Say what you like about Paul Weller but you have to admit the man gives good B-Side. Both The Jam and The Style Council's singles always guaranteed a fantastic flipside.
Indeed, even with the coming of the shiny CD, while others used the new fangled format to fob the public off with endless remixes of the same song, a solo Weller's heart was still in the land of vinyl, striving to give punters those little hidden gems to accompany title tracks.
Which is what makes 'Fly On The Wall' such a cracking album. OK, so there are a few remixes scattered across the two CDs (there's also a bonus third CD of covers, more of which later) but thanks to Weller's prolific muse, there are leftover songs here worthy of being singles themselves.
Spanning Weller's time with Go! Discs and Island, 'Fly On The Wall' takes the chronological route. CD1 largely deals with the transitional period from band leader to solo artist as Weller finds his feet. Hence the Style Council feel of the upbeat, acid jazzy groove of 'Here's A New Thing' and the instrumentals 'That Spritual Feeling', 'Arrival Time' and 'Another New Day'. The title track meanwhile is a Weller classic - beautiful, dreamy acoustic, poetic folk.
Other corkers here include a live reworking of the jaunty, jazzy 'All Year Round' (original B-side of The Style Council's 'It Didn't Matter') the uplifting love song 'Ends Of The Earth' and a deeply dubby, Portishead mix of 'Wild Wood'.
Next up, among its many highlights, CD2 features the gorgeously plaintive acoustic strummings of 'The Loved', the tender, string quartet melancholy of 'A Year Late', the breezy Sixties pop feel of 'Right Underneath It', an ominously trippy Noonday Underground remix of 'There's No Drinking After You're Dead' and 'The Riverbank' (a mighty fine updating of the B-side Of The Jam's 'Absolute Beginners').
Covers compilation CD3 could be released as an album in its own right. After all Bowie did it with 'Pin-Ups'. Ironically, this collection is titled 'Button Down''s. Geddit? There are twelve fine interpretations here including Neil Young's 'Ohio' ( a Weller live favourite), The Beatles' 'Sexy Sadie' and 'Instant Karma' and Bob Dylan's 'I shall Be Released'.
Treated best here though are Traffic's rousing, rootsy 'Feelin' Alright', the simple folk of Tim Hardin's 'Black Sheep Boy', Etta James' sublimely soulful 'I'd Rather Go Blind', the dark, eerie pop of Cher's 'Bang Bang' and the impassioned, gritty plea of Lennon and McCartney's 'Don't Let Me Down'. Sadly noticeable by its absence is The Small Faces' 'Tin Soldier'.
Recently signed to V2, one of this country's greatest songwriting talents begins a new chapter in a career that spans nearly thirty years. That for a moment, Weller was without a record deal is unthinkable. And, while we're waiting for a new studio album, this ideal companion to 1998's hits collection 'Modern Classics' is the perfect reminder of what the man can do. Even when he's just writing B-sides...
by Gary Crossing