and something like Chenier isn't. I mean, I get it by now...the Brits have to be overrepresented on here...you'd think the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd and The Who would have been enough but here we are. This album started off pleasantly enough, it was jazz instrumentals and while I'm not a big jazz fan I thought this could have been good kitchen music. And then someone started singing on a track which was kind of a turnoff, her voice wasn't great, the lyrics weren't memorable and then there was that rap song which didn't fit the rest of the vibe followed by the ultra 80s pop song that followed and the one I'm listening to now that's titled You're The Best Thing. And now there's one that's poppy and upbeat called Here's The One That Got Away. This album is the one that got away, that's for sure. Went from being a pleasant jazz album that had a timeless feel to it (wouldn't have known it came from 1984) into just an average, disjointed mess. I was gonna give this a 3, which is my standard rating for something I listened to, appreciated it, understood why it was on here, wouldn't seek it out on my own again but would be fine with listening to it if someone else was playing it. I was thinking this was a 4 to start, then the vocals knocked it down to a 3. And now we're at a 2 as another average pop song has started. But back to Clifton Chenier, go listen to him if you want to skip past this album. Way more interesting.
Just way too jazzy for my vibe
Meh
Cafe Bleh! It all sounds a bit like a pastiche of cafe music to me.
Feels like listening to tracks from three separate albums on shuffle
The instrumentals were pretty good but the rest eh
Didn’t enjoy this album. Not really to my taste. A few moments I did enjoy as a fan of Paul Weller. Better music was to come as the Style Council developed on later releases. I felt this album was trying anything and everything including some questionable rapping. 2 stars. Favourite track - you’re the best thing.
No direction, kind of lame really.
This was fine - the 80s "be yourself!" optimism was really grating on me by the end though. Definitely not one I would ever listen to again. More of a 2.5 album for me.
Some of it's fun and jazzy, the rest is cheesy
-saw the genre listed as sophisti-pop and the Tracey Thorn feature and got kind of excited.. all for naught unfortunately. thought this was a pretty nothingburger album, i’m not sure exactly what sound or vibe they were going for. that random rap song was. a bizarre choice -had some decent moments i guess but they weren’t enough to save the album -Favorites: The Paris Match, Strength Of Your Nature
Forgot it was on tbh
A bit too all over the place for me. Some is instrumental, some 80s pop, some rap, some slow ballads. Never coalesced to something I wanted to be listening to. 2/5
don't care for it, it gave me so much whiplash, i even find the well liked tracks uninteresting.. but at the same time i can't discount it's spirit idk really
Feel like several half cooked songs
First half was great, second half not so great.
A lot of variety and yet I still found myself bored, at least on the songs where I wasn't actively annoyed. Feels like one of those cases where someone was in a famous band so their record label just lets them make whatever they want afterwards with no direction or comments. Not a fan. Favourite song: Here's The One That Got Away Least: Me Ship Came in
Weird
meh
Mostrei uma dose sadia de entusiasmo quando gerei este álbum. Achei linda sua capa, achei o título do disco e da banda bem descolados, e ao ler a Wikipédia vi que o pioneiro desse grupo é um dos integrantes do The Jam, uma das minhas descobertas favoritas deste projeto até então. Minha expectativa estava alta, e então fui ouvir o álbum. Rapidamente percebi que precisava recalibrar minhas expectativas, visto que o disco não era nada do que eu esperava. É um LP bizarro. Fica claro que Paul Weller buscou se distanciar o máximo possível do que ele havia feito com o Jam. As canções aqui são da natureza de easy listening, umas pitadas de Jazz aqui e ali, e até mesmo uma faixa de Rap (bem vergonhosa, por sinal). Eu achei uma escolha confusa, e o resultado não é ao todo agradável. Há bons músicos empregados aqui, e é perceptível a sensibilidade e qualidade do material gravado. Na parte técnica, não há muito o que reclamar, é um bom disco. Mas na parte conceitual esse álbum falha completamente. O resultado aqui é uma escuta bem cinzenta e entediante, música de fundo. Não sou o maior fã de easy listening então é claro que o disco não me agradaria plenamente, mas de todo modo, foi uma escuta grandemente decepcionante. Uma faixa ou outra são salváveis, então o disco não é um completo desperdício de tempo. Mas fazia tempo que eu não sentia tamanha decepção com um álbum, o contraste da minha expectativa com o produto final. 2.5/5
