Album reviewA fascinating peek into the mind and heart of Paul Weller, Find El Dorado showcases the legend covering songs that helped shape him—some populist, some forgotten one-hit wonders, some crate-digger obscurities. It's no big surprise that the Modfather would love something like "Lawdy Rolla," a bit of jazzy street-funk by the Guerrillas, a French studio group from the late 1960s, that he turns it into a Northern soul number with knockout alto sax by Kevin Haynes. Ditto "Nobody's Fool"—written by Ray Davies but only released by the Kinks as a demo on a deluxe version of their Muswell Hillbillies (another version, by a group known as Cold Turkey but rumored to be Dave Davies, was a theme for British TV series Budgie). Weller's elder-statesman sandpaper grit adds gravitas to the bitter sentiment: "Nobody pleads for me, nobody bleeds for me/ I'm nobody's fool and I'm nobody's friend."
Less expected are choices like "When You Are a King," a long-lost '70s bubblegum pop track by British band White Plains that's a string-laden, swooning beauty in Weller's hands. And his take on "Pinball"—a minor U.K. hit in 1974 for singer-songwriter Brian Protheroe—is a keeper, capturing the sad-sack frustration and heartbreak of the original. "Where There's Smoke, There's Fire," released in 1984 by Willie Griffin, a little-known Mississippi soul singer, is perfect for Weller, who speeds it up just a bit and injects gusto (abetted by modern-day soul stylist Liam Bailey). "Small Town Talk"—a forgotten swamp-pop classic by Bobby Charles and written with Rick Danko—is a treat to find here, all blue-eyed soul and with trumpet and tenor sax lending a laidback sway. There's a good serving of British folk, including a softened-up version of Lal and Mike Waterson's rough-hewn "Never the Same" and Duncan Browne's Dylan-ish "Journey," which Weller turns into a proper pop song with a bit of glam flair. Anguished "One Last Cold Kiss"—a heartcrusher about swans mated for life until the female is killed by a hunter—retains the folky mysticism of Christy Moore's 1975 version and features folk singer Amelia Coburn.
Other guests include Declan O'Rourke on Richie Havens' "Handouts in the Rain," Robert Plant on bluesy "Clive's Song" (written by Clive Palmer of the Incredible String Band and first recorded by Hamish Imlach in 1971), and Noel Gallagher playing acoustic guitar on Eamon Friel's "El Dorado"—which finds Weller a little scratchy but so strong as he lustily sings, "Let's dance/ Romance/ Find El Dorado." The Bee-Gees' classic "I Started a Joke" is hard to separate from Robin Gibbs' quavering, distinct and despondent vocal, but Weller does it with obvious love and by making it sound quite romantic. And for something completely different, he tackles Merle Haggard's "White Line Fever" with none other than Chris Hillman on woozy pedal steel. Truer to Haggard's weary original than when Hillman wistfully recorded it with the Flying Burrito Brothers in 1971, the song feels like the germ of a great idea: a whole album of Weller doing country covers.
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