Stanley Road
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''Stanley Road'' is the third solo studio
album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by the English singer-songwriter and musician
Paul Weller John William Weller (born 25 May 1958), better known as Paul Weller, is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame in the late 1970s as the guitarist and principal singer and songwriter of the rock band the Jam, alongside ...
, released by
Go! Discs Go! Discs was a London-based record label, launched in 1983 from offices in Wendell Road, Shepherd's Bush, by Andy Macdonald and Lesley Symons. The pair founded the label after Macdonald left his job as press officer at Stiff Records, and Sy ...
in 1995. The album took its name from the street in
Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...
where Weller grew up. Weller's
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of the song " I Walk on Guilded Splinters" was featured in the series ending montage of ''
The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...
s fourth series end, Final Grades. On 30 May 2005, a three-disc 10th anniversary deluxe edition of the album was released by
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...
. The expanded edition included demos, live and BBC session recordings and a DVD documentary directed by Simon Halfon which featured interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and music videos.


Artwork

The album's cover collage was created by the artist Peter Blake, co-designer of
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
' '' Sgt Pepper's'' album artwork (album package design for Weller was supervised by his long-term associate Simon Halfon).


Collaborations

The album features contributions from several notable collaborators, including
Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Gallagher is the primary songwriter, lead guitarist and a co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis. After leaving Oasis, he formed Noel ...
(then of
Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentSteve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a guitarist, keyboard player, and vocalist prominent for his dis ...
(formerly of
the Spencer Davis Group The Spencer Davis Group were a British blues and R&B influenced rock band formed in Birmingham in 1963 by Spencer Davis (guitar), brothers Steve Winwood (vocals, keyboards, and guitar) and Muff Winwood (bass guitar), and Pete York (drums). ...
and
Traffic Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...
), who performs on the songs "Woodcutter's Son" and "Pink on White Walls". Weller is also joined by long-time collaborators Steve Cradock (co-founder of
Ocean Colour Scene Ocean Colour Scene (often abbreviated to OCS) is an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1989. They have had five top 10 albums, including a number one in 1997. They have also achieved seventeen top 40 singles and six top 10 singles to d ...
) and Steve White (
the Style Council The Style Council were an English pop band formed in Woking in 1982 by Paul Weller, the former lead vocalist, principal songwriter and guitarist with the rock band the Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previously a member of Dexys Midnight Ru ...
). The album was co-produced by Brendan Lynch, who had also worked on Weller's previous two solo albums, ''
Paul Weller John William Weller (born 25 May 1958), better known as Paul Weller, is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame in the late 1970s as the guitarist and principal singer and songwriter of the rock band the Jam, alongside ...
'' and ''
Wild Wood ''Wild Wood'' is the second solo studio album by Paul Weller, released in September 1993. It made it to number 2 on the UK Albums Chart, and contained four UK hits: "Wild Wood (Paul Weller song), Wild Wood", which reached number 14 on the UK ch ...
''.


Critical reception

Ted Kessler, in his contemporary, May 1995 review for ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'', felt that the album was "doggedly retro and straight ahead" – an "old fart rockin' blues record" in the style of
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
, though with "just enough edge to keep you tuned". Evelyn McDonnell, in a July 1995 review for ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'', noted the collaborations with musicians such as Steve Winwood and Noel Gallagher, commenting that "Weller's work supplies the connecting link between several generations of British rock and soul", and that Weller's session band were able to lay down "some admirably funky grooves". However, she felt that "Weller takes his musical bombast to Springsteenian levels at points. And his attempt to return to populist roots sinks well below Springsteenian levels of banality".


Legacy

In 1998 ''Q'' magazine readers voted it the 46th greatest album of all time. In a retrospective summary for ''
Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...
'' in 2008, John Reed commented that "''Stanley Road'' remained the apex of Weller's career in terms of commercial success".


Track listing

All songs written by
Paul Weller John William Weller (born 25 May 1958), better known as Paul Weller, is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame in the late 1970s as the guitarist and principal singer and songwriter of the rock band the Jam, alongside ...
, except where noted.


Vinyl version

All songs written by
Paul Weller John William Weller (born 25 May 1958), better known as Paul Weller, is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame in the late 1970s as the guitarist and principal singer and songwriter of the rock band the Jam, alongside ...
, except where noted.


Personnel

*Paul Weller – vocals (1–12), guitar (1–7, 9–11), piano (1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 11, 12), percussion (1, 3, 5),
Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...
(3, 5, 8, 10), Novatron (4),
Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
(8, 9) * Dr. Robert – bass (1, 2, 6, 11), backing vocals (1, 2) *Mark Nelson – bass (3, 5, 8, 10) * Yolanda Charles – bass (4, 7, 9) * Steve White – drums (1–11), percussion (3, 5) * Steve Cradock – guitar (1, 2, 6), backing vocals (1, 11), acoustic and electric guitar (11) * Brendan Lynch – Cyremin (1, 11),
Mini-Moog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popula ...
(7), tambourine and accordion (8), finger cymbals (10) *
Carleen Anderson Carleen Cassandra Anderson (born May 10, 1957) is an American musician. She was the vocalist, composer, and musician for the Young Disciples and is known for her numerous, varied collaborations. Her solo career began in 1992. She is credited w ...
 – backing vocals (1, 5, 8), vocals (9, 12) *
Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Gallagher is the primary songwriter, lead guitarist and a co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis. After leaving Oasis, he formed Noel ...
 – acoustic guitar (3) *Constantine Wier – voodoo vocal (3) *Helen Turner – Hammond organ (4, 6, 9), Novatron strings (6, 7, 9, 11) *
Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a guitarist, keyboard player, and vocalist prominent for his dis ...
 – piano (5, 10), Hammond organ and Wurlitzer (5) *David Liddle – acoustic slide guitar (5) *
Mick Talbot Michael Talbot (born 11 September 1958) is an English keyboardist. He was a co-founder of the Style Council with Paul Weller, and has also been a member of Dexys Midnight Runners, the Merton Parkas and The Bureau (band), the Bureau. Career ...
 –
Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...
(8), Hammond organ and
pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...
(12) *Joy Hawley – cello (12)


Charts


Certifications


References

{{Authority control 1995 albums Paul Weller albums Go! Discs albums Albums with cover art by Peter Blake (artist)