This is powerful stuff and not the typical lyrical content of a rock album in 2008. “God” even makes an appearance in the song “God”, which guest narrator Aziz Ibrahim as God, who takes exception to the person he is talking with who is accused of “only calling when you need me“. Lyrically, like dreams, Weller goes into many areas of life, politics, aging, and everything in between. It has aged well and does not sound dated in the least. And that is the same for the entire album. It is quite emotional and has stood the test of time. “Where’er Ye Go” is another stunning track, beautifully arranged and orchestrated as Weller sings, no doubt, to his children. Weller also shows his gentler side with a few brilliant instrumentals, including a drone-like experimental song “Night Lights”, the beautiful “Lullaby Für Kinder”, and the equally interesting but more jazz-oriented “Song For Alice”. The fact that it features three hit singles is testament to the high quality and much-loved songs found inside the package. Weller has always written very melodic and instantly accessible songs. But for the record, “Dream #22”, which is a story by Simon Armitage, is included in the booklet.
I am sure he is leaving the 22 nd as a dream for the listener. But this is not an error on Weller’s part. For the 22nd, I am afraid you may have to search out the Japanese CD with the bonus track of a live version of “Echoes Round The Sun”. Curiously there are only 21 songs on the album. The album itself is a remarkable achievement for Weller. Weller is from the era of records, not downloads and CDS, and although he has kept up with the times, his love and passion remains with those black, flat discs. As everyone has opinions on the sound of vinyl, I will say that the album does benefit from being on vinyl. The question becomes, does the album benefit from being on vinyl.
There are no bonus cuts and although that sounds odd for a re-release, it is a chance for fans to obtain this classic album on vinyl without paying huge amounts of money, as you would for the original vinyl released in 2008. This is a straight re-release on vinyl, with a poster and booklet.
Weller combines rock, jazz, pop, rhythm and blues and just about everything throughout the album. But it isn’t the guests that made this album so special, it was the songs. Weller included guest appearances from Noel Gallagher and Gem Archer (from Oasis), Graham Coxon (Blur) and Steve Cradock (Ocean Colour Scene). In fact it made it to number one in the U.K., his third number one solo album in that country. In June, 2008, Paul Weller released his ninth solo album, 22 Dreams.
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