327: WILD WOOD | PAUL WELLER
A majorly overlooked record and one of the soundtrack of this writer’s 1990s. Here is a great article by Oliver Jones at Trunkworthy: This is masterful, mature rock, steeped in a growling mix of folk, soul, psychedelia, punk, and barroom blues. And it still holds up as one of the best albums of the ’90s.
Like well-tailored suits and curried everything, Paul Weller has always been something that the British have always been better equipped to appreciate then us State-siders. It was true with the bands he fronted, The Jam and The Style Council, and it’s especially true of his solo career. There’s a good chance that if you did not grow up with a favorite Premier League team or a penchant for black-and-white checkerboard-style fashion accessories, you were probably unaware that Weller crafted one of the masterwork rock records of he 1990’s. Well, we figure that it’s our job to correct that.
Released in 1993, Weller’s Wild Wood never manages to show up on those lists with Nevermind or OK Computer, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t. Weller’s second record as a solo artist is one that you have heard countless times via its influence on Weller devotees like Oasis and Blur even if you have never spun the record itself. And no, you don’t need to know your Jam from your marmalade to have your mind blown by Wild Wood.
The album set down a kind of new treatise for the understanding and appreciation of rock ’n’ roll as it was and as it should be in the future: something played by real instruments and conveying real emotion based on actual experience. Weller employs a kitchen-sink of styles and influences— folk, psychedelic, soul, punk, bar blues— and holds them together by virtue of his grit, vitality and the complete absence of bullshit in everything he does. This is music that aims its heel into the arse end of Auto-Tune or any of the other gadget that threatens to turn music into processed Cheez Whiz and boots it through the door.
Wiki: Wild Wood was Paul Weller's second solo record, released in September 1993. It made it to number 2 in the UK charts, and contained three UK hits: "Wild Wood", which reached #14 in the UK charts, "Sunflower", which reached #16 and "Hung Up", which reached #11.
In 2000 Q magazine placed it at number 77 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever, and it was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
The original 1993 UK and European CD included 15 tracks. When issued in the USA, and reissued in the UK in 1994, a 16th track was added. A two disc deluxe edition was released on 22 October 2007.
The title track, "Wild Wood", was released as a single in 1993, with "Ends Of The Earth" as the b-side. It reached no. 14 in the UK charts in September 1993.
Uncut magazine rated "Wild Wood" as Weller's ninth best ever song and the best of his solo career, with the Smiths' bassist Andy Rourke praising it as a "very easy, kicking-back sort of song"