Paul Weller

誰是英國搖滾樂壇除David Bowie之外最著名的變色龍？答案是Paul Weller，他不但樂風(fēng)變化無常，連政治信仰也不斷改變……
 
從1976年組建The Jam樂隊、1982年組建Style Council樂隊到1990年以個人名義獨立發(fā)展，再到今年的他個人第五張錄音室專輯《Heliocentric》(日心)，其間經(jīng)歷了朋克、Motown式靈歌、Acid－Jazz、House、R＆B、Funky、民謠、電子、布魯斯搖滾等多次樂風(fēng)的變化，簡直讓人眼花繚亂。
 
在政治上他從早年的保守黨支持者搖身變?yōu)楣h狂熱分子，從70年代的朋克憤怒青年到90年代的具有濃厚的自省色彩的搖滾浪人，在不斷的變變變中走過一條曲折并深具典型意義的人生軌跡。從榮耀到沉淪，再從沉淪到榮耀，Paul Weller完成了從憤怒的搖滾青年到成熟的搖滾大師的蛻變。
 
從1976年迄今，Paul Weller剛好走過了四分之一世紀(jì)的發(fā)展歷程，其間可以清晰地分為The Jam、Style Council、個人發(fā)展3個階段。
 
1976年，Paul Weller和吉他手Steve Brooks(當(dāng)年離隊)、貝司手Bruce Foxton、鼓手Rick Buckler組建了The Jam樂隊，隨即匯入由The Sex Pistols引發(fā)的英國朋克浪潮，但與The Sex Pistols的街頭無產(chǎn)者形象大異其趣，The Jam時髦光鮮的發(fā)型裝束以及對演奏設(shè)備、技術(shù)的講究，使他們看上去與朋克的原型迥然不同。但這似乎并不妨礙他們在次年推出的充滿攻擊性的首張專輯《In The City》(在城市里)贏得《The Rolling Stones》雜志給予的4星好評。The Jam在朋克運動沸騰的時刻站到了搖滾的樂壇的最前沿。
 
隨后的《This Is The Modern World》(摩登世界，1977)、《All Mod Cons》(所有時髦的反面，1978)、《Setting Sons》(安排兒孫，1979)、《Sound Affects》(聲音效果，1980)、《The Gift》(禮物，1982)，一連6張專輯均獲得了商業(yè)上的成功。在使朋克樂從街頭的地下文化發(fā)展為一種時髦的流行文化的過程中，The Jam起了很大的作用。1982年底，The Jam在推出一張現(xiàn)場錄音精選唱片《Dig The New Breed》(發(fā)掘新品種)之后宣告解散。
 
Paul Weller的對于以后英國吉他搖滾的影響以及自身那十足的魅力能夠讓他在歷史上與Lennon, Harrison等并肩。The Style Council時Jazz曲風(fēng)結(jié)合Pop旋律，好聽得完全讓你無法想像，他和The Jam里的Paul Weller同一個人！于90年代仍然能煥發(fā)出的老而彌堅的音樂感染力。但最吸引人的恐怕還是The Jam時期的張張經(jīng)典。
 
一顆永遠不老的心，一頭永遠亮順的mod短發(fā)，一套瘦身并稍小的西裝，伴隨著一把充滿磁性的好嗓。誰與爭峰？
 
As the leader of the Jam, Paul Weller fronted the most popular British band of the punk era, influencing legions of English rockers that ranged from his mod revival contemporaries to the Smiths in the '80s and Oasis in the '90s. During the final days of the Jam, he developed a fascination with Motown and soul, which led him to form the sophisti-pop group the Style Council in 1983. As the Style Council's career progressed, Weller's interest in soul developed into an infatuation with jazz-pop and house music, which eventually led to gradual erosion of his audience — by 1990, he couldn't get a record contract in the U.K., where he had previously been worshipped as a demigod. As a solo artist, Weller returned to soul music as an inspiration, cutting it with the progressive, hippie tendencies of Traffic. Weller's solo records were more organic and rootsier than the Style Council's, which helped him regain his popularity within Britain. By the mid-'90s, he had released three successful albums that were both critically acclaimed and massively popular in England, where contemporary bands like Ocean Colour Scene were citing him as an influence. Just as importantly, many observers, while occasionally criticizing the trad rock nature of his music, acknowledged that Weller was one of the few rock veterans who had managed to stay vital within the second decade of his career.
 
Weller's climb back to the top of the charts was not easy. After Polydor rejected the Style Council's fifth, house-influenced album in 1989, Weller broke up the group and lost both his record contract and his publishing deal. Over the next two years, he was in seclusion as he revamped his music. In 1991, he formed the Paul Weller Movement and released &Into Tomorrow& on his own independent label, Freedom High Records. A soulful, gritty neo-psychedelic song that represented a clear break from the Style Council, &Into Tomorrow& reached the U.K. Top 40 that spring, and he supported the single with an international tour, where he worked out the material that comprised his eponymous 1992 solo debut. Recorded with producer Brendan Lynch, Paul Weller was a joyous, soulful return to form that was recorded with several members of the Young Disciples, former Blow Monkey Dr. Robert, and Weller's then-wife, Dee C. Lee. The album debuted at number eight on the U.K. charts, and was received with positive reviews.
 
Wild Wood, Weller's second solo album, confirmed that the success of his solo debut was no fluke. Recorded with Ocean Colour Scene guitarist Steve Cradock, Wild Wood was a more eclectic and ambitious effort than its predecessor, and it was greeted with enthusiastic reviews, and entered the charts at number two upon its fall 1993 release. The album would win the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contemporary Song Collection the following year. Weller supported the album with an extensive tour that featured Cradock as the group's leader; the guitarist's exposure on Wild Wood helped him successfully relaunch Ocean Colour Scene in 1995. At the end of the tour, Weller released the live album Live Wood late in 1994. Preceded by &The Changingman,& which became his 17th Top Ten hit, 1995's Stanley Road was his most successful album since the Jam, entering the charts at number one and eventually selling nearly a million copies in the U.K.
 
By this point, Weller decided to stop attempting to break the United States and canceled his North American tour. Of course, he was doing so well in the England he didn't need to set his sights outside of the U.K.. Stanley Road may have been greeted with mixed reviews, but Weller had been re-elevated to his status as an idol, with the press claiming that he was the father of the thriving Britpop movement, and artists like Noel Gallagher of Oasis singing his praises. In fact, while neither artist released a new album in 1996, Weller's and Gallagher's influence was felt throughout the British music scene, as roots-oriented, '60s bands like Ocean Colour Scene, Cast, and Kula Shaker became the most popular groups in the U.K.
 
Weller returned in the summer of 1997 with Heavy Soul. Modern Classics: Greatest Hits followed a year later. Heliocentric — which at the time of its release he claimed was his final studio effort — appeared in the spring of 2000. The live record Days of Speed followed in 2001, and he released his sixth studio album, Illumination, in 2002. The covers record Studio 150 appeared in 2004. As Is Now arrived in October of 2005 on Yep Roc. The live album Catch-Flame! followed in 2006.