Paul Weller, late of The Jam and The Style Council, began his solo career in 1991 with a self-titled album on the Go! Discs label.  He remained on the label for three albums, before moving to Island Records for 1997's Heavy Soul and 2000's Heliocentric.  Weller would return to Island in 2008, but five years earlier, in 2003, Universal Music drew upon both his Go! Discs period and two Island albums to compile Fly on the Wall: B Sides and Rarities.  The 3CD iteration presented 39 tracks, while the 3LP box cut that down to 29 selections.  Over time, the vinyl version has commanded top dollar on the secondary market, and so, on August 9, UMR and Polydor will reissue it at a much more affordable price point.  For those who missed out on the original CD pressing, the set will also be released to digital services with the full 39 songs.

Well known as a mod revivalist, Weller reinvented himself with the beginning of his solo career.  He reconnected with his '60s R&B roots while aligning himself with the then-contemporary Britpop movement.  1995's Stanley Road on Go! Discs brought Weller back to the top of the U.K. Albums Chart and remains his best-selling album to date.  Steve Winwood and Noel Gallagher guested on the bluesy, soul-flecked LP which also featured Style Council drummer Steve Wood and Ocean Colour Scene's guitarist, Stephen Craddock.  Lead single "The Changingman" brought Weller to the top ten of the U.K. Singles Chart as did its follow-up, "You Do Something to Me."  Weller's success continued for his two Island albums, both of which reached a No. 2 peak on the U.K. Albums survey.  Throughout his side during this period was co-producer Brendan Lynch (Primal Scream, Ocean Colour Scene).

Fly on the Wall brought together many non-LP tracks that casual observers of Weller's time at the two labels might have missed.  These encompass a variety of covers (The Beatles' "Sexy Sadie" and "Don't Let Me Down," Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released," John Lennon's "Instant Karma," CSNY's "Ohio," Traffic's "Feelin' Alright," Tim Hardin's "Black Sheep Boy," Sonny Bono's "Bang Bang," Etta James' "I'd Rather Go Blind," and more) as well as remixes, demos, and acoustic versions.

Paul Weller's seventeenth and most recent solo studio album, 66, arrived earlier this year to coincide with the singer-songwriter's 66th birthday.  If you'd like to revisit this period of his still-thriving career, look for the 3LP vinyl and digital reissue of Fly on the Wall: B Sides and Rarities from UMR and Polydor on August 9.  You'll find it at the links below!

Paul Weller, Fly on the Wall (B-Sides & Rarities) (originally released as Universal 0635272 (U.K.), 2003 - reissued UMC (U.K.), 2024) (Amazon U.S. Link TBD / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

* only on digital release

1. Here's a New Thing
2. That Spiritual Feeling
3. Into Tomorrow (Demo)
4. Arrival Time
5. Fly on the Wall
6. Always There to Fool You *
7. All Year Round
8. Ends of the Earth
9. This is No Time
10. Another New Day
11. Foot of the Mountain (Live @ Royal Albert Hall, London, England - 10/13/1992) *
12. Wild Wood (Portishead Remix)
13. Kosmos (Lynch Mob Bonus Beats Remix)
14. The Loved
15. Steam *
16. It's a New Day Baby
17. A Year Late
18. Eye of the Storm *
19. Shoot the Dove *
20. As You Lean Into the Light (Acoustic) *
21. So You Want to Be a Dancer
22. Everything Has a Price to Pay (1997 Acoustic Version)
23. Right Underneath It *
24. Helioscentric
25. There's No Drinking After You're Dead (Noonday Underground Mix) *
26. The Riverbank
27. Science (Lynch Mob Remix) *
28. Feelin' Alright
29. Ohio (Live @ Royal Albert Hall, London, England - 10/13/1992)
30. Black Sheep Boy
31. Sexy Sadie
32. I Shall Be Released
33. I'd Rather Go Blind
34. My Whole World is Falling Down (Live on The Evening Session, BBC Radio 1 - May 1995)
35. Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City
36. Waiting for An Angel (BBC Session)
37. Bang Bang
38. Instant Karma
39. Don't Let Me Down

Tracks 1-3 from "Into Tomorrow" U.K. CD single - Freedom High FHPC 1, 1991
Tracks 4-6 from "Uh Huh Oh Yeh" U.K. CD single - Go! Discs GOD CD86, 1992
Tracks 7 and 30 from More Wood (Little Splinters) - Canyon International PCCY-00509 (JP), 1993
Track 8 from "Wild Wood" U.K. CD single - Go! Discs GOD CD104, 1993
Tracks 9-10 and 29 from "The Weaver" U.K. CD single - Go! Discs GOD CD107, 1993
Tracks 11 and 13-14 from "Hung Up" U.K. CD single - Go! Discs GOD CD111, 1994
Tracks 12 and 27 from "Wild Wood" U.K. CD single - Island CID 734, 1998
Track 15 from "Broken Stones" U.K. CD single - Go! Discs GOD CD132, 1995
Tracks 16 and 33 from "The Changingman" U.K. CD single - Go! Discs GOD CD127, 1995
Tracks 17 and 34 from "You Do Something to Me" U.K. CD single - Go! Discs GOD CD130, 1995
Track 18 from "Peacock Suit" U.K. CD single - Go! Discs GOD CD149, 1996
Tracks 19-20 and 35 from "Brushed" U.K. CD single - Island CID 666, 1997
Tracks 21-22 from "Mermaids" U.K. CD single - Island CID 683, 1997
Tracks 23 and 26 from "Brand New Start" U.K. CD single - Island CID 711, 1998
Tracks 24 and 37 from "He's the Keeper" U.K. CD single - Island CID 760, 2000
Track 25 from "Sweet Pea, My Sweet Pea" U.K. CD single - Island CID 764, 2000
Track 28 from "Above the Clouds" U.K. CD single - Go! Discs GOD CD91, 1992
Tracks 31-32 from "Out of the Sinking" U.K. CD singles - Go! Discs GOD CD121, 1994 (31) and Go! Discs GOD CD143, 1996 (32)
Track 36 exclusive to this album
Track 38 from Instant Karma 2002 (A Tribute to John Lennon) - Uncut 2002-11, 2002
Track 39 from "Into Tomorrow" U.S. promo CD single - Go! Discs/London CDP 824, 1992