Style Council – “The Cost of Loving”

The Sleeve:

The Liner/Sleeve Notes:
None.

Personal Review:
 When I saw this album at the thrift store, I kinda had to buy it due to the fact it’s Paul Weller AFTER the Jam, and I’ve only heard a couple of the Style Council’s songs, but I did like what I heard, and I loved the Jam, so this can’t be bad, can it?

 The album opens with the track “It Didn’t Matter” and here we go with that 80’s funky bassy drum machine and all those synth tones, in that pop soul sound that they call ‘blue-eyed soul’ and you know, Paul Weller was an amazing singer with the Jam, but this song isn’t that great. Yea, this song isn’t all that great, it’s kinda like it doesn’t matter… (haha, get it?) but in all honesty, the female vocals are a lot better than Paul’s. Paul had a lot better vocals with the Jam. After that comes the track “Right to Go” and what the hell is with this weird rap stuff? Like, were the late 80’s really that bad for like every pop recording artist? I’m like, seriously confused by all of this right now. Honestly, this rap stuff is pretty awful. Like what the hell was Paul Weller thinking? I’m not liking this at all. Okay, that was bad. Then comes “Heavens Above” which opens with some sax playing and drums, so far so good. It’s a better track as opposed to the other two, a little too jazzy sounding for my liking, but it’s an alright track. The female vocalist stands out the most. Dee is her name, she’s the ex-wife of Paul Weller. I have to admit that so far, the only good thing about this album so far is Dee. “Fairy Tales” ends the A-Side, and well, it seems to be a stronger track than the first two, which were completely awful. The musicianship is good on this LP at least, the songs may be pretty bad, but hey, the musicianship is good. That is all that matters, or something like that.

 The B-Side opens with the song “Angel” and hey, it seems to be a stronger way to open the B-Side, it’s a duet between Paul and Dee, and it’s pretty good, except for the musicianship which isn’t as good. It’s a solid track. After that comes the track “Walking the Night” which has a nice little opening before the jazz sound starts, then it’s not as great as it was. The vocals are alright though, which is a good thing, I guess. It gets a little better as the song progresses, but it’s still too jazzy for me, and it’s like why? “Waiting” comes next, and it’s a slower track and stuff, it’s alright though. I kind of like it, kind of. “The Cost of Loving” comes next, and hey, what do you know, it’s the title track. Magical. It seems to start off nicely and it has a good vibe to it, so I ain’t complaining. The album closes with the track “A Woman’s Song” which is sung by Dee, and like, it’s a lullaby I think? It’s a slow track, and kinda boring. Too slow for me.

Interesting Facts:
None.

Track Listing:
A1 – It Didn’t Matter
A2 – Right to Go
A3 – Heavens Above
A4 – Fairy Tales

B1 – Angel
B2 – Waiting
B3 – Walking the Night
B4 – The Cost of Loving
B5 – A Woman’s Song

Label:
Polydor Records

Catalog Number:
831 443-1

Studio Musicians & Other Album Credits:
Producer, Lead and Backing Vocals, Guitars, Synths and Drum Program – Paul Weller
Hammond Organ, Piano Forte, Wurlitzer, Rhodes, Synths & Bass Synths – Mick Talbot
Lead & Backing Vocals – Dee. C. Lee
Drums & Percussion – Steve White
Engineers – Jezar & Alan Leeming
Recorded at Solid Bond Studios, London
Sequencing by Jezar
Orchestrations – John Mealing
Recorded in May, August & October 1986
Photography – Nick Knight
Design – The Style Council & Simon Halfon
Make-Up – Lynne Easton

Other Albums I Own by The Style Council:
None.

Released:
1987

Related Vinyls:

Paul Young – “The Secret of Association” Steve Winwood – “Back in the High Life” Wham! – “Make it Big” Joe Jackson – “Mike’s Murder: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack”