After the Jam's Motown covers, the Style Council's appropriation of smooth '70s funk, and solo forays into white soul, what of Studio 150, an album of nothing but covers? It's certainly a brave move, and a mostly successful one, thanks to the eclectic, thoughtful selections and the Weller trademark sound. That's not to say it's just his usual rock style--"The Bottle" is Weller at his funkiest, ...

After the Jam's Motown covers, the Style Council's appropriation of smooth '70s funk, and solo forays into white soul, what of Studio 150, an album of nothing but covers? It's certainly a brave move, and a mostly successful one, thanks to the eclectic, thoughtful selections and the Weller trademark sound. That's not to say it's just his usual rock style--"The Bottle" is Weller at his funkiest, and "Don't Make Promises" has some commendable Band-esque looseness to it. However Weller succeeds most when he puts a twist on household classics with new, mostly enjoyable arrangements. "Wishing on a Star" is twisted into downbeat nightclub rasp, while Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" becomes a keyboard-heavy jam with arresting gospel vocalists. Similarly, the lesser known songs may well inspire his fans to check out the originals and win himself some new ones along the way; Neil Young's "Birds" is sympathetic to the original--Weller's gruff voice standing in contrast to Young's high tenor of the original. Add to this the general usual excellent musicianship (albeit slightly less guitar that you'd expect) and Weller's always-passionate voice, and you have an album that should appeal to fans of Weller and the original legends alike. --Thom Allott