Cafe Bleu

I was about to rate it 2 stars, but after thinking on the relief I felt when the album finished, it's probably more like 1 star for me.

Sounds like an attempt to emulate 13 different genres. Result is none of them done well.

Very nearly a one star. How Paul Weller went from writing A Town Called Malice to this tedious, jazz inspired crap in the space of one year is remarkable. Avoid.

A few things can be simultaneously true. I love The Jam and Paul Weller and consider him one of the greatest songwriters of his generation. This albums has some terrific songs that exemplify that, highlighted by the outstanding "My Ever Changing Moods." All that said, on the whole this albums is bad, pretentious sophista- pop. It probably deserves a 1 star rating. But the handful of great songs that remind you that Weller is Weller salvage things for me.

Didn’t realize the was a Paul Weller vehicle, which made me more open to it (recalled only that I didn’t like the band’s MTV or radio plays back in the day). Still not my “The Jam.”

11/7 Interesting mix of genres in this album. I like it

I don't know what we were going for, but I was vibin

"What if we were mediocre at several genres at once?"

What a wild ride. So much weird variety. Will listen again.

not for me really

stressful and not too enjoyable

Good pop.

Easy, jazzy 80s fare. Some of it more successful than other bits.

wow that pivot to 80s white guy rap really caught me off guard

I'm familiar with the Style Council, but never really listened much to their stuff and didn't recognize any of the songs on this album. It was a very eclectic mix of music with everything from instrumental jazzy blues to rap to pop. While interesting, it just didn't really form a cohesive album in any way. Nothing that really stood out for me or that I'd want to listen to again.

i am living for this autumn vibes rn

A mixture of a couple a classic 80s track, some fairy mediocre tracks, a jazzy delight and tracks that have not aged well at all, ⭐⭐⭐

Listened.

Okay so this first song was a piano blues belter for the ages!! I was so pumped for what this album would be. Then later, it varied massively, but fun well produced songs that I would listen to again and again. Ashamed to say I didn't know this was Paul Weller's post - the jam band. And I would say it's much better than the jam!

This album was ok, it didn’t really do much for me but it wasn’t bad to listen to

Good album

Style Council - Cafe Bleu This must have confused the hell out of Jam fans. Did me upon listening now, as well. There's a good mini-album in here somewhere. But indulgence in jazz, soul and rap funk throwaway jams does not a coherent listen make. My Even Changing Moods and You're the Best Thing jump out as a cut above the noodling. And then just before the close we get my favourite which was the wonderfully positive Headstart for Happiness. Worst Track - that opener Micks Blessings. No thanks. 4/10

I remember this album, I can sing so many off here, but there are some lesser songs, but I do love Wellers stuff

Interesante al principio pero no me atrapó

Not a lot of songs that really struck a chord with me on this album, at times it felt disconnected and random but that might have been because I listened to it while making dinner intensely

Definitely enjoyed a lot of the songs but it did feel disjointed as an entire album

10/22/26. Caught off guard by the jazz pop sound, but thought this was a well produced and interesting album! Didn’t know what to expect with each track.

I’d heard of Style Council before, but never their music. I kind of expected something akin to New Order or Bronski Beat. What I got was a light jazz album that pivoted halfway through to something much worse. When I got to A Gospel the shift was very noticeable. Before that I was kind of enjoying myself, then came the repetitive lyrics, terrible 80’s rap, and a real stylistic down grade. It’s a genuine shame because that really tanked the experience.

