Here’s a clip of Jam head-honcho, Style Councilman, and all-around modfather Paul Weller, with the title track off of his second official solo album.  It’s “Wild Wood”, as taken from 1993’s LP of the same name,  Wild Wood.

Paul Weller was something of a wunderkind, forming the Jam in the late 70s while still a teen, and defining a sound that drew from punk, yet also from mod-era British Invasion too.  And later, he would explore the flipside of mod culture when his next band, the Style Council, fashioned a sound initially from soul music, R&B grooves, with a sprinkling of Parisian jazz for good measure.  That band would wander stylistically by the end of the 1980s, with critical praise diminishing as they did so. By the end of the decade, the Style Council was dissolved.

Yet, Weller was above all things a songwriter, despite his interest in being a bandleader with ambitions that perhaps outweighed that of his groups.  It was time to strike out on his own as a solo artist, getting to the core of his own skill as a writer of pop songs.  By 1993’s Wild Wood album,  his embrace of becoming a singer-songwriter produced more stylistic departures, with his sound being more akin to late-60s Traffic more than to either punk or soul music.

He would release higher profile albums after this, but this is the one which solidified him as an enduring figure in British rock music.  Weller would be instrumental in inspiring bands like Ocean Colour Scene, Oasis, and many others to reach further back into rock history to make vibrant new music.

Recently, Paul Weller lost his father John Weller who had also been his long-time manager from his Jam days until very recently.  You can offer your condolences at the official Paul Weller website.

To hear more music, take a wander over to the Paul Weller MySpace page.

Enjoy!