Paul Weller - Days Of Speed/Illumination

Cast your mind back, dear reader, to the British music scene of 20 years ago.

The Britpop bubble had well and truly burst, and maudlin music set to acoustic guitars was the order of the day. Travis and Coldplay were kings of the castle, with the likes of Starsailor and Turin Brakes clawing for their crowns, while The Strokes and The White Stripes had kicked open the door for a new generation of American groups to break hearts and blow minds.

While the Britpop generation were either hiding behind cartoons (Albarn), counting the cost of excess (the Gallagher brothers) or on their last legs (Pulp, Suede, et al), the so-called Godfather Of Britpop, who had seen it all before, was at yet another crossroads.

The 1990s had largely been kind to Paul Weller, with deference paid by the younger generation to the ‘elder statesman’ (in his 30s for most of the decade) alongside a trio of well-received albums.

Yet 2000’s Heliocentric came and went with little fanfare or praise (not a bad album – Paul Weller is incapable of that – but certainly not his best), and was the last of his deal with Island. Once again finding himself without a record contract, Weller took the opportunity to take stock of his career to-date.

And like most music obsessives, his way of taking stock was by touring; in the spring of 2001 Weller toured Europe armed only with his acoustic guitar, the results of which made up his second live album, Days Of Speed.

https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2021/11/review-paul-weller-vinyl-reissues/