Stanley Road

Stanley Road
Studio album by
Paul Weller
ReleasedMay 1995
StudioThe Manor Studios (Oxfordshire)
Length52:10
LabelGo! Discs
Producer
Paul Weller chronology
Live Wood
(1994) 		Stanley Road
(1995) 		Heavy Soul
(1997)
Paul Weller chronology
Studio 150
(2004) 		Stanley Road (10th Anniversary Edition)
(2005) 		As Is Now
(2005)
Singles from Stanley Road
  1. "Out of the Sinking"
    Released: 1994
  2. "The Changingman"
    Released: April 1995
  3. "You Do Something to Me"
    Released: July 1995
  4. "Broken Stones"
    Released: September 1995
10th anniversary edition cover

Stanley Road is the third solo studio album by the English singer-songwriter and musician Paul Weller, released by Go! Discs in 1995. The album took its name from the street in Woking where Weller grew up.[1][2] Weller's cover version of the song "I Walk on Guilded Splinters" was featured in the series ending montage of The Wire's fourth series end, Final Grades.

On 30 May 2005, a three-disc 10th anniversary deluxe edition of the album was released by Island Records. The expanded edition included demos, live and BBC session recordings and a DVD documentary directed by Simon Halfon which featured interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and music videos.

Artwork

The album's cover collage was created by the artist Peter Blake, designer of The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's album artwork (album package design for Weller was supervised by his long-term associate Simon Halfon).

Collaborations

The album features contributions from several notable collaborators, including Noel Gallagher (then of Oasis), who appears playing acoustic guitar on "I Walk on Gilded Splinters", and Steve Winwood (formerly of the Spencer Davis Group and Traffic), who performs on the songs "Woodcutter's Son" and "Pink on White Walls". Weller is also joined by long-time collaborators Steve Cradock (co-founder of Ocean Colour Scene) and Steve White (the Style Council).

The album was co-produced by Brendan Lynch, who had also worked on Weller's previous two solo albums, Paul Weller and Wild Wood.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[5]
The Guardian[6]
NME6/10[7]
Record Collector[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
Spin[10]
Uncut[11]

Ted Kessler, in his contemporary, May 1995 review for NME, felt that the album was "doggedly retro and straight ahead" – an "old fart rockin' blues record" in the style of Eric Clapton, though with "just enough edge to keep you tuned".[7]

Evelyn McDonnell, in a July 1995 review for Rolling Stone, noted the collaborations with musicians such as Steve Winwood and Noel Gallagher, commenting that "Weller's work supplies the connecting link between several generations of British rock and soul", and that Weller's session band were able to lay down "some admirably funky grooves". However, she felt that "Weller takes his musical bombast to Springsteenian levels at points. And his attempt to return to populist roots sinks well below Springsteenian levels of banality".[9]

Legacy

In 1998 Q magazine readers voted it the 46th greatest album of all time.[citation needed] In a retrospective summary for Record Collector in 2008, John Reed commented that "Stanley Road remained the apex of Weller's career in terms of commercial success".[8]

Track listing

All songs written by Paul Weller, except where noted.

Stanley Road track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Changingman"Brendan Lynch, Paul Weller4:02
2."Porcelain Gods" 4:51
3."I Walk on Gilded Splinters"John Creaux (Dr. John)5:24
4."You Do Something to Me" 3:38
5."Woodcutter's Son" 4:43
6."Time Passes..." 4:56
7."Stanley Road" 4:18
8."Broken Stones" 3:16
9."Out of the Sinking" 3:51
10."Pink on White Walls" 2:39
11."Whirlpools' End" 7:11
12."Wings of Speed" 3:13
10th anniversary edition (Disc 1: Bonus Tracks)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Sexy Sadie"John Lennon, Paul McCartney2:41
14."I'd Rather Go Blind"Bill Foster, Ellington Jordan4:09
15."It's a New Day, Baby" 2:12
16."I Didn't Mean to Hurt You" (Live) 3:51
17."My Whole World Is Falling Down" (BBC Radio 1 The Evening Sessions version)Bettye Crutcher, Booker T. Jones3:21
18."A Year Late" 4:18
19."Woodcutter's Son" (BBC Radio 1 The Evening Sessions version) 4:20
10th anniversary edition (Disc 2: B-Sides and Demos)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Trident Jam" (Take 3)Paul Weller, Steve White1:37
2."Pink on White Walls" (Demo 2) 3:25
3."Porcelain Gods" (8 track demo) 4:46
4."Broken Stones" (Demo 1) 3:06
5."Wings of Speed" (8 track demo) 2:42
6."The Changingman" (8 track demo)Brendan Lynch, Paul Weller4:21
7."Everyone Must Have a Purpose" 2:38
8."You Do Something to Me" (Demo 3) 3:32
9."A Year Late" (Demo 1) 4:11
10."Whirlpools' End/Steam" (Alternative version)Brendan Lynch, Paul Weller4:00
11."Gtr + Moog Jam" (Demo) 1:25
12."Corrina, Corrina"Traditional, arranged by Jesse Ed Davis, Taj Mahal2:52
13."Out on the Weekend"Neil Young2:58
14."Time Passes..." (Demo 2) 3:21
15."Time Passes..." (Demo 3) 3:33
16."Wings of Speed" (Demo 2) 3:14
17."Stanley Road" (Demo 1) 5:15
18."Woodcutter's Son" (8 track demo) 3:48
19."Porcelain Gods" (Instrumental) 5:33
10th anniversary edition (Disc 3: Broke 'n' Stoned – Stanley Road Revisited)
No.TitleLength
1."Broke 'n' Stoned"30:15
2."Out of the Sinking"3:59
3."The Changingman"3:28
4."You Do Something to Me"3:44
5."Broken Stones"3:22