After The Paris Match I thought hmm okay maybe there’s something to this thing, and then Gospel happened and I changed my mind
I try to cut the editors of this book a lot of slack. Different things speak to different people and sometimes music needs to be put into context with the space and time in which it was produced. Those caveats fully considered, WTF were they thinking? There is nothing particularly bad about this album, but there is also nothing particularly memorable either. Café Bleu alternates between jazz and soul, and there are many MUCH better examples of whatever they were trying to accomplish on this record. Oh yes, I forgot about the very shitty attempt at rap (The Gospel), that definitely did not age well, LOL. The Jam were much bigger in the UK than the US and this was a major departure for Paul Weller, so maybe this is what makes the album interesting? Sometimes fame cuts some slack for artists. Generally this is a good thing because it allowsthe freedom to explore new things. However, novelty alone does not make an album an essential listen unless the artist is exploring new sounds. Not new for them, but genuinely new, which is certainly not the case here. I struggled with how to rate this one. With a couple of exceptions, there isn’t anything horrible, it is an average album. Yet, if I compare the familiar subgenres any given song explores, the offerings here just don’t hold up. There is nothing here influential to later music, so I decided that it needed to stand on its own.
This album was kind of all over the place. Not specifically a bad thing, but I did feel like it had a pretentious air about it. Mick's Blessings feels like it was recorded with Peanuts in mind. Me Ship Came In! is a fine enough little jazzy detour that Blue Cafe continues in a languid way that feels a bit generic tbh. Dropping Bombs On The Whitehouse is among my favorites here with its swinging lounge jazz feel. But things take an unexpected turn into 80s hip-hop on A Gospel. Love the clean licks on You're The Best Thing, but otherwise it's kind of a boring song. Eh / 5
I thought I was actually starting to get into this album with "Dropping bombs on the White House," and then "A Gospel" came on. WTF is this transition. This ain't it for me.
it was not the best thing that ever happened to me
4/10 Sounds so lame. For Weller to produce this is one of the most baffling turnarounds in rock. The jazz is horrible and almost all the songs suck
Hmmm… I’m a big fan of Weller. But I guess we had to go through this in order to get ‘Stanley Road’. It’s a big step down from The Jam though.
Don't let the bubbly first song fool you, this album moves effortlessly better getting so boring I could call asleep, to so annoying you'll wish you never started it
This album is all over the place. Was not anticipating rap on a song titled “a gospel,” especially after it started with jazz and then followed it with an aggressively new wave song. It’s like they spun a wheel of genres before writing each song.
not my thing
I'm not really sure what I just listened to. Rap, jazz, pop, it was all over the place
I didn't like this album, its a bit cheesy and muzaky for me. It feels like listening to a slightly better simply red. A Gospel was a low point as well. I'm not a Paul Weller fan at the best of times, but that was a hard listen. Best Song: Headstart for Happiness.
Lots of different styles on this album, but in my opinion only tracks 4 and 5 work well. The rest is mostly a mess
This did not catch me at all.
A bit too 80s in the wrong way. Musically well done, but it made me feel sad about my life choices that led to having to listen to it.
Have heard of that style council before, but couldn't have named any songs. Expected it to be very 80s synth pop, but it wasn't so much. Was very 80s in parts, but also had some jazz thing going on too. Knew you're the best thing, and don't particularly like it. It's ok but not really for me. Won't be back
Paul Weller must have been soul searching and decided to make an album with any genre you could possible imagine on it. Unfortunately he's not paricularly good at any, and this very definitely does not work as an album. What on earth is this? A real pity because Paul Weller has also made good music in his life. One star extra because there is skill involved and I believe he wrote his own songs. Will very definitely not listen to this again and I also doubt this belongs on the list.
mid af lol
nope...
Quite boring music. Pop
Oh. Weller. Hmmmmm.
Not really for me except the song The Paris Match. Random weird 80s rap song in the middle.
The piano is nice, and the “cafe” descriptor is accurate. But there’s so much here (basically all of side 2) that doesn’t work. At least all of those songs suck in their own unique ways.
