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James Poole reflection

Weller in Brooklyn

When Paul Weller rolls into town, I take notice. He’s probably the person I’ve seen perform live more than any other artist – I can honestly say that I’ve lost count. So, while I never had the pleasure of seeing either The Jam (in fairness, I was seven years-old when they split – so I […]

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James Poole recommendations

Creativity, with a pinch of ‘Wellerness’

I figured that ‘Starlight’ was an early indication of what was to come. It sounded like it was a track lifted straight off ‘Modernism: A New Decade’, the notorious final Style Council LP. I say this not by way of criticism – I love it when Weller shakes off the shackles that his fans place […]

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freethinking nyc James Poole mixes

the council movement

I’ve argued that Weller’s creative peak was with The Style Council. It was a period characterised by an explosion in the influences in his music. Mick Talbot was clearly a huge factor in this evolution. He’s rarely celebrated. He should be. This is a mix which I did for the King Truman project – ‘a […]

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freethinking nyc James Poole recommendations

Mick’s Up

So that’s settled then. Weller’s creative peak was with The Style Council. My last post seemed to strike a chord. I figured that there was only one direction that my next post could take. The Style Council was not all about Weller. It was also Mick Talbot’s show. Master of the Hammond organ, a proponent […]

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James Poole recommendations

A creative peak?

“Paul Weller was at his most interesting and rewarding with the Style Council, wasn’t he?” So wrote a friend of mine on his facebook wall a few weeks back. It’s a statement which would probably have many a Weller fan up in arms; demanding that the entire period that Weller spent flanked by Mick Talbot, […]

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defining freethinking freethinking nyc James Poole recommendations

Earl Zinger: freethinking legend

Let me tie a few threads together. I’ve written about covers before – if you didn’t check out John Martyn’s version of ‘Glory Box’, then you’ve missed out. I’ve also written about a tune which has appeared at many, many freethinking nyc nights: ‘Shaft In Africa’ by Johnny Pate. Finally, a recent post extolled the […]

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James Poole recommendations

Nicola Bright-Thomas: an undiscovered gem

How much unheard music is there out there? Rare, untapped gems, that are sitting on obscure releases – just waiting to be discovered. Hidden away on a dusty album, sitting at the back of a store filled with vinyl. Even sitting in your own record collection, on albums that you are yet to check out […]

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James Poole recommendations

Paul Weller: The Changingman

I live in the US. I’m from the UK. I think that this gives me a bit of perspective when commenting on the attitude towards music in the two countries. A bit of perspective; that’s all. So here goes: I’m going out on a limb. Paul Weller should be bigger out here in the US. […]