Vinyl version

All songs written by Paul Weller, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Changingman"Brendan Lynch, Paul Weller4:02
2."Porcelain Gods" 4:51
3."I Walk on Gilded Splinters"John Creaux5:24
4."You Do Something to Me" 3:38
5."Woodcutter's Son" 4:43
6."Time Passes..." 4:56
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Stanley Road"4:18
2."Broken Stones"3:16
3."Out of the Sinking"3:51
4."Pink on White Walls"2:39
5."Whirlpools' End"7:11
6."Wings of Speed"3:13

Personnel

  • Paul Weller – vocals (1–12), guitar (1–7, 9–11), piano (1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 11, 12), percussion (1, 3, 5), Hammond organ (3, 5, 8, 10), Novatron (4), Wurlitzer (8, 9)
  • Dr. Robert – bass (1, 2, 6, 11), backing vocals (1, 2)
  • Mark Nelson – bass (3, 5, 8, 10)
  • Yolanda Charles – bass (4, 7, 9)
  • Steve White – drums (1–11), percussion (3, 5)
  • Steve Cradock – guitar (1, 2, 6), backing vocals (1, 11), acoustic and electric guitar (11)
  • Brendan Lynch – Cyremin (1, 11), Mini-Moog (7), tambourine and accordion (8), finger cymbals (10)
  • Carleen Anderson – backing vocals (1, 5, 8), vocals (9, 12)
  • Noel Gallagher – acoustic guitar (3)
  • Constantine Wier – voodoo vocal (3)
  • Helen Turner – Hammond organ (4, 6, 9), Novatron strings (6, 7, 9, 11)
  • Steve Winwood – piano (5, 10), Hammond organ and Wurlitzer (5)
  • David Liddle – acoustic slide guitar (5)
  • Mick Talbot – Fender Rhodes (8), Hammond organ and pipe organ (12)
  • Joy Hawley – cello (12)

Charts

Chart performance for Stanley Road
Chart (1995) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] 65
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 18
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 37
UK Albums (OCC)[15] 1

Certifications

Sales certifications for Stanley Road
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[16] 4× Platinum 1,200,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Paul Weller". Woking YMCA. Archived from the original on 27 August 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  2. ^ Wilson, Lois (26 May 2005). "Paul Weller: How I became hip again". The Independent. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  3. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Stanley Road – Paul Weller". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Weller, Paul". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
  5. ^ Mirkin, Steven (21 July 1995). "Stanley Road". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  6. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (19 May 1995). "Paul Weller: Stanley Road (Go! Discs)". The Guardian.
  7. ^ a b Kessler, Ted (20 May 1995). "Paul Weller – Stanley Road". NME. p. 44. Archived from the original on 30 September 2000. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  8. ^ a b Reed, John. "The way of Weller". Record Collector. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  9. ^ a b McDonnell, Evelyn (13 July 1995). "Paul Weller: Stanley Road". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 11 February 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  10. ^ Duerden, Nick (July 2008). "Discography: Paul Weller". Spin. Vol. 24, no. 7. p. 88. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  11. ^ "Paul Weller: Stanley Road". Uncut. 2005. p. 120. [I]t's the warmth of Stanley Road itself which ultimately merits this lavish repackaging and ensures it a high-ranking place in the Weller canon.
  12. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 298.
  13. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Paul Weller – Stanley Road" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  14. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Paul Weller – Stanley Road". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  15. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  16. ^ "British album certifications – Paul Weller – Stanley Road". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 8 April 2024.