Café Bleu (Special Edition)
The Style Council
6CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Not long after dissolving The Jam, frontman Paul Weller was back with The Style Council, a loose collective more pointedly inspired by R&B and dance ideas, with more explicitly political lyrics. Fans embraced the change, putting singles “Speak Like a Child,” “Long Hot Summer,” “My Ever Changing Moods” and “You’re the Best Thing” into the U.K. Top 10. (“My Ever Changing Moods” also became a U.S. Top 40 hit, something The Jam didn’t have.) This new 6CD box set of 1984 debut album Café Bleu includes the remastered album, an expanded edition of the EP Introducing The Style Council and several discs of B-sides, rarities, and unissued demos, outtakes and live BBC cuts. A vinyl edition, on three LPs, features the remastered album, a smaller expansion of Introducing and highlights from the unreleased material. Both sets will feature new liner notes by veteran British music journalist Gary Crowley, a crucial champion of The Style Council early in his career.
