The Style Council - Long Hot Summers: The Story of The Style Council ⅘
Way back in 1982 Paul Weller did the unthinkable and broke many a person’s heart.
He split up The Jam.
The Jam had gone from strength to strength and were riding a wave of critical and commercial acclaim. Their last nine singles had all gone top ten (‘That’s Entertainment’ stalled at number 21 but that was only because it was an import not released in the UK. A major feat in itself) so the announcement came as a major shock to the music fans of the time (Non more shocked than our dear editor in chief himself) Weller stating that he wanted to go out on a high with the band. The question was what would come next?
The answer is The Style Council. More soulful and experimental than The Jam, he linked up with former Merton Parkas keyboardist Mick Talbot to flesh out the songs and continue the direction his former band had been dabbling with at the end of their journey.
At the time the band were met with some confusion as to what they were about and often derided by the music press for the simple crime of not being The Jam.
However almost forty years has passed (The equivalent of listening to Bill Haley and the Comets at the time of The KLF and The Shamen) and it's time to re-evaluate this stylish outfit to see if time has been kind?
Pleasingly it has been, The Style Council fit into today’s music rather well. The warm, lazy synths of ‘Long Hot Summer’ still convey ice cream days vividly while the sprightly pace of ‘My Ever Changing Moods’ with its acid jazz feel and tidy horn section still stands a lovely little pop gem.
This compilation sprawls throughout the discography of The Style Council picking up little treasures scattered amongst the more familiar songs. An early version of ‘Headstart For Happiness’ from their first import EP (mini lp as Boots record section in Salford call it), kicks things off in a jaunty manner while ‘The Piccadilly Trail’ is a calming number, a b-side from the single Shout to the Top which itself is off the album ‘Our Favourite Shop’ still has sparkle.
It is of course the big hits you’ve come for and they still stand tall. ‘Speak Like A Child’, ‘You’re The Best Thing’, ‘Solid Bond In Your Heart’, ‘Walls Come Tumbling Down’ et al all still pack a punch and reveal a much more playful and creative side to Weller that hasn’t been seen as much through his solo years.
‘Long Hot Summers’ is a very timely reminder that in music sometimes if you’re too ahead of the game even by a fraction it can lead to indifference but the reissue of these songs has illuminated them in a different light to show what a great band The Style Council really were and how far they took it from soulful jazzy pop up to house grooves before going their separate ways and leaving an interesting if sometimes confusing back catalogue which while maybe not consistent was always at the very least, stylish.