Llegamos al miércoles con el debut de otra banda que no conozco. Casualmente es otro proyecto del tipo que escuché ayer y de entrada me sorprendió: no tiene nada que ver ni con The Jam ni con su proyecto solista. Repito nuevamente el sentimiento: quedé full sorpresa con este chabón. Me re gustó el disco. Lo siento ideal para una velada o una mañana nublada, ya sea de trabajo, ya sea de estar en casa. Muchas gracias y hasta mañana

Not bad, not great

Interesting mix but don’t think I would ever revisit

Straight up never heard of sophisti-pop before but it's easy listening

Jazzy

Very eclectic album with tracks covering jazz, pop, lounge, rap, dance and soul with varying degrees of success. The jazzier tracks are definitely my favourites but the rap track wasn't great and the dance song Strength of Your Nature is somewhere between bad and so-bad-it's-good. It's a hard one to rate since the highs are high and the lows are low and there's very little in common between the songs. I added Me Ship Came In to my playlist at least.

rough start not my style at all

I've never even heard of this band, but i liked the album. It give Vulfpeck. Would listen again

At times I was really digging this album, at other times I was questioning the creative choices so I'll give it a 3

There were a lot of songs on this album, I listened to the tracklist on wikipedia. Cool piano in mick's blessings. Otherwise, kinda bland, and did not enjoy the singing. 2*

I liked the mix of styles, but then some songs were good and some fell a bit flat. I wish you could mark out of 10 rather than 5, as I would give it a 3.5 if I could.

much 80s. much organ. sha BA do wah song goes on for ages. then more organ. somewhere between a 2 and a 3 I guess. wouldn't listen again.

It started off as some easy listening jazz like a watered down Tropeux Bleu and I was having a pretty good time. Then I heard A Gospel and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The album definitely lacked focus. I did quite enjoy You're The Best Thing, Here's One That Got Away and Headstart For Happiness so that brought it back from being a 2 star.

nop.

Parece um café concerto dos anos 80. 💩

Hits and misses

Not as bad as some reviews say, but not great. Some cool tunes but some abominations

Well, this is certainly a surprise. I only recently found out that Paul Weller had another band after the Jam, and it sounds nothing like them! The instrumentation is OK, but it sounds a bit washed out and sometimes generic. I realize Weller was experimenting here with keyboardist Mick Talbot, and when they land it, it works really well, especially the melodic, jazzy guitar lines. “The Whole Point of No Return” and “The Paris Match” (with Tracey Thorn of Everything but the Girl on vocals) are both soothing and sultry, and “My Ever Changing Moods” is a pop classic. I also enjoy “You’re the Best Thing” and “Headstart for Happiness”. And while the rap on “A Gospel” rubs people on here the wrong way, it’s fine. I’ve definitely heard worse, and the backing track is pretty solid. Overall, though, I find it generic jazzy schmaltz at best, and at worst, music for white people trying to sound more “cultured” with their taste. Yawn. Go back to playing punk rock and leave the rest to Vince Guaraldi and A Tribe Called Quest (can you imagine that collaboration?). 2.5 stars.

how did you know i love chaotic jazz to plan a heist to?

An interesting listen. Some good tracks, but also some absolute stinkers.

I couldn’t make my mind up with this, I think overall it’s not that great and none of the songs really stood out but I quite enjoyed it in parts

This is really terrible, a proper Bottom Ten contender. "A Gospel" sounds like something the England football team might have recorded. Desperately unpleasant.

I’ve always thought of The Style Council as a singles band, but none of the really good ones are on this LP. Nice enough but not their best work really. “Council Meetin’” is the highlight. Two stars. Tom.

This is a Paul Weller project, and like every other Paul Weller project, he is too caught up in making music exactly like his favorite jazz and soul records to contribute meaningfully to the tradition of their art. This is more annoying because when he sticks to post punk and new wave, he can really write, and make some excellent contributions to those genres. But there's no way around the fact that the first half of this record is literally just vaguely pleasant cafe jazz. As in jazz which lacks substance, or originality and is seemingly made to be played in the background of a restaurant. I am aware that this sounds like really mean, but at this point I have had 3 Paul Weller records, and on each, there is some large tract of time just dedicated to making big glassy eyes at his favorite records, while also treating them with *so* much reverence, that he is incapable of transforming them in any meaningful way, or making any kind of original or interesting artistic statement within their genre. The breadth and depth of jazz had come so far, by even the late '50s, that it makes Weller's take on the genre here seem even more surface level and safe and lacking in adventurous spirit than it would have. It's genuinely disappointing. This album is saved by two things. The jazz is, by design, vaguely pleasant. And, like I said, his New Wave stuff on the second half here is like actually good. But that again just makes it frustrating that he is so discontented in making this good new wave, and must instead fail at making good jazz and soul on every album. It's incredibly frustrating.

