Studio 150

Studio 150
Studio album by
Paul Weller
Released14 September 2004
StudiosStudio 150, Amsterdam;
Black Barn Studios, Woking, Surrey
GenresRock, soul
Length45:51
LabelV2 Records
Producers
Paul Weller chronology
Fly on the Wall: B Sides & Rarities
(2003)		 Studio 150
(2004)		 As Is Now
(2005)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic48/100
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStar
Dotmusic7/10
MojoStarStarStarStar
NME2/10
The ObserverStarStarStar
QStarStar
The ScotsmanStarStarStar
Under the Radar7/10

Studio 150 is the seventh solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Paul Weller. It comprises covers of songs by a variety of artists, and showcases Weller's myriad musical influences. It was named after the small Amsterdam studio in which it was recorded. Released in September 2004, it entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 2, its overall peak position.

Track listing

  1. "If I Could Only Be Sure" (Gabriel Mekler, Nolan Porter)
  2. "Wishing on a Star" (Billie Rae Calvin)
  3. "Don't Make Promises" (Tim Hardin)
  4. "The Bottle" (Gil Scott-Heron)
  5. "Black Is the Colour" (Traditional)
  6. "Close to You" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David)
  7. "Early Morning Rain" (Gordon Lightfoot)
  8. "One Way Road" (Noel Gallagher)
  9. "Hercules" (Allen Toussaint)
  10. "Thinking of You" (Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers)
  11. "All Along the Watchtower" (Bob Dylan)
  12. "Birds" (Neil Young)

Original versions

  1. "If I Could Only Be Sure", a Northern soul song from 1972 by Nolan Porter
  2. "Wishing on a Star", originally a 1977 song from Rose Royce that became a hit single in 1978
  3. "Don't Make Promises", from Tim Hardin's 1966 debut album
  4. "The Bottle", from Scott-Heron's 1974 album Winter in America
  5. "Black Is the Color (of My True Love's Hair)", Appalachian folk song with Scottish origins, popularised by Pete Seeger, Nina Simone and Joan Baez around 1960
  6. "Close to You", originally sung by Richard Chamberlain in 1963, popularised by The Carpenters in 1970
  7. "Early Morning Rain", by Gordon Lightfoot from his 1966 debut album Lightfoot!
  8. "One Way Road", originally appeared as a B-side on Oasis' 2000 single "Who Feels Love?"
  9. "Hercules", recorded in 1973 by Aaron Neville for a single release
  10. "Thinking of You", originally by Sister Sledge from 1979, became a UK hit in 1984
  11. "All Along the Watchtower", originally recorded for Dylan's 1967 album John Wesley Harding
  12. "Birds", originally from Neil Young's 1970 album After the Gold Rush

Personnel

  • Benjamin Herman – alto, tenor and baritone saxophone, flute
  • Ray Bruinsma, Jan van Duikeren – trumpet, flugelhorn
  • Joeri de Vente – French horn
  • Louk Boudesteijn – trombone
  • Frans Cornelissen – tuba
  • Martin de Ruiter, Sarah Koch, Seija Teeuwen, Pauline Terlow, Lorre Trytten, Herman van Haaren – violin
  • Mieke Honingh, Aimée Versloot – viola
  • Bastiaan van der Werf – cello

Production

Charts

Singles

The singles, with B-sides, from Studio 150 were:

DVD

Besides the Studio 150 album, there was also a DVD release featuring a studio concert Weller gave at the Riverside Studios in London in 2004. The DVD features most songs from the album and some songs Weller wrote during his career, including a song of The Jam and The Style Council.

It also includes interviews and the video promo for "Wishing on a Star".

References

  1. ↑ "Reviews and Tracks for Studio 150 by Paul Weller". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  2. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Studio 150 - Paul Weller". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  3. ↑ Crossing, Gary (20 September 2004). "Paul Weller - 'Studio 150'". Dotmusic. Archived from the original on 1 November 2004. Retrieved 23 November 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ↑ There's little attempt to get under the skin of these songs, or really bend them into new shapes. [Oct 2004, p.100]
  5. ↑ What Paul Weller uniquely manages to do to the 12 songs... is to make every one sound exactly like a Paul Weller song. [11 Sep 2004, p.55]
  6. ↑ Woodcraft, Molloy (15 August 2004). "Paul Weller: Studio 150". The Observer. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  7. ↑ What is surprising is how lacklustre an affair it turns out to be. [Oct 2004, p.128]
  8. ↑ Shepherd, Fiona (3 September 2004). "Weller Clears the Wild Wood". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 21 June 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ↑ The rest of the album... more than makes up for [a few] misfires. [#8, p.113]
  10. ↑ "Paul Weller ARIA chart history 1988 to May 2025". ARIA. Retrieved 8 June 2025 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  11. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Paul Weller – Studio 150" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  12. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Paul Weller – Studio 150" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  13. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Paul Weller – Studio 150". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  14. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Paul Weller – Studio 150" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  15. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Paul Weller". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  16. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Paul Weller – Studio 150". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  17. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 25/9/2004 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  18. ↑ "Official Albums Chart on 25/9/2004 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  19. ↑ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2004". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 July 2020.