Listening to Stanley Road after a few years is like running into an old friend - a bit awkward at first, but before long, the experience takes you back to the day you first met. And that's the point. The first two albums brought Paul Weller back to his roots, but with Stanley Road, he plants both feet on those roots and then builds something incredibly powerful from them. Whereas Wild Wood is a very personal album, Stanley Road leads off with "Changingman", a declaration that everything you hear is intended to be transformational.
And then, "Porcelain God" digs deep.
How disappointed I was
To turn out after all
Just a porcelain God
That shatters when it falls, yeah
When it falls, yeah, yeah
I shake it off and start again
Don't lose control, I tell myself
Life can take many things away
Some people will try and take it all
They'll pick off pieces as they watch you crawl
Early Jam songs like "Life From a Window" have given me a lot to think about, sure, but the maturity and wisdom in these lines, and above all, the self-awareness... really leaves you with something to chew on. Stanley Road has real substance. And the growl in Paul's voice in the Dr. John song "I Walk On Gilded Splinters"? It's what keeps me coming back.
Oh, and some Gallagher guy is playing guitar (Weller played guitar and added vocals to "Champagne Supernova" in return), Steve Winwood plays organ on a couple songs; Steve Cradock and Steve White. Lots of Steves.
Overall, with the possible exception of Setting Sons, this is the first album where, to be quite honest, I love each song more than the last.
Correction: "Wings of Speed", the track with Mick Talbot playing piano? Not my favourite. "Whirlpools' End" is a massive 7-minute extravaganza, and Stanley Road could have ended there. Still, I love this album a lot.
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