[color=#800080]http://www.music-dash.co.uk/releases/release.asp?item=2214
I moaned about Lord Wellers previous cover version exploits, but in todays climate of acerbic guitar tricks and indie credibility, the Modfather (1979 version) picks up his Rickenbacker and lets rip. “From The Floorboards Up” is actually a tightly wrapped swagger of closely cropped beats and snappy guitars, all neatly imprinted with Wellers backbiting (for a 40+ popstar) vocals. The acoustic exploits of “Oranges And Rosewater” are actually quite nice and show that Paul Weller can still mix hard boiled fuzztones with more delicate tomes. The whole thing does drift off into an Arabian desert theme for a while but in truth this single is his best for a while and deserves a chart placing.
[color=#800080]http://www.indielondon.co.uk/music/mu_recommended_cd_singles.html
PAUL WELLER – FROM THE FLOORBOARDS UP: Paul Weller returns with a track he describes himself as ‘two minutes and 25 seconds of rock ‘n’ roll’. From The Floorboards Up begins with a choppy opening riff and dancefloor tempo before launching into a hard-driving Weller classic – the sort that draws comparisons with the recent style of Graham Coxon and which is sure to go down a storm with fans. Better still, however, is the more tender bonus track, Oranges and Rosewater, which shows the range of the artist, especially in terms of his guitar work. It contains a really enchanting melody and kicks in with a really nice Eastern rhythm about the halfway point. It’s a good mix of contrasts from Weller that demonstrates the artist has lost none of his passion for stretching himself musically.
[color=#800080]http://www.music-news.com/ShowReview.asp?nReviewID=856&nType=2&
The first single to be taken from the forthcoming album ‘As Is Now’ -released October- sees Weller step back into a rockier frame of mind. Hard edged guitars and vocals abound in ‘From The Floorboards Up’ as The Modfather returns to original material having spent time dabbling with his favourite cover versions.
At barely over two minutes the ‘A’ side makes it’s own statement, while the far more relaxed Oranges And Rosewater earmarks the characteristic smokiness of Weller’s gentler vocal line.
With a career spanning well over a generation and still only half way travelled ‘From The Floorboards Up’ charts another significant landmark as Weller continues to journey down his ‘Stanley Road’. (4/5)
[color=#800080]http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/reviews/story/0,11712,1529772,00.html
Paul Weller
St George’s Hall, Bradford
Dave Simpson
Saturday July 16, 2005
„This is dedicated to all our brothers and sisters who lost their lives in London last week,“ begins Paul Weller. „But in a strange sort of way I’d also like to dedicate it to the fucking cowards that were responsible.“ The modfather then takes up his guitar and unleashes a song as wounded, emotional and angry as anything in his canon. It’s called Savages.
Already recorded (it appears on his forthcoming album) Savages wasn’t written in response to the London bombings but sounds like it could have been. This is Weller’s art in a nutshell. He’s spent his career writing songs that are as relevant now as when they were recorded. Continuing relevancy has enabled him to survive peers, career shifts from the Jam to Style Council to solo artist and, not least, some ever-changing haircuts.
Weller looks very pleased with his latest barnet – a spiky modish mullet – but his lean, hard physical fitness and unusual bonhomie probably owes more to a rediscovered muse. It certainly seems significant that he avoids too many cushions of his greatest hits and leans on new material, much of it with a brass section. However, the spiky, angular From the Floorboards Up is a gentle reminder that Weller was checking out Gang of Four long before Franz Ferdinand. While his music ebbs and flows, his regular musicians instinctively follow his moods – even if that requires a 20-minute excursion into sublime psychedelic soul. Selections from his catalogue – especially Wild Wood’s Can You Hear Us Holy Man? – seem absurdly poignant; A Town Called Malice has never sounded as furious. But amid deafening cries for „Well-ah!“ the man hauls his band stagefront to applaud the audience. It suggests this barnstorming performance is one man’s step towards pulling everybody back together. (5/5)
[color=#800080]http://www.ericstephenson.com/2005_06_01_archive.html
In other news, Paul Weller is readying a new album for a September release. The video for the first single, „From the Floorboards Up,“ is available for viewing on his site, and I’ve been listening to it like crazy this evening. I’ll probably be well burned out on it by the time it actually hits my local shop. Weller sounds completely reinvigorated, though, and what’s more, this song doesn’t sound much like anything he’s done before. (Although I suppose an argument could be made that this is his most overtly Jam-like material since parting ways with Bruce and Rick back in the ’80s…) Looking forward to the album…
[color=#800080]http://www.thetubeclub.co.uk/film-page.shtml
Artist: Paul Weller
Track: From The Floorboards Up
Label: Solid Bond Productions
We think: ****
Release date: 18th July 2005
Notes: He’s done it again. It must be a good feeling when ur a big star like Weller, and you still have the ability to create a relevant song such as this. This will go alongside all his other classics. The tune is good and its a fine tempo to play.
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