The Style Council: My Ever Changing Moods (Cafe Bleu USA release) (Geffen)
Jon Young, Creem, July 1984
GRANTED, THAT Paul Weller is a talented guy who can concoct swell rock songs and crank out a pretty fair guitar lick. But the truth is that he's one poor singer. Of course, that never really mattered in the glory days of the Jam, since most of Weller's tunes needed nothing more than a flair for shouting. And Paul certainly does bellow with authority.
This here Style Council is a different story entirely, though. Having dismissed rock 'n' roll (and his fellow Jams) as no longer worthy of his valuable time, Weller has joined forces with keyboardist Mick Talbot to make a little soul music and do some real singing. Big mistake! If you thought the later Jam was muddled, get an earful of My Ever Changing Moods.
Why? Well, in much the same way that Almost Blue flopped because Elvis Costello just doesn't have the supple country pipes of a George Jones, My Ever Changing Moods fizzles because Weller can't begin to mimic an Al Green or a Levi Stubbs. (Simple physics, if you will.) Hell, he can't even do a decent imitation of Hall & Oates or K.C.! For example, 'The Whole Point Of No Return' features a solo Weller gently stroking his guitar and turning in an impassioned protest against injustice. But his pitch recalls amateur night at the coffee house, and the forced spontaneity of his "doo-dee-doo-dee" trilling is just plain embarrassing. Even worse is 'You're The Best Thing', which contains enough lousy scat singing and falsetto crooning to qualify as toxic waste.
When Weller keeps his mouth shut, the LP takes a decided turn for the better. 'Blue Café' mates exquisite after-hours guitar with oozing strings to create a romantic jewel worthy of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. Guest chanteuse Tracey Thorn coos to cocktail-lounge perfection on 'The Paris Match', this despite being sabotaged by self conscious lyrics like "I'm only sad in a natural way/And I sometimes enjoy feeling this way." Even the fake '50s bop of 'Dropping Bombs On The White House' provides a bit of second-rate fun via a lively trumpet-sax duel.
You may have gathered that My Ever Changing Moods lacks focus. This irritating flitting from one style to another reaches a sorry nadir with 'A Gospel', a self-righteous rap (by "Dizzy Hite," no less), and 'Strength Of Your Nature', which takes Sly Stone's 'Dance To The Music' and beats it to a pulp. The point? You're supposed to marvel at the versatility. OK, we admit it Paul Weller does a lot of different things. Badly.
No doubt about it, this boy is confused. And angry, too. He expresses his distaste for the system in surprisingly violent terms, such as, "Governed by evil and all it will bring/I can't wait for the day they do the lamp post swing." Hold on a second. How can Paul Weller have the gall to consider himself a spokesman for the disadvantaged? He's one of the biggest pop stars in England; here in the States, he has the support of mighty Geffen Records. A tough life indeed.
Weller's legion of British fans might choose to regard My Ever Changing Moods as a major event. Here in the U.S.A., though, without the influence of the herd, it's just half-baked mediocrity by someone who's not as cool as he thinks he is. Good riddance.
© Jon Young, 1984