Both not to my taste and not particularly well-executed.
A lot of sounds trying to happen here. Not all of them bad, but it makes for a very inconsistent album.
First half: It’s not that bad, you guys are just mean Second half: oh
Madd he went from the jam to being involved with a song like A Gospel🤣
I like The Jam and I liked the two songs I already knew off this, but the rest of it wasn't great. Paul Weller is definitely a better singer and guitarist than he is a rapper.
Instrumentals were great, vocals were terrible. Don't even get me started on the rap!
As soon as I saw Paul Weller and Peter Wilson on the cover of this album in dusty trenchcoats, I thought to expect a lot of "dusty trenchcoat music". Think angry new wave 80s social-political rants set to ska basslines. What I didn't expect to find was soft jazz. After hearing the first song, "Mick's Blessings", I was thinking that this was going to be a great album. Unfortunately, it was a false flag - everything after the first song is incredibly dull. Songs like "The Whole Point of No Return", "Blue Cafe", "The Paris Match" and the likes, have nice jazzy chords, but are soft, mundane and, essentially background music in an overpriced restaurant that has squeezed in extra tables for Valentine's Day. The livelier songs like "Me Ship Came In!" or "Dropping Bombs on the Whitehouse" add a bit of life, but only a bit. I still feel like I'm stuck in that restaurant, uncomfortably touching elbows with the couple at the next table. The most recognisable songs on the album, "My Ever Changing Moods" and "You're the Best Thing" are recognisable as songs that have always gotten on my nerves. Today, they continue to get on my nerves. Then there's the weird rap songs in the middle of the album that feel as if Spotify has glitched and accidentally served up some random 80s commercial pop/rap crossover album. I mean, I'm fully expecting a cartoon cat to make an appearance in the middle of "A Gospel" or "Strength of your Nature", to tell us about how opposites attract. The whole album feels like Vincent Adultman, from Bojack Horseman: a hodgepodge of different genres of music, perched on each other's shoulders, pretending to be something else, disguised by a dusty trenchcoat.
I gather it's not actually him doing it, but this album forced me to reckon with the concept of Paul Weller rapping, and I'm afraid that's not something I'm prepared to put up with. When they get guest vocalists on, it's quite a lot better, and Ever Changing Moods is good, but on the whole this is a plus one in the 'Weller is bad' argument.
This one was all over the place and not really in a good way.
Was reading their Wiki and the way I interpreted it was that they basically broke up because they stopped making good music, which I think is a rare but respectable decision
A bit all over the place, at first I thought I was listening to a jazz album and then other things happened. It's dull, but at least each track is distinct unlike some of the other albums.
I don’t feel like I listened to this but I did
A Sophisti-Pop album that drifts between lounge-like instrumentals with jazzy piano, crisp drumming, smooth guitar, and brass, and vocal pieces that shift from soulful crooning to casual, conversational phrasing.
It's ok 4/10
Immediately - Love the Southern Soul-Gospel piano to kick off the album. Overall, this sounds like a show and collage of moods and styles. The vocal performances are pretty alright, and some tracks give me a Ben Folds vibe. Piano playing almost sounds like it could cover off of Rocking the Suburbs - even though this came out 20? years earlier. I laughed out loud at "A Gospel". Please see the Wendy's Employee Training from the 80s. British dudes singing... rrm... writing about American politics is always weird to me. The Wiki states that this is more of a compilation, and academically, it includes some solid music ideas and examples. The recording is simple and not overworked. "Here's one that got away" is a great example of that, but I'd almost prefer a comp of various artists who really embody these genres and styles.
Of 3? Idk?
The album was perfectly vanilla and 100% forgettable up until they started rapping. After this I had to pay attention to how much I disliked it.
Instrumentally very fun but the vocals killed my enjoyment
Not my style. Well sung but didn't really light a fire for me
A weird album to pick for 84. Nothing here is making me go "yeah this needs to be on this list!" Feels like a random album somebody found at a yardsale, not something that is 1 of 1001 albums to listen to in your life or else. And then the second half of the album sounds like a completely different band. One that's worse than the jazz of the first half. "A Gospel" and "Strength of Your Nature" are awful. A 2.