Nah

The essential jack of all trades record. It does a bit of everything but does not do much to excel in anything.

This was my first sophisti-pop album, I'm not sure if I like this genre enough to listen to more of it but I really like the instrumentation on this one. "A Gospel" is genuinely great. This album does get a bit bland toward the end, though. I'd say this is better as background music than something to sit down and listen to. :3

Enjoyable

Sounds like something you would hear in the background of a pretentious cafe

An unexpected one for me—smoky, jazzy, & quite fun, honestly, with the occasional ‘80s flair throughout.

Elegance

Mangler revidering

This has a superb chill-out-like vibe to it all. The album was a lot more jazzy than I expected when I was just 1 song in. I guess this is mostly notable and probably put on here because it has Paul Weller (former frontman of the Jam) on it and was one of his post-Jam bands. I found the first side was honestly real good, though the second side fell of a mini-cliff unfortunately. I however enjoyed it all when adding everything together. I think it ultimately just barely gets a 4 star. I'm undecided though if it warrants a place on the 1001 list. Highlight Song/s: "Me Ship Came In!", "The Paris Match", "Dropping Bombs on the White House"

Jazzy, stylish,cool

This was a nice and unexpected find. I had an impression that I wasn't going to enjoy Style Council - my gut feeling was that they'd be similar to 80's New Wave bands like Depeche Mode or Duran Duran, both of whom I don't enjoy. I was pleasantly surprised to find this wasn't the case. Actually, this is a true musician's album. Mick’s Blessings startled me with how great it was for an opener. The tracks that followed incorporated elements of jazz, classical and pop/rock in a very classy way. I wasn't a fan of Strength Of Your Nature, this leant too much into the 80’s sound I don't enjoy, but aside from that, I was overall happy to pay a visit to Cafe Bleu.

The first two or three songs I liked but then I got increasing uninterested as it went on. Not for me.

A jazz album wasn't was I expected this morning but its what I got and I love it. The mix of slower and higher tempo jazz, the smooth solo singing, the backing vocals, the different people coming on and doing single songs. This album is a lot of different things throughout and I really enjoyed every part. A totally new band to me but from today it will be something added to my repertoire for when the mood calls for jazz.

The most generically 80s of 80s-dom, including the terrible white boy “rapping.” There’s a reason people remember Paul Weller from The Jam, and not this group. 2⭐️

Honestly did not expect to like this as much as I did. Pretty wild style variations all around. Almost like a Ween album, but taking itself more seriously. Recommended.

Not bad at all. All pretty decent but nothing that grabs me

Rate: 7.5/10.

I always had an idea of what sophisti-pop may be, but I definitely know what it is after hearing The Style Council. I am familiar with Paul Weller's work with The Jam and his solo work (and as always, this book loves to give English artists in a band/group a spot in this book for a solo album from that artist), but did not know he was a member of The Style Council. I also didn't know that he could rap...and it turns out he cannot rap, but that does not stop him from trying. The less said about "A Gospel," the better. Another person's review of this album said he/she preferred the instrumental tracks prior to Paul Weller singing, which feels like the opposite of how I would feel about Cafe Bleu. And yet, as I was approximately 35 minutes into the song "Strength of Your Nature" I understand where that person was coming from. Musically, this is all over the map and some of it hits and there are also some misses in here. A Gospel, Strength of Your Nature, and while "You're the Best Thing", the instrumentals, "Here's One that Got Away," and "My Ever Changing Moods" really hit for me. My favorite tracks: The Whole Point of No Return Me Ship Came In! My Ever Changing Moods You're the Best Thing Here's One that Got Away Headstart for Happiness

