Paul Weller doing Barbie was not something I thought I needed in my life, but oh my word that was beautiful. And no, the Modfather has not moved into the niche adult movie industry; he has merely covered Billie Eilish‘s ‘What Was I Made For?‘ in the most impeccable manner. That and the preceding ‘Gravity‘ (from his 2018 long player True Meanings) open the first disc of his Weller At The BBC Vol. 2 in style. Two utterly gorgeous renditions that would be hard to top by anyone’s standards.
Also included on disc one are a couple of relatively faithful cover versions, in the shape of The Zombies‘ timeless classic ‘Time Of The Season‘, somewhat ludicrously never having charted here in the UK, and perhaps less surprisingly, ‘Days‘ by The Kinks, which surely is the archetypal Weller blueprint that transcends his entire career trajectory.
Disc one in particular also reminded me why I deemed Sonik Kicks, his 2012 release, one of the best albums both of that decade and of Weller’s whole career, with rampant versions of both ‘That Dangerous Age‘ and ‘Drifters.’
Paul Weller has always had a knack for writing deep and soulful music, yes, even in The Jam, and that is very much on evidence on ‘Rise Up Singing‘ (from 2024’s 66 album), which introduces us to disc two along with a lovely, crisp version of his Richard Hawley co-write ‘No Tears To Cry‘ at the BBC Radio Theatre in 2012, before we return to 66 for the sweet soul sound of ‘Flying Fish.’
The songs on this middle disc are mostly less well-known than those you would find on the ones that bookend it, but it’s a huge testament to what an icon Weller is, that every one of these tunes sound like they could easily have been singles in their own right. Some were, of course, but in these days of Tik Tok and charts that are streaming-obsessed, I don’t think we’re likely to see Paul bothering the singles chart anytime soon, though he rightfully tears up the album hit list every time.
A ballsy ‘Wake Up The Nation‘ from the aforementioned Radio Theatre venue is followed by an impassioned rendition of the melancholic ‘Invisible‘ from 2008’s 22 Dreams, and I think we all knew that a Booker T song was going to be safe in Weller’s hands. So ‘I’ve Never Found A Girl (Who Loves Me Like You Do)‘ is a strong favourite amongst this set.
The third and final disc is more of the same, with the energetic ‘Rip The Pages Up‘ following the starkly arresting folk rock of ‘Aspects‘ to introduce it. Once again, it is nothing but a pleasure to listen to, like all the other discs here, most of which are filled with classic Weller solo cuts and hidden gems here and there, but he never forgets his roots, so there is a smattering of well-loved Style Council and Jam songs on here, in the shape of ‘Start,’ ‘Shout To The Top,’ ‘Have You Ever Had It Blue?‘ and ‘The Eton Rifles.’ You can tell how delighted the audience always is when these musical memories are unleashed on them, and, granted, I would be too, but it says something about Paul Weller as a songwriter that it wouldn’t really matter if the entire collection was made up of his solo work. It would still be an amazing set of work.
Just stunning.
Weller At The BBC is out now on Parlophone.