The Beach Boys - Full Sail - Various Songs (1979-1.Even more incredibly, the songs were deeply commercial and always managed to convey a sense of aspiration, never delving too heavily into the realm of obscure pop.The Ballroom - Sunshine Today - Various Songs (1967).Brad Paisley & Friends - An Acoustic Evening with.Reina del Cid & Toni Lindgren - Sunday Mornings wi.Aimee Mann - Can't You Tell - Various Songs (2013.Aimee Mann - Murder Backstage - Various Songs (201.Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & the Trinity - BBC Se.Dennis Wilson - Bambu - Alternate Version (1979).The Faces - Shake, Shudder, Shiver - Various Songs.Joe Cocker - Something's Coming On - Various Songs.Various Artists - Covered: Neil Diamond, Volume 1.Various Artists - Covered: Neil Diamond, Volume 2.Joe Cocker - Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA, 10.Bobbie Gentry - BBC Sessions, Volume 1 (1967-1968).Morgan James - Quarantunes, Volume 2 (2020).The Faces - I Came Looking for You - Various Songs.Various Artists - Covered: Robert Johnson, Volume.Beck - Wide Open - Various Songs (2014-2019).Bobbie Gentry - BBC Sessions, Volume 2 (1968-1970).Chris Hillman with Kim O'Kelly - Kip’s House, Broo.Bobbie Gentry - BBC Sessions, Volume 3 (1970-1972).Genesis - An Acoustic Evening with Genesis (1999-2.Phil Collins - VH-1 Storytellers, Los Angeles, CA.Richard Thompson - 1000 Years of Popular Music - F.Morgan James - Quarantunes, Volume 3 (2020).The Style Council - Long Hot Summer - Various Song.The Faces - The Stealer - Various Songs (1973).Aimee Mann - Aimee Acoustic Versions, Volume 1 (19.The Who - Young Vic Theatre, London, Britain, 4-26.Sly & the Family Stone - Harlem Cultural Festival.David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust - Acoustic Mixes (1972).The Style Council - Cafe Bleu - Alternate Version.
Personally, I think it's a very strong album like this. With five songs gone and four songs added, the album is now 40 minutes long. Also, "Big Boss Groove" was an excellent song that the band played in most of their concerts, and was included on their "Greatest Hits" album, so it's odd that it was only initially released as a B-side. Three are B-side, but "Shout to the Top" was an A-side that made the Top Ten in Britain.
So I've added four more songs that I didn't include on the "Long Hot Summer" stray tracks album. With five songs removed, the remainder is strong, but short, at only 26 minutes. I wouldn't mind those except a couple of them weren't very good either, and didn't even feature Paul Weller much ("Strength of Your Nature" and "Dropping Bombs on the White House"). (Specifically, I cut "Blue Cafe," "Me Ship Came In" and "A Gospel.") By (drastic) contrast, the album also included some experiments with heavy funk and rap that didn't fit with the mellow jazzy stuff whatsoever. So I've removed all but the two of those that I liked the best. There were several jazz instrumentals that were a showcase for keyboardist Mike Talbot, but most veered on sounding like Muzak and weren't that memorable.
Unfortunately for the "Cafe Bleu" album, he included songs that didn't go well together. So I've kept the good songs, removed the clunkers, and replaced them with other A- and B-sides from 1984.Īs I mentioned in my write-up for the stray tracks album mentioned above (called "Long Hot Summer"), Weller was in an experimental mode with the Style Council, largely giving up on rock in favor of different kinds of soul and jazz. Despite having all that material on singles and such, there were enough songs for a studio album at the same time, 1984's "Cafe Bleu." In my opinion, this album was very hit or miss. A few days ago, I posted a stray tracks album of 19 material from the Style Council, Paul Weller's main band during the 1980s.