“You can’t tour for five years and play songs from the same record,” says Weller.
Paul Weller has complained about the lack of productivity among young musicians and criticized the frequency with which artists release new works. The prerequisite for a long career is the constant cycle of releasing new music and presenting it on tours.
The job description of “Musician”
In the Daily Star Sunday’s Wired column, the Brit said: “Isn’t it part of the job description that you go on tour and make records? That’s probably an old-fashioned view.” The Jam founder believes that these two components of being a musician are at the core of a successful and long career in the industry. “I think that still applies. There’s something to be said for consistency and always pushing it forward.” Weller continued: “In contrast, there are a lot of younger artists who make an album and then don’t release one for five or seven years.”
The 65-year-old has no understanding of this. He often thinks, ‘What are you doing in these in-between years?’ You can’t tour for five or seven years playing the same record, can you?” The “Godfather of Britpop” is worried about the legacy of such musicians. He added: “Someone like Amy Winehouse, who was a brilliant artist, only left two records in the world.” That’s why he believes it’s important to “release as much as possible. Not just for the sake of it, not for the sake of it [Schund]naturally.”
If you look at Paul Weller’s discography, you’ll quickly see that there are at most three years between solo records; before that there were regular works by The Jam or The Style Council. His current studio album FAT POP was released in 2021. Since then, the musician has released an LP of live recordings, AN ORCHESTRATED SONGBOOK (2021), and the rarities collection WILL OF THE PEOPLE (2022).