Stanley Road

Stanley Road
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 1995
StudioThe Manor Studios, Oxfordshire
GenreSoft rock
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 album by Paul Weller, released by Go! Discs in 1995. In 1998 Q magazine readers voted it the 46th greatest album of all time. The album took its name from the street in Woking where Weller grew up. 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.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Entertainment WeeklyA−
The Guardian
NME6/10
Record Collector
Rolling Stone
Spin
Uncut

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".

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".

Legacy

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".

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)William Bell, 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) 65
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 18
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 37
UK Albums (OCC) 1

This page was last updated at 2024-03-27 23:09 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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