Strange album to rate... The switch to brit-hip-hop was so jarring it felt more like a dare from a friend to include on the album. The tracks that lean deeper into jazz (The Paris Match, song with a title I probably should not write online) are very pleasant to listen to. But when this album falters, it really trips and breaks its entire leg.
Why is this on this list? Very uneven. The rap song is awful.
Wierd jazz instrumentals and then cafe music combined. Not so good that I enjoyed the jazz instrumentals, not so memorable that I could sing the pop songs, so.. meh.
easy stuff this. it was when Weller went a little bit Radio 2ey' - preferred his more rebellious early days with the Jam.
Handed Down From Fathers To Sons 1001 Albums Generator 110 (09/03/2025) Cafe Bleu is an interesting, eclectic album. The first side features much more jazzy instrumentation, with the instrumental tracks especially feeling like straight-up jazz. The vocal tracks on the first side are not as great, with The Whole Point Of No Return being especially droll. However, I really like the samba inspired Me Ship Came In! and the hard bop of Dropping Bombs On The Whitehouse. The second side (after a hip-hop song and a really weird disco-ish tune) is much more tame, forgettable sophisti-pop slop. The hiphop song, A Gospel, is actually really good in my opinion, although it seems I'm in the minority with that opinion. The disco tune, Strength Of Your Nature, is really weird in a bad way. I do not think this experiment works at all. And unfortunately, that is the last experiment The Style Council really take on this album. Everything else is unremarkable, but Council Meetin' is pretty good. Cafe Bleu is less than the sum of its parts, taking some really good flavors and merging them into a soup that doesn't sit well on the tongue. 2.5/5, rounded down to 2. Favs: Me Ship Came In! Blue Cafe Dropping Bombs On The Whitehouse Least Fav: Strength Of Your Nature
I can’t believe this is from the same guy that was The Jam. Not good at all.
boring jazz. random styles second half. still boring.
Jazz and soul background music paired with lousy old-school hiphop. 2 stars
When I first heard this album, I thought it was really bad. Hard to believe this guy made The Jam's Sound Affects just a few years prior. I've kind of warmed up a little this time there are a couple good songs here, namely "You're the Best Thing" and "My Ever Changing Moods". But the overwhelming majority is just the cheesiest music you can imagine. Someone should've intervened with Paul Weller before stuff like "Me Ship Comes In!", "A Gospel", and "Strength of Your Nature" were ever committed to tape. 2.5 stars.
Sounds like a less-polished version of the alternative bands I loved in the 90s.
Some of these performances could work in isolation, but something about the way this album was constructed feels like a car crash. A car crash of crooning brits, up-tempo piano jigs, string sections and bad rap. Strange album!
Who the hell is this for? That rap was cringey af.
I was familiar with The Style Council, but had not heard this one. I was hooked on Confessions of a Pop Group from 1988 and played the heck out of it. This one started out like that, but it fell apart for me. I'd have to cherry pick just a couple of songs from this, and trash the rest.
A few songs in I thought this was going to be a mediocre white boy jazz album, but then they decided to try and make less than mediocre songs from seemingly every genre on the second half of the album. 1.8
1.6 My jaw dropped when I heard A Gospel, go directly to jail, do not pass go. This is some pretty corny shit
Some songs are really good. But running through all genres with quite some surprises (rap?) doesn't do the album good. It's too random. 2,4
Yeah, it’s bad Costello
I wasn't a fan of the style council then, like most popular music it didn't have any edge
You know, the highs were.. alright, the lows.. The lows tho. The boutte de rap™ was solid.
Oh boy, I did not enjoy this. It started off well with a boogie woogie piano number but by track four I found myself listening to the most awful kind of easy listening lounge jazz. Not for me.
Just didn’t meet the mark. I kind of feel like it could have but it just didn’t. 2
Not my fav of theirs
Pauvre Paul Weller qui passe de The Jam à The Style Council... Je donne une étoile de plus juste pour le titre de chanson ''Dropping Bombs on the Whitehouse''.
C’est… special, mettons. Les chansons syrupeuses avec les interludes jazz; un album sans direction qui ne sait pas trop ce qu’il veut. Certains des singles sont bien, notamment my ever changing moods. Mais l’album en entier est un « mess ». Next!
