Style Council 3: Home & Abroad

By now it should have been clear that Paul Weller wasn’t kidding about this whole Style Council thing. Two albums, as well as several singles and extended plays, seemingly erased the Jam and their sound from his memory. He was all about soul now, and proved it on stage. They were the second act at Live Aid in London, and later on tour the core duo was backed by a ten-piece band, adding horns, keyboards, bass, vocals, and more guitars. Clearly, as heard on the live Home & Abroad, the band is tight and well-arranged, but there’s a little too much “hall” ambience, so everything’s slathered in echo.

While the quality of the compositions is a matter of personal taste, a few moments stand out. “Headstart For Happiness” is the more arranged album version, and “The Whole Point Of No Return” gets a fuller backing. “With Everything To Lose” sports nice harmonies with Dee C. Lee, who is off-pitch on other parts of the album. Mick Talbot gets his vocal spot on “Homebreakers”, followed by a more relaxed, shuffling, but still snappy take on “Shout To The Top” Two songs made their album debuts: the B-side “(When You) Call Me” is adult contemporary by rote, and if you bought the cassette or CD, the swaggering EP track “The Big Boss Groove” shows off the band. (Another instrumental showcase on “Our Favourite Shop” was the other extra track.)

This was the only live Style Council album for some time, but in the following decade—after Weller’s solo career had erased both bands from his sound—another collection appeared in the UK. In Concert was sparsely packaged, but sounded a lot better, like it was mixed from soundboard recordings. Most of the tracks were recorded in 1984 or 1985, with three coming from 1987, and all from shows in the UK as well as Australia, Japan, and Germany.

Right away there are some rarities, beginning with Curtis Mayfield’s “Meeting (Over) Up Yonder” and their own “Up For Grabs”, which never got a studio recording. George Clinton’s “One Nation Under A Groove” isn’t very convincing, but the Chairmen Of The Board’s “Hanging On To A Memory” is a little better, possibly because it’s more obscure. A few B-sides get airings for the faithful: the moody “Le Depart” is a showcase for piano and trumpet; “Spring, Summer, Autumn” is just as slow but is just piano and Paul; “It Just Came To Pieces In My Hands” was practically an acoustic demo, but here is accompanied by organ and harmonies. “My Ever Changing Moods” is the more subdued piano version, and “A Stone’s Throw Away” and “Down In The Seine” are just Paul and guitar. “Money Go Round” kicks off a medley that encompasses the B-side “Soul Deep” and the “Strength Of Your Nature”; unfortunately Dee still has pitch issues. The only nod to his earlier life is “Move On Up”, which of course was a Jam B-side and live workout towards the end of that band. All together, it’s a better listen than Home & Abroad.

The Style Council Home & Abroad (1986)—2½
The Style Council In Concert (1998)—3