release date: May 24, 2024
format: digital (12 x File, FLAC)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]
producer: Paul Weller
label: Polydor - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 1. "Ship of Fools" - 2. "Flying Fish" - 4. "Nothing" (4 / 5) - 5. "My Best Friend's Coat" - 6. "Rise Up Singing" - 7. "I Woke Up" - 9. "Sleepy Hollow" - 11. "Soul Wandering" (4 / 5)
17th studio album by Paul Weller following three years after Fat Pop (Volume 1) (May 2021) is not the perhaps expected Volume 2, when focussing on the title - it's more than close enough though, 'cause fact is, Weller certainly has found his melody treasure box in recent years and simply seems unable to make an unrelevant album. By the way, 66 has a double meaning in that it both refers to the year 1966 and a time when music came through as something in strong growth, production-wise, terms of more fully arrangements, and to specific soul-hits of that year - the front cover art by Peter Blake (who also made the cover for Stanley Road) sets the tone of that particular year quite nicely - and then of course the title hints at his current age. The album is released the day before his 66th birthday and it's Weller's first in a long series not to feature his near usual musical kindred: engineer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and co-composer Jan 'Stan' Kybert; however, the album both feature stable instrumentalists as well as several more prominent appearances, which count Suggs (aka Graham McPherson of Madness), Bobby Gillespie (of Primal Scream), Christophe Vaillant (of Le SuperHomard), Erland Copper, Steve Cradock, Noel Gallagher, Richard Hawley, Dr. Robert (aka Robert Howard), and Hannah Peel. For this, Weller has both written and composed, but also with inspiration from other songwriters found matching melodies, or simply co-written songs with various others. The remarkable side to that is a strong coherent collection of diverse songs, where Weller's vocal hardly ever sounded this expressive.
The album might as well be titled 'Volume 2 (66)' or something similar as it takes up the baton from the 2021 album. It's not strictly from the same night out on town as the '21 album came with more uptempo songs and this one appears more of a mellow-mooded breed - perhaps followed by a melancholy considering all the years gone by? Some tracks contain a certain The Style Council touch, at least when speaking Café Bleu-period quality, a nostalgic tendency also found on his most recent predecessors. And generally speaking, it's a well-balanced album soothing in blue and misty colours of softness that nevertheless still welcomes you inside with the impossible mix of musical aristocracy and working-class appeal and with a strong sense for stylistic diversity without losing one bit of coherency. On top of that, the melodies stand next to one another seeking your attention - it's simply filled with strong songs and already applies for the title as one of his majors. Impressive, that's what this is, and naturally highly recommended.
