** 1/2 Paul Weller, “Paul Weller,” PolyGram....
** 1/2 Paul Weller, “Paul Weller,” PolyGram. The debut solo album from the former leader of the Jam and the Style Council is his best work in years--soulful, mature and well crafted. But it is also a near-miss. While cuts like “Bull-Rush” and “I Didn’t Mean to Hurt You” are pure delights, other songs lack the inspiration needed to rise above competent and stand dangerously close to the border that separates mellow from drowsy.
New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).
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