Paul Weller - At The BBC

Solo highs from Weller’s eversurprising sessions

Weller fans have been well served over the past decade, from Jam and Style box sets to deluxe editions of classic albums and the Bsides- and-rarities set, Fly On The Wall. A tentative 1992 radio session of Fly… opens this mammoth box set of BBC recordings: 74 tracks spanning almost two decades. Co-compiled and annotated by RC’s Lois Wilson, with involvement from Weller himself, it’s a dignified compendium of perhaps the most remarkable renaissance of any British rock artist.

Radio sessions fill two discs; the remainder draws on various live shows, a fascinating early performance from the Town & Country Club, December 1990, plus selections from the Royal Albert Hall 1992, Phoenix Festival 1995, Victoria Park 1998 and the Beeb’s own Radio Theatre from 1998.

The Jam’s BBC set, however worthwhile, offered few surprises. By contrast, Weller often used his solo sessions for Auntie Beeb to test drive new material (such as the exclusive Just Like Yesterday from said 1990 show), dust off a few old songs, have fun with cover versions, or even the rare treat of a songwriting tutorial via Radio 2’s Sold On Song. At The BBC is part of a great tradition, and this an admirable addition to that legacy.

Universal | 5311906 (4-CD)

Reviewed by John Reed
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