Against the odds, Paul Weller has entered a liberating new creative phase over the past decade or so. Once the unchanging man, obstinate brand leader for rootsy Real Ale Rock, the former Jam and Style Council frontman has broadened his sonic horizons significantly on recent albums, making some of the most adventurous and kaleidoscopic music of his long career. Embracing lavish orchestration, experimental soundscapes, left-field collaborators and electronic textures, Weller seems to have finally twigged that the great flowering of 60s pop gave him a set of tools, not rules.
Titled to reflect his upcoming landmark birthday, 66 sports a striking Pop Art cover painting by 91-year-old legend Peter Blake, his first for Weller since 1995’s Stanley Road. Lyrical and musical guests include Noel Gallagher, Bobby Gillespie, Suggs and Richard Hawley; there are enough familiar faces here to reassure Weller traditionalists. But 66 also prominently features younger talents including French art-pop producer Christophe Vaillant, electronic composer and string arranger Hannah Peel, and Brooklyn vocal trio Say She She.
