Just two years before the release of Paul Weller the former frontman of The Jam and the Style Council had been written off as a has-been. However, his self-titled solo debut stifled the critics and once again highlighted his importance--and relevance--to the contemporary music scene, especially as this album partly inspired the emerging Britpop sound. Weller's life-long musical influences are overtly obvious, as the album ranges from the psychedelic ("Into Tomorrow", "Clues" and "Bull-Rush") to the blue-eyed soul influences of his Style Council days ("Amongst Butterflies"). The album's material revels in its own simplicity, free from the prosthetic sounds of synthesisers and drum machines, but at the same time highlights Weller's extraordinary musical and songwriting talents. --John Galilee