Really liked the atmosphere created by the first half, really feels chill and the songs seem timeless. Then A Gospel and Strength of Your Nature really derail the albums flow by sounding completely dated.
I like this game. Putting on an album in the morning, having no idea the style I‘m about to listen to. It‘s light jazz? Oh it‘s already over. It’s easy listening? Another short funny jazz tune? Ah no, it’s Cafe del Mar without electronic instruments? Oh, a Dave Brubeck inspired piano. No singing? Oh wait they have a great singer! Oh wait, they DO have synths? A Hip Hop song!? While this was a great ride I don‘t think it works as an album. The songs are nice and pleasant but no song really stuck out. On top of that the ever changing lineup of musicians causes the band to not sound cohesive. They don’t play „together“ enough and for some songs it sounds a bit amateurish.
This album is truly a tale of two sides. Starts off with somewhat enjoyable and jazzy, piano-based instrumental tracks. Then delves into some unexpected and quite dorky rap numbers on the second side. There was a lot going on in this record, but I'm not sure I fully enjoyed it all the way through.
The instrumental tracks on this album are stunning. However, the tone of this album is all over the place. A bizzare rap song in the back half just begs the question "who is this really for??"
Never consistent on albums, this was their weakest.
Thoughts before listening: is this Paul Weller's band after the Jam? I like the Jam so chances are I'll like this. Review: Well this is different. Definitely nothing like the Jam's punky power pop. This is a pretty eclectic mix of jazz instrumentals and soulful ballads. There's also a rap song. The jazz songs are my favorites on here, but ultimately this is just okay. I guess the appeal is ex-punk grows up and tackles other genres, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be good. 2-stars.
I can't say it's rubbish, because I'm no musician, but I hate the arrangement, the singing, the lyrics, barely a redeemable feature. I absolutely love Weller as a solo artist, and adore the Jam, but this is not for me.
Strength of Your Nature has a Talking Heads thing going on. Tracey Thorn from EBTG is on here, which is pretty cool. hey quick question why is the guy from The Jam rapping? there's a lot of shit being thrown and the wall and not much of it sticks. it's fine. deserves to be one of the 1001? no
This was interesting. The first song sounded like the opening credits of an 80's sitcom. Then every song after that was...unexpected, and frankly, not that great. I thought the instrumental jazz songs were okay, but the pop rock was all over the place, and then when I got to the rap song I just had to laugh.
First half was pretty nice, but the vocals started to drift away from my liking.
Left little impression on me, the instrumentals are competent but sound thin. Almost artificial. The one rap song left me quite unimpressed, daring but I guess you also need to actually launch some good lines to have it hold up. The instrumental outro is elevator music.
This was an album with a genre identity crisis. Instead of making them sound versatile, it felt very disjointed. Old school hip hop to break up easy-listening-leaning instrumental jazz is weird
So this reminded me of a lounge band being told by some drunk dude in the bar yelling “play your stuff more jazzy”. You never listen to that drunk dude but this band did (1st bad move) and they made it into an album (2nd bad move). I actually recognized “Ever Changing Moods" and "You're the Best Thing" from when they were released and I thought they were fine - glad I never bought the album!
I liked "The Paris Match". Album was a variety of genres. I thought the rap in "A Gospel" was just OK but I liked the jazz style tracks best.
The instruments started out well, then they opened their mouth to sing and rap. Would have been better if just played instruments with no words.
Let’s just say I am not a Brit pop fan
Why are there so many utterly mid Brit bands on this stupid list. Dudes voice is whiny and doesn’t sound good falsetto (which he does a lot). Lyrics are just bland like plain spaghetti. Overall sound is fine but wouldn’t like more instrumental tracks, they sounded best on those. Otherwise totally mid and did not need to hear this before I died.
first-more Brit pop?? tried to go in with an open mind & was pleasantly surprised with instrumental tracks. not bad-decent background music. much preferred those over the vocal tracks-especially the final 4 or 5 tracks. the rap attempt and remaining songs felt very bi-polar compared to opening instrumentals. confusing album & confused that it is taking a place on this list.
