Various Artists - Paul Weller Presents: That Sweet Sweet Music / Various - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Soul music has always been in Paul Weller's blood from early Jam covers of Martha & the Vandellas 1963 classic 'Heatwave'. Along with other forms of music, soul found it's way into Paul's record collection, nourishing his ears and informing his own songwriting. We don't need to recap a questing musical career from the Jam to the Style Council and then blossoming into one of the most productive and revered careers of any UK solo artist. Paul has written anthems, standards and a songbook that have always developed from his own feelings. Whilst Paul has talked about his love of soul music he has, before now, simply been too busy to sit down and curate a collection of his favourite tracks and get it into the record racks. Ace Records are honoured and delighted to finally that Paul Weller curated collection which he has aptly titled, InchThat Sweet Sweet MusicInch. This 2-LP set and CD open the curtains on 26 tracks that are some of Paul's favourite soul records most of which nestle on vinyl in his own collection. He can still recall paying £70 for his copy of Jon Lucien's 1971 'Search For The Inner Self' 7Inch at a record shop in Leicester in the 90s. Some of these tracks are soul classics like James Carr's 1966 'Pouring Water On A Drowning Man' and Brother to Brother's brilliant take on Gil Scott Heron and Brian Jackson's 'In The Bottle' from 1974. Others are deliciously obscure wonderous gems like the A-side of Blackrock's sole 1971 single 'Blackrock InchYeah, YeahInch', 'Life Walked Out' from the same year by the Mist or Syl Johnson's 'Black Balloons' taken from his 1970 album InchIs It Because I'm Black?Inch. There are plenty of big vocal hitters such as Darrell Banks, Spinners, Joe Simon, O.C. Smith, the Dells and Betty Davis. Whilst the core is vocal soul the music does branch out with Paul selecting a wicked instrumental from the flipside of the Isley Brothers Tw