Paul Weller – 'The Hit Parade' (Island) Released 06/11/06

Just as everyone was already summarising 2006AD as the year that British guitar music, both musically and lyrically reconnected with its public, it seems only fitting that the last few months of the year have been (respectfully) donated. For a change, it’s not to cringe worthy Christmas singles, but to the past Goliaths who formed the connections in the first place.

While the arrival of Oasis’ Best of (sorry, ‘Collective’), may still feel a bit pre-emptive, Weller’s, ‘The Hit Parade,’ is a feverish anthology of his singles with The Jam, The Style Council and also, as a solo star, which has arrived bang on time. Worth a mention as well is that, unlike many compilations ‘The Hit Parade’ is kindly available in two versions. That means both Mod diehards (who can, and will opt for the 67 track version) and those with a new, yet enriched intrigue (there’s a 23 ‘mini-collective’ for you) are catered for.

While ‘The Hit Parade,’ chronologically charts the singles of Weller’s entire career with each of his guises, subconsciously, it also neatly choreographs the musical history that was being made at the same time. Everything, from Weller’s unnerving social commentary in the riotous, ‘The Eton Rifles’ to his courageous shifts in genres, is catalogued in this retrospective.

The diversity of this parade of hits confirms Weller as a singer/songwriter whose career has been in continuous flux. It might not have been evident when The Jam first converged through an intrigue of the guitar and unleashed, ‘In The City,’ (featured on the deluxe LP) but by the time Weller stepped out of Woking it didn’t take long until his innate intrigue took over. First to be affected were The Jam’s lyrics - as the singles, ‘Town Called Malice’ and ‘Down In The Tube Station At Midnight,’ highlight. The latter’s politically charged lyrics which mention, “They smelt of pubs and Wormwood Scrubs/ And too many right wing meetings,” show that Weller was seeing new demographics to write about. It was this worldly curiosity, along with a growing passion for Jazz and Motown, which caused him to call time on The Jam while, undeniably, their notoriety was still on the ascent.