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Back to: Archive · 2007 This Old Town/Each New Morning/Black River reviews From Time Out London, cover date: 24 July 2007. Mod types across the country are doubtless crapping their Farahs at the prospect of this collaboration. Yet while the A-side of this super limited single ('This Old Town') will satiate them more than adequately, the flip is actually far more interesting - featuring as it does a very, very noisy, Pavement-style Coxon gem that segues into a lovely piano-led, croon-tastic Well-ah numb-ah. The best thing either of them have done in ages. From the NME, cover date: 28 July 2007. Since news broke, Britpop discussion groups from Croydon to Cairo have spoken of little else. Could The Modfather and the adenoidal Ace Face behind 'Freakin' Out' possibly deliver a tune to match their talents? Oh ye of little faith. Based on Weller obscurity 'For Dancers Only', 'This Old Town' is a zip-gun boogie brimming with irascible Coxonian guitars and instilled with the first rule of modernism: move on. "There's no turning back/Just forward now", growls the Don Corleone of classic rock. A smash. From soundgenerator.com, 30 July 2007. It was with a certain excitement that I plonked the promo of "This Old Town" by Paul Weller & Graham Coxon into my deck. That excitement very rapidly turned into abject horror, as the noise coming out of the speakers was something akin to a particularly chugging Status Quo b-side; infused with cheesy melody and about as edgy as a blamanche. I have the greatest respect for both of these British legends, however if this is the kind of stuff they're going to produce together, best to leave it well alone, people. On this evidence, thank heavens it's only a one-off collaboration. From contactmusic.com. And the award for most pointless collaboration of the year goes to. Beyonce and Shakira of course, but this pedestrian effort from two artists who should know better isn't far behind. It's probably fair to say that in the grand scheme of all things 2007, both Graham Coxon and Paul Weller are currently in the middle of one of the most barren spells - both creatively and commercially - of their careers. Therefore, what better way to swell the coffers a bit than to put together a piece of music that quite frankly wouldn't have made Seymour's first demo or a Style Council b-side, and sadly doesn't do either artist any favours in regaining a slice of credibility by way of today's ever youthfully dominated industry. My advice then would be to give 'This Old Town' a miss, and instead go for the combined greatness of 'Happiness In Magazines' and 'Stanley Road' as a reminder of the kind of solo output both of these artists are capable of. Rating: 4 out of 10. From earvolution.com, 1 August 2007. Make no mistake, Paul Weller (The Jam, The Style Council, and his solo work) and Graham Coxon (Blur and his solo work) have not redefined, reinvigorated or re-"anything-ed" with their collaboration on This Old Town. Collaborating on one song, and backing each other up on their own compositions, there is an equal balance of playing it safe and forging out into unknown territory. "Black River", Weller's contribution, is a jazzy piano driven song that doesn't fall far from the softer, synthless moments of the Style Council. Nonetheless, Weller makes the mistake of not taking a chance or attempting to branch out with this sub par track. "Each New Morning" is equally unremarkable, but far more enjoyable. Coxon, like Weller, writes what he knows best, perfect Brit Pop with a punk sneer. The sound falls a little more in line with Blur than Coxon's solo work. You can't help but speculate that this is a tune up for a full blown reunion of Coxon and Damon Albarn. Like Weller's tune, Coxon seems to be avoiding the opportunity shake things up. Either way, neither Weller or Coxon brought their A-Game to these tracks. However, "This Old Town" is really what this 7 inch is all about and thankfully it delivers. With Coxon taking lead vocals and relegating Weller to chorus and lead guitar the duo really swing for the fences on this one. There is a surprisingly heavy dose of Matthew Sweet style power pop that is spun into this mix. On every level it really works. From the jangly guitar, to the lead vocal over dubs and the more obvious Americana-type references. This track wouldn't sound out of place on Sweet's Altered Beast or Blue Sky on Mars. This track alone makes the collaboration worthwhile. I can't imagine that Weller or Coxon will give up their day jobs to record with each other full time, but it's nice to see what these two could do together. An occasional song here or there could be interesting and possibly evolve into something more. Some people are crying foul and pointless, but the attempt on some level could inspire other interesting collaborations. |