| "Paul Weller deservedly regained his status as the Modfather with 
        his second solo album, Wild Wood. Actually, the album is only tangentially 
        related to mod, since Weller picks up on the classicism of his debut, 
        adding heavy elements of pastoral British folk and Traffic-styled trippiness. 
        Add to that a yearning introspection and a clean production that nevertheless 
        feels a little rustic, even homemade, and the result is his first true 
        masterwork since ending the Jam. The great irony of the record is that 
        many of the songs  "Has My Fire Really Gone Out?," "Can 
        You Heal Us (Holy Man)"  question his motivation and, as is 
        apparent in his spirited performances, he reawakened his music by writing 
        these searching songs. Though this isn't as adventurous as the Style Council, 
        it succeeds on its own terms, and winds up being a great testament from 
        an artist entering middle age. And, it helped kick off the trad rock that 
        dominated British music during the '90s." (Stephen Thomas Erlewine) |