De her Paul Weller sideprojekter får mig til at stille spørgsmåltegn ved, om jeg overhovedet er fan af The Jam. De instrumentale og enkelte af numrene er vældig gode, men alle involverede i dette album skal straight to jail for det rapnummer
Not really sure what to say... Not exactly great or any ear worms..
Sort of good. Not unpleasant. Decent
Slightly better than what I thought a generic 80s record would be. Has some good jazz music. Moody Bill Evans-esque Blue Cafe and The Paris Match were really beautiful. Dropping Bombs on the Whitehouse and A Gospel were groovy and funky. You're the Best Thing was good too. Rest of the album was boring and forgettable. I'll give it a 2.5
The opening track’s campiness took my by surprise, but I continued on and found some appeal to the second track.
This is a wild album. I thought it was tidy jazz, polished...but then the rapping began. I even checked to ensure I was on the same album, assuming it had ended, and the algorithm was off on a tangent. I was a bit surprised to learn that wasn't the case. Not sure what to think.
No idea what this was. It’s all over the place. Some of it isn’t bad, but as a whole, this is bad.
Um... It was nice, þough it was honestly all over the place.
Kind of an odd album. Not something I can see myself listening to agian.
Bland 80s pop
Not awful
I could have done without any of the vocals. This album just didn't seem very organized.
I usually enjoy albums with a variety of sounds, but this one took it too far—there were so many shifts in style that it completely lost its sense of cohesion. The songs I liked were good and the songs I didn’t like were meh, but no one song really blew me away.
“Me Ship Came In!” as a title is good. That’s about all I’ve got to say about this one, but if anyone wants to tell me why this album is considered essential… by all means.
A strange album, that goes from background elevator to poppy jazz. There are some decent tracks, but it mostly doesn't move me much.
Hard to believe this is the same guy who led The Jam. Something must have happened to his testicles between 82 and 84.
Sorry Tracy, but being on an album where Paul Wller raps can only be a black mark on your record.
Strange and not quite cohesive
Mid-80s soft-pop mixed with jazz and even rap. Stylistically it is too all over the place for me, especially when rapping came right after the jazz song. It's well made and produced and some songs were good, even fun but I wouldn't come back to it again, it's not my cup of tea.
So this is what Paul Weller got up to after The Jam. Sophisti-pop. The jazz and soul infusions were fine, sometimes smooth and enjoyable, sometimes smooth and wishy-washy. I cannot and will not condone the rapping on "A Gospel", holy shit. The swerve into 80s dance on the following "Strength Of Your Nature" was strange as well. "My Ever Changing Mood" holds up.
I like the Jam a lot, so this was pretty disappointing
The Paul Weller band I’m least familiar with, and, apparently, the Paul Weller band that sounds the least like Paul Weller (for better or worse). I was gonna give this credit for having a consistent aesthetic, but then halfway through it seems to completely flip, so it doesn't even have that going for it. I find the cool jazziness of side one a bit tedious, while side two indulges in many of the worst indulgences of 80s pop. Occasionally it's fun, but mostly, nah.
Not for me
Bittelitt skuffa
Not sure what this is about. Some weird novelty album that I for some reason needed to hear?
Wow what a way to start the album. It immediately grabbed me. The piano on this record is excellent and I love the instrumental tracks. I'm not into the vocal tracks though. WTF was that rap track??? The second half of this record caught me off guard with the style change haha.
Nfm
More like cafe poo
Not Mr Weller’s finest hour A couple of good songs save it from a 1 but only by a whisker
I like the Jam but this was just a little out there
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.
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
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.
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
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)
Fav: Blue Cafe Least Fav: A Gospel It’s got a bit of everything, unfortunately that includes Paul Weller rapping
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.
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.
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.
Unfortunately unmemorable…
1.53
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.
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.
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.
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!
Huh, weird bt enjoyable I even liked one song
Nice!
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
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.
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.
All over the place and it doesnt really work out. Standout songs: You're the best thing
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.
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
Enjoyable, but all over the place. Is it bossa nova, is it hip hop, is it 80’s?
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.
A tedious record. Feels like a random collection of tracks
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.
not convinced by this really although it had its moments
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
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.
Genuinely not good
Didn’t care for this.
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.
I like you, Mr. Weller, but this ain't it.
