Here’s what Paul Weller did next, after The Jam. The first half of this album is some light poppy jazz, mostly instrumental but some with vocals, notably The Paris Match featuring Tracey Thorn of Everything But The Girl. It all sounds very much like the kind of music you’d get in a cafe if it was called Cafe Bleu, something smooth and relaxing with a little bit of bop to it, pleasant but nothing challenging as far as jazz goes.
Then the second half kicks off with the hip-hop piece A Gospel, with rapping by Dizzi Heights about the growth of inequality and the darkness within America, and by extension Western, civilisation:
“Handed down from God with love
Was the whole wide world and some above
But not content to share the land
Greed was shown as the winning hand
And those whose greed was the strongest of all
Took upon themselves to lead the call
That some must work while others rest
Without the question of what is best
The leaders, the losers and the kings
Pass the rifle butt that tyranny brings”
Seems just as applicable today, if not more so. Strength Of Your Nature is an infectiously funky piece, and the net effect feels like some breakdancers have taken over the square opposite Cafe Bleu and changed up the mood. The album also feels like interval training, with relatively short tracks at the beginning and end, leading up to and away from the big single, the smooth pop-rock You’re The Best Thing, the longest track on the album that lurks in the middle.
It’s one of those albums that feels just a little bit too eclectic for its own good, losing some of its focus by including slightly too many musical styles. Each track is a good one, there are none for me that dragged, but the mix of genres on Side Two was a little baffling. It was, however, great to get a bit of jazz again, even if it was quite straightforward – Mick Talbot’s effortless piano soloing was a particular high point.
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