Style to burn on EP

Press, 10 November 1983, Page 14

Style to burn on EP

“Introducing THE STYLE COUNCIL" (Polydor 8152771) The long hot summer arrives in the air and in the ears ... quick nurse, the superlatives! Paul Weller has leapt into the mainstream with The Style Council, and, surprisingly, it is a ..Great Leap Forward from The Jam. First, “Speak Like a Child,” now “Long Hot Summer,” “Headstart for Happiness” and “Money-Go-Round.” Leaving blind faith and Elvis Costello aside, do you know another artist with this consistency?

The second councillor is Mick Talbot, who is creating a stir of his own in Britain by pushing the Happy Hammond (organ) back into the grooves. The Style Council IS partnership — Talbot goes pleasantly mad on “Mick’s Up,” and broods in candlelight on “Le Depart” (on the cassette only).

Now outside the strict confines of a group, Weller has relaxed the best tunes of his career are emerging. His back-cover prose, as “The Cappuchino Kid” is strictly Greenwich Village, but this is not a record to look at, it is THE one to play (this week at least). “It’s the system, hate the

system, what’s the system?? ... “Saturday’s Kids” was years ago, but that system appears more often in The Style Council than in The Jam. “Money-Go-Round” bites hardest and lasts longest, as we are invited to “watch your money go round ...”

On the original sleeve of that 45, Weller reviewed the lyrics, verse by verse. The way to beat the Establishment was to form lasting bonds with fellow men, he said. It’s nice to know that he can still be naive with this “let’s work together” stuff on the covers. That’s not harsh — who is working together in 1983? “Long Hot Summer” is just gorgeous ... a deft slash of the hi-hat, four keys down on the synth, and we’re drifting downriver with The Style Council for seven glorious minutes. For the version on the second side of the EP, there’s another six-minute trip. If a shirtless Weller frolicking on the riverbank (check the video) doesn’t convince you that this is worth buying, what will?? The best facet of “Introducing ... is the variety. Cassette buyers get the bonus of “Le Depart” and “Party Chambers,” the B-

side of the “Speak Like a Child” 45. But even on vinyl, The Style Council seem to dig deeper than the inevitable ‘ballad,” “faster one,” and so on.

“Long Hot Summer” is a swoon; “Paris Match” an almost-MOR tune that Bread wouldn’t have messed up 12 years ago (and catch that accordion solo!); “Speak Like a Child” owes much to Philadelphia soul, with its “Backfield in Motion” burst; “Money-Go-Round” is funk-as-fury; “Headstart for Happiness” recalls the acoustic beauty of “That’s Entertainment”; and Memphis (Booker T., not Elvis) wins a nod on “Mick’s Up.” Do you believe what you read? Than buy “Introducing The Style Council,” and believe your ears too.

BIG COUNTRY “The Crossing” (Polygram BIGA--1) Big Country would once have been lost in the rock flock. But they now present one intelligent alternative to synthesiser prettiness, and stand a chance of being as popular as U2 by this time next year. The guitarist, Stuart Adamson, was the nucleus of The Skids (from Scotland), with Richard Jobson. There is a direct link in the

guitar sounds of both bands. “The Crossing” is a strong album, which, like “War,” brings “rock” into the 1980 s without flinching.

Each of the twelve tracks thunders along, with occasional Celtic touches. “Angle Park” is pure Bruce Springsteen, and most of the rest swing on Adamson’s instrument. Big Country' have the problem of sameness on the album, there’s little evidence of pacing. But their word can’t be spread in any other manner, it seems.

Those who buy the cassette version get a bonus of twelve-inch mixes of the two best efforts “Fields of Fire” and “In a Big Country.”

The former, already set to bound into the singles chart, is excellent on either version, with a typical Skids wind-up into the chorus. “In a Big Country” is not as heavy, but its restraint is its ace. Both are doubly dangerous through excellent drumming and percussion, effects which last the album.

With a bit less lead in the beat, the future for Big Country is bright, and the album’s not bad. DAVID SWIFT