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)
I think I can do without the lame 80s jazz.
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.
Should this even be on the list?
A decently fun time, though not much I'd return for
Okay, album. Jazz sounds but, more like 80s sound.
Ok.
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.
This is not the worst on this list but it's pretty lame and boring.
Interesting, not my thing
Another what the hell is this?? I kinda liked it. 2.5
🥱
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.
Weird shit
what the fuck is this
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.
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"
Average
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
Was going to give it three stars but the rapping sucked so hard it gets two stars.
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
Nope.
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
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
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.
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.
Not a favourite of mine
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
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
En ollut henkisesti valmistautunut kierrepallo-räppibiisiin levyn keskivaiheilla.
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
Absolute bullshit from Weller here. Who the fuck did he think he was. Jesus
It started out pretty interesting with an instrumental followed by smooth tracks with vocals, but then it turned out to be little too mixed up with a random rap song. It just didn‘t fit in imo.
This is the kind of music you hear at the dentist. You find yourself wondering, “was this music made just for the dentist?” Boring
I was not prepared for the rapping.
Thought I was going to enjoy this a lot more than I did from the first couple of tracks. Enjoyed the jazzy instrumental tracks. Did not enjoy the cheesy, generic 80s tracks.
A bit all over, sometimes strong boyband vibes
Fairly easy but unremarkable listen. 'You're the best thing' saves this album.
If Paul Weller's goal was simply to make something that didn't sound like The Jam, mission accomplished. It's a little harder to pin down any secondary goal for this album. It's certainly eclectic, which I normally don't mind, but the styles feel fairly disjointed here. 'Cafe Beau' is firmly rooted in the Sophistipop style that had it's moment in the 80s. By that measure, it's probably the most impressive thing I've heard from that genre. It's ambitious and some of the instrumentals are pretty fun. But Sophistipop is just not for me. Then we get to the second half, which is full of 80s white guy rap. That's about as cringeworthy as you'd expect, though the music is actually a bit better than the first side. I can hardly call this the best of Paul Weller.
kind of a one hit wonder for me, my ever changing moods single version (not on this album) is good
This band and album is ridiculous. Very whimsical seemingly just for the sake of being whimsy. I feel it's inclusion on this list is completely unnecessary and unwarranted. I guess it's fine, but who cares?
This is perfectly inoffensive, I wasn’t sitting there like “OH GOD TURN IT OFF!” But the entire time I was just thinking yeah this is fine I guess. This sounds like music. But the albums from this list are from a book called “1001 albums to listen to before you die” or something, and I don’t know that I NEEDED to listen to this before I die. Idk maybe one day I’ll learn that I did. But I don’t think this music will impact me in any grander scale. It was fine. But fine is just fine.
café merde
Was surprised by how eclectic this was but not for me.
I guess it is alright? I didn't find it patriculary interesting but didn't find it bad.
This is a strange mixture of everything. I was positively surprised after the first half of the album, but when A Gospel hit, I was not impressed with that and the rest of the album - in general, the album is just too many genres to cope with at once.
This one and the other Style Council album which came out the following year, seem to suffer from similar issues. Absolutely no consistency with songs that don't feel convincing to me. A positive for the amount of ground covered, but very little lands in a solid way.
