Setting Sons

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The 2014 re-release also charted in the UK, reaching No. 97 in November of that year. [18] Chart (1979–80)

Having dismissed his son’s suggestions, Smithers-Jones arrives at work to the news that the boss wants to see him alone—and no, it’s not “the promotion you’ve been looking for”— Film Review: The Jam - 'About the Young Idea' ". New Noise Magazine. 27 January 2016 . Retrieved 28 July 2022. The music for “The Eton Rifles” is positively inspired—the dissonant chord that opens the piece, hinting at a descent into madness—the muscular, assertive rhythms—the Eton Rifles Choir (a group of boys who hung around the studio whom Weller invited into the studio) on the “Hoorays!”—and the rare appearance of an organ to add a touch of funereal blues to the mix. It’s a terribly exciting song with an unfortunately timeless but important message: you can’t win if you can’t break the cycle and you can’t break the cycle until you break the cycle that lives inside your head. While this gets very close to that awful line in “Arthur” (“Arthur we love you and we want to help you”), the difference is that Foxton’s urgings are personal while Ray Davies’ offer has no personal connection and comes across as rather condescending.Originally conceived as a concept album about old friends reunited after many years to find they had nothing in common anymore "setting sons" doesnt quite follow through on the premise of a song cycle (weller ran out of time) but it still makes for a fascinating listen . But “Private