Confessions of a Pop Group

rdf:langString Confessions of a Pop Group

rdf:langString Confessions of a Pop Group

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rdf:langString Confessions of a pop group.jpg

rdf:langString Influences on Confessions include Chick Corea, Erik Satie and Brian Wilson.

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rdf:langString Brian Wilson 2009.png

rdf:langString Suzanne Valadon - Portrait d'Erik Satie.jpg

rdf:langString Chick Corea & Herbie Hancock at EDP Cool Jazz Festival, Oeiras .jpg

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rdf:langString Paul Weller

rdf:langString Mick Talbot

rdf:langString "I would have paid good money to see the faces of the execs at Polydor when they first heard this cod classical music. After the failure of The Cost of Loving, they needed Paul to deliver a commercial album full of pop hits, and on hearing this they must have reached for the valium."

rdf:langString "Side one is for the pensioners and side two's for the kids. I'm now writing for people my age and with my outlook. There's definitely a sense of humour there, but I don't suppose we'll get any credit for it."

rdf:langString "Widely ridiculed at the time, Confessions is, in retrospect, a curate's egg that’s well worthy of reappraisal."

rdf:langString Record Mirror

rdf:langString Smash Hits

rdf:langString Spin

rdf:langString Trouser Press

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rdf:langString —Dennis Munday on "The Gardener of Eden Suite"

rdf:langString —John Lewis of Uncut, 2008

rdf:langString —Paul Weller

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rdf:langString Confessions of a Pop Group is the fourth full-length studio album by English sophisti-pop band the Style Council, released 20 June 1988 by Polydor. After the critical failure of The Cost of Loving (1987), tensions between Polydor and lead singer Paul Weller intensified, but Polydor paid Weller a hefty advance for the recording of Confessions. Backing vocalist Dee C. Lee became an official member during the sessions, while drummer Steve White left the group. The sessions were engineered by "Jezar" using two 24-track digital recorders, which allowed the group to experiment in ways they had not previously engaged before. Confessions is split into two sides, the first side (The Piano Paintings) featuring pieces inspired by jazz and classical music, and the second side (also titled Confessions of a Pop Group) featuring a more familiar, upbeat funk sound. The stylistic differences between the two sides is an idea not unlike that employed on the first record Café Bleu. Its usage of suites has led some to consider it similar to a concept album. Weller was inspired by numerous artists on the album, including composer Erik Satie and the Beach Boys, and his socially conscious lyrics on the album are unusually vitriolic and bitter. Each song on the album is accompanied in the liner notes by a painting by Dan Davies. With no hit singles and an unusual promotional strategy, Confessions was a relative commercial failure for the band, only reaching number 15 on the UK Albums Chart. The album received mixed reviews, with some citing its ambitions as successfully and others feeling they were self-indulgent. In the years since its release, the album has seen numerous reappraisals, with some critics posing it as the band's best album and as one which captured the mood of late 1980s Great Britain. Weller continues to think highly of the album. It has been re-released several times. "How She Threw It All Away" and "Why I Went Missing" are often cited as lost Weller classics, having not been played live since the early 'rebirth' of Weller's solo career (around 1990/91). A key track from the album, "It's A Very Deep Sea," was featured when a reunited Style Council played the song at the end of a 2019 documentary about their work.