Confessions Of A Pop Group [Remastered] - Style Council (The) > Reviews > Confessions of a Pop Group

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	buried treasure   unearthed
Disadvantages:	none  if you buy it

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Almost impossible to approach as a normal pop record ,this is the sound of a group overstretching their muscical ambitions and narrowly missing greatness ,what is certain is that this was not what the British public wanted or expected in 1988,corporate consumerism had entered music like never before and the publics appetite for bland ,sterile ,disposable rubbish was insatiable ,Stock ,Aitken and Waterman reigned supreme and the standards which had been set in the previous two decades had been eroded in the face of big business and had been made to look deeply unfashionable ,this might explain a distinct lack of anything approaching great during that time .

So ,this was the climate in which "Confessions of a Pop Group "was conceived ,following on from the Councils least succesful album "The Cost Of Loving ",which displayed a complete lack of the usual Weller quality and sold accordingly ,.so it seems the troops were rallied for one more
stand ,with the comfort of having nothing to lose and listening to it now it certainly seems that way as its hard to see how this record could ever be followed .

Enter the music ,mellow jazz piano and gentle choral flourishes announce "Its a very Deep Sea ",sounding rich and regretful like a Sondheim musical ,this segues into "The Story of Someones Shoe",like classical soul backed by the Swingle Singers ,continuing and reinforcing the albums rich tones ,the
mood continues on one of Paul Wellers finest songs ,the mostly ignored "Changing the Guard "on which he duets with D.C Lee,in another time and place this would have become a standard spawning countless cover versions ,by now its quite clear your in the midst of a very starnge and beautiful musical
dream,the Pop Group referal seeming like a misprint.

The "Confessions " continue in the form of short classical pieces aided by harps and clarinets which take you into daydreams and out again wondering what the hell is going to happen next as the "suite"climaxes on the epic soul ballad "The Gardiner Of Eden "and there,s even time for a Beach Boys pastiche as side one reaces its end .

In contrast to the classical aspirations of side one the second side kicks off to the sound of a flushing toilet ,a sarcastic intro to "Life at a Top Peoples Health Farm "a snarling ,sneering rebuke to a decade of Thatcherism and its effect on the community ,"Iwasadoleladstoyboy" continues the pop funk idea
and its at this point ,depending your sensibilities ,you realise that "Confessions "is either fantastically odd or a loose lazy concept ,"Why i went Missing "takes you around a few more bends as the albums pop blood comes rushing back to its grooves finally arriving at The Style Councils finest 45,the woefully forgotten"How She Threw it all Away "a lush pop song embellished with a flute riff of all things ,once again in a different time this would have returned Mr Weller to number one and saved him from the worst savaging of his life from critics and fans alike .

The albums Climax and title track is a final spitting,damning comment on the scourge of greed and consumerism so indemic at that time ,dressed up as a sprawling jazz-funk workout berating and hissing contempt at everyone from Heinz
Baked Beans to Levi Jeans and alienating himself from the music press and Top Of The Pops for the next few years in the process ,but quite possily the only man in his posistion to speak out at all ,the album bombed ,the singles died and the public gave up on the Style Council once and for all ,but as swansongs go ,this is now a quietly growing legend ,a sort of "Pet Sounds"
for the eighties .

In the wake of"Confessions "we had Britpop and a Weller renaisance of epic proportions but his public are still largely unaware of this benign masterpiece as it matures and waits for the rest of us to catch up as hapened with the Kinks "Village Green"and Nick Drake,i feel there is fair chance of "Confessions of a Pop Group "staying around untill it reaches the giddy heights of cultdom,which is no more than it deserves .