Way too shlocky for me. There was one song at the beginning that was pretty but this is overall not something that resonated with me at all. Sophisti-pop? More like sophisti-slop… *Fav tracks: Me Ship Came In!*

Could be a 2 for me, but I think a 3 makes sense, I think the 3 Great songs outweigh the 1 horrible song and the rest being rather eye-rolly. Sort of faux jazz bar pop does not at all work for me, and feels like it was probably dated the minute it was made. That rap song was, bizarre.

they reeled me in with the tracey thorn feature! the rap was a little kooky and corny, but the lyricism was thoughtful and i will always commend artists who create lyrics about society/activism. will have to give it a few more listens, but there were definitely a few songs that i didn't care for. i am continuously shocked by how many people on here refuse to do the very thing this book is trying to encourage: expanding your music taste with new genres and artists. god forbid!

It's an interesting exploration of different genres, but not really a great version of any of them. The rap especially I could have done without. I would listen again to a few tracks for sure, but nothing on this stands out to me as a must listen.

3,5! I think it will only grow on me :3

I was looking forward to hearing this as I like the Jam. What a boring set of eighties tripe

A little bit funky, a little silky, with some random mid-album curveballs

Very fun!

There’s a lot going on here but I kind of liked it

They really did a lot here

This is precisely the movement that killed jazz. They tried to figure out why it's liked, they narrowed into it and stripped it of its essence, of soul. The first few tracks were tolerable, I was thinking a low 3 as it's nothing special aside from a clear ear for music production, but it's also musically offensive. It feels like it's targeting people with educated egos to trick them into appreciating music they're 'supposed' to like. Outside of the '80s it feels dated and all over the place, with little direction aside from whatever probably sells to the target demographic. 2.3/5

I don't know what's going on with this album but I like it

I was not previously familiar with the artist or album. This album is hard to describe, as it touches on lots of different genres like jazz, hip hop, new wave, and soul, but seems to be pop at its core. The musicianship is very good here, and the songs are catchy. I enjoyed this and would listen again.

Liked some of the chiller more jam-jazzy songs but then the 80s rap came in and it was a hard no. Tonally all over

some odd choices for a record like this, such as the rapping, but overall it's a decent album, if not a bit too 80s.

I really liked the instrumental parts of this album. It was jazzy and really well done. I took points off for the rap...but I'll listen to this again, there's enough there to keep me interested

Yes it's bad but didn't you guys enjoy this?? It's SOOO funny I had to stop to laugh at several points. There's a song about bombing the White House and a bunch of zany instrumentals, complete with an out-of-left-field rap performance that could have only come from the 80s. Like it or not, I'll be thinking about this one for a long time.

This was unique and cool.

Gear: Letshuoer S12 PRO Artwork: 🧥🧥🟦 Production: 🔉🤨🤏 Music: 🙅‍♀️🤔😅 Rating: ☕(☕)/5

"Easy listening for pretentious twats."??? c

Polished lounge music for white wine spritzer drinkers

I was listening at work and someone came into my office and commented that it sounded like we were in the lobby of a holiday inn. Spot on.

Jazzy tones with very strong bass slaps, energetic, very good discovery.

Loved the smooth jazz tracks, but was more surprised by how much I loved the 80s hip-pop tracks in between.

elevator music casino lobby music elevator music elevator music

There’s a special edition version of this 12 song album that’s 3 hours and 21 minutes on Apple Music. It has 54 tracks. Whats the purpose of this list? Best albums? Influential albums? Interesting albums? This doesn’t really fit anything.

Super boring, like 2 or 3 good songs and the rest is a snooze

Surprisingly for someone of my age and musical tastes I never really got The Style Council, possibly because it was a bit too 'pop' and a touch over-produced (I think, personally). This album was better than expected. More than a couple of nice moments, although I didn't feel the urge to listen again and I doubt I'd seek it out in future. It falls in the 3 star bracket for me.

Not the Jam

Bien.