This is fine, I guess. 2.5 for effort? It’s ultimately nothing special/nothing hundreds of others haven’t done better
Inoffensive
…… eh…………. 💀😔
Not as awful as I expected
I spent most of the 90s playing guitar (badly) in a (borderline unlistenable) industrial band. 'Virtual' Mark Selway programmed the drum machines and generally made a helluva racket. He really dug noise; he introduced me to Merzbow and the Boredoms and Oran Ambarchi and Coil and a whole bunch of pretty out-there artists. When Mark passed away about a decade ago, I inherited his vinyl collection, which contained nearly the complete catalogue of the Style Council; albums, eps, singles, the lot. I was quite surprised. I had not picked him as a fan. I respected his taste, so I did attempt to listen to it. But I just can't. I just never liked Paul Weller. Don't like the Jam, don't like the Style Council, don't like his solo 'Modfather' work. Lots of people I respect really dig the Jam, and god knows I have tried many, many times over the past 40 years to understand it. But I just don't. As Stephen Erlewine wrote in Pitchfork of the Style Council: "Often, the band came across like they had raided their big brother’s closet, trying on suits that didn’t quite fit their frame. Their funk can be stiff, the jazz drifts toward cocktail hour, and they dive into dance without quite knowing whether they can pull off the new sounds." A really egregious example is 'A Gospel', which is the most ham-handed and laughable attempt at rap I have heard since Morris Minor and the Majors' 'Stutter Rap', which at least knew it was a joke. Maybe my problem is that I actually _like_ jazz and soul and r'n'b and funk, and this is just pastiche. It's an ersatz black music by white people for an undiscerning audience. I don't find this convincing or enjoyable. By the end of sitting through the whole album, I am grinding my teeth with frustration. It's not actually _bad_ or hateful, but why am I listening to this instead of a _good_ jazz or soul or r'n'b or funk or rap record? It's another example of the tendency of 1001 albums list to overlook black artists in favour of mainstream white artists peddling inferior copies geared towards mainstream (read: white) audiences. I eventually took Mark's Style Council collection to Scratches Records in Newtown on consignment. They all sold quickly and for pretty good money. I'm glad they have gone to homes that appreciate them, because I sure don't. 2 stars.
I didn't hate it, but I didn't like it either.
Mostly tepid middling music, I recognized a song I'd heard before but for a record that spans this many genres its surprisingly bland.
Red headphones on this one chief
Meh
Was ready to hate this, based on the 80s sophisti-pop genre tag. Front half, I actually didn't mind much. I wasn't really feeling it, but I didn't hate it. However, the back half is really bad, starting at The Gospel or whatever. So yeah, I was right, overall 1.5/5
I really like Paul Weller but I didn't like this. Not sure why but it didn't hit.
It started off well and I thought that I was going to be treated to some smooth jazz. Then some weird rap came in and it ended off a bit forgettable.
Not a Paul Weller era that I appreciated. Hated the attempt at rap. Some of the jazz influences too annoying. Strength of your nature was the only track I actually liked.
I always thought the name of this band was pretentious, but then again, I don't know that I ever actually listened to anything they did. The opening notes were encouraging, but this quickly delved into territory I found less than enticing. Something about their pop/jazz didn't sit with me. I don't find it pretentious, but it isn't a flavor that appealed to me. I think the compositions weren't grabbing me, and it was, for lack of a better descriptor, pretty bland. When "A Gospel" hit, it really dated this album and confirms how difficult it is to blend styles and come out with a winning combination. On the whole, I was mostly waiting for this to be over, which is certainly not what any artist is seeking to achieve.
When this album first popped up for my group, my initial reaction, like with a lot of albums from musicians and/or bands I don't recognize, was "Who the hell is this?" I mean, I hate to judge a book by its cover, but something about its cover just seemed... Off to me. Like this would be another random forgettable whatever where I hafta wonder why it's even on this list. Imagine my surprise, then, when after I listen to the album a friend in the group tells me that this group has **Peter Wellers**. The guy from The Jam! and whose solo album WILD WOOD I'd previously rated highly! That guy! I wish his presence did more for me than shift my question to "**What** the hell is this?", but still! Y'know, it actually took me a moment to figure out what a specific problem I had with this album was, and I think it's this: The Jam album I listened to back when, SOUND AFFECTS, is Mod revival and power pop, and it's very good at that. WILD WOODS is very much a 70's singer-songwriter dealie in the 90's, and it's very good at that. CAFÉ BLEU is called a sophisti-pop album, but it jumps all over the damn place, and it doesn't do anything it tries well. Aside from the album's opener, most of the album is just "bleh" dives into various styles. It's very lounge-y, and not even the fun, swinging kind of lounge. And when it's not just "whatever," it's "A Gospel", and the last thing I needed to hear on this album was any attempts at rapping. It's the most memorable thing here, and for all the wrong reasons. So that's a miss in my book, Wellers. I liked WILD WOODS, and my group hasn't gotten SOUND AFFECTS but I know I'm gonna rate it highly, and I know two-out-of-three ain't bad, but... Gawd, why the hell is this here?
Listened to it for the second time and still don’t really like it. But I enjoyed some songs more.
Of you like jazz…