''Stanley Road'' is the third solo

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Paul Weller Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul m ...

, released by

Go! Discs Go! Discs was a London-based record label, launched in 1983 from offices in Wendell Road, Shepherd's Bush, by Andy Macdonald and Lesley Symons. The pair founded the label after Macdonald left his job as press officer at Stiff Records, and Sym ...

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 Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

where Weller grew up.Woking YMCA
Retrieved 2012-11-06. Weller's

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the song "

I Walk on Guilded Splinters "I Walk on Guilded Splinters" (sometimes "I Walk on Gilded Splinters" or "Walk on Gilded Splinters") is a song written by Mac Rebennack using his pseudonym of Dr. John Creaux. It first appeared as the closing track of his debut album ''Gris-Gris'' ...

" was featured in the season ending montage of ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...

s fourth season finale,

Final Grades "Final Grades" is the 13th and last episode of the fourth season of the HBO original series ''The Wire''. Written by David Simon from a story by David Simon & Ed Burns and directed by Ernest Dickerson, it originally aired on December 10, 2006. ...

. On 30 May 2005, a three-disc 10th anniversary deluxe edition of the album was released by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

. The expanded edition included demos, live and BBC session recordings and a DVD documentary directed by

Simon Halfon Simon Halfon is a graphic designer most noted for his work with The Jam, The Style Council, and Paul Weller. Halfon has also worked with Oasis, Nick Heyward and George Michael, among others. Halfon's most visible work has focused on solid inspir ...

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 The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' ''

Sgt Pepper's ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the roles of sound compos ...

'' album artwork (album package design for Weller was supervised by his long-term associate

Collaborations

The album features contributions from several notable collaborators, including

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...

(then of

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

), who appears playing acoustic guitar on "I Walk on Gilded Splinters", and

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...

(formerly of

The Spencer Davis Group The Spencer Davis Group were a British band formed in Birmingham in 1963 by Spencer Davis (guitar), brothers Steve Winwood (keyboards, guitar) and Muff Winwood (bass guitar), and Pete York (drums). Their best known songs include the UK numbe ...

and

Traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include 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 Ocean Colour Scene (often abbreviated to OCS) are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Solihull in 1989. They have had five top 10 albums including a number one in 1997. They have also achieved seventeen top 40 singles and six top 10 sin ...

) and Steve White (

The Style Council The Style Council were a British musical ensemble, band formed in late 1982 by Paul Weller, the former singer, songwriter and guitarist with the punk rock/New wave music, new wave/mod revival band the Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previousl ...

). The album was co-produced by Brendan Lynch, who had also worked on Weller's previous two solo albums, ''

'' and ''

Wild Wood ''Wild Wood'' is the second solo studio album by Paul Weller, released in September 1993. It made it to number 2 on the UK Albums Chart, and contained four UK hits: "Wild Wood (Paul Weller song), Wild Wood", which reached number 14 on the UK c ...

''.

Reception

Ted Kessler, in his contemporary, May 1995 review for ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', felt that the album was "doggedly retro and straight ahead" – an "old fart rockin' blues record" in the style of

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

, though with "just enough edge to keep you tuned".

Evelyn McDonnell Evelyn McDonnell is an American writer and academic. Writing primarily about popular culture, music, and society, she "helped to forge a new kind of feminism for her generation." She is associate professor of journalism and new media at Loyola Ma ...

, in a July 1995 review for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', 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

Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...

ian 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 ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

'' 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

, except where noted.

Vinyl version

All songs written by

, except where noted.

Personnel

*Paul Weller – vocals (1–12), guitar (1–7, 9–11), piano (1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 11, 12), shakers (1), organ (3, 5), percussion (3, 5), Novatron (4), Hammond organ (8, 10), Wurlitzer (8, 9) *Yolanda Charles – bass (4, 7, 9) *

– piano (5, 10), Hammond organ (5), Wurlitzer (5) *

Mick Talbot Michael Talbot (born 11 September 1958) is an English keyboardist. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Talbot is probably best known as co-founder of the Style Council. He has been a member of Dexys Midnight Runners, the Merton Parkas and ...

– Fender Rhodes (8), pipe organ (12), Hammond organ (12) *

Carleen Anderson Carleen Cassandra Anderson (born May 10, 1957) is an American singer and musician. She is known for her work with the Young Disciples and numerous collaborations. Her distinguished solo career began in 1992. She is the acclaimed composer, writer ...

– backing vocals (1, 5, 8), extra vocals (9), vocals (12) * Steve Cradock – guitar (1, 2, 6), backing vocals (1, 11), acoustic guitar (11), electric guitar (11) *Helen Turner – Hammond organ (4, 6), Novatron Strings (6, 7, 9, 11), organ (9) * Brendan Lynch – Cyremin (1, 11), Mini-Moog (7), tambourine (8), accordion (8), finger cymbals (10) * Dr. Robert – bass (1, 2, 6, 11), backing vocals (1, 2) *Joy Hawley – cello (12) *Constantine Wier – voodoo vocal (3) *David Liddle – acoustic slide guitar (5) *Mark Nelson – bass (3, 5, 8, 10) * Steve White – drums (1–11), percussion (3, 5) *

– acoustic guitar (3)

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1995 albums Paul Weller albums Go! Discs albums Albums with cover art by Peter Blake (artist)