Paul Weller: Illumination

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * *)

Paul Weller has recorded more albums under his own name than he did in his legend-constructing days in the Jam and the Style Council.

That they haven't quite shaken up the British music landscape the way his previous incarnations did comes as no surprise. It's no longer his time.

His latest arrives with him long confirmed as a Britrock elder statesman - a sort of younger, cooler, better-dressed answer to Neil Young. And by the sometimes erratic stands of his 90s solo era, Illumination is one of the better ones.

It is a livelier affair than his previous, sometimes dour studio effort Heliocentric.

There is blues- and 60s-psychedelia-flavoured rock - at its best here on Leafy Mysteries, Bullet For Everyone and a raucous duet with the Stereophonics' Kelly Jones on Call Me No 5. Weller can also do a passable soulman on It's Written In The Stars which recalls his days on the Council.

And Illumination is especially strong on ballads, some of which evoke something sweet and pastoral (Bag Man, Who Brings Joy) or echoes the Jam's acoustic side (One X One, Now the Night Is Here).

If the mid-album raga-instrumental Spring (at Last) derails things it doesn't matter too much.

The rest is a hearty, enjoyable set which shows this supposedly crumbling rock institution is yet to show any signs of decay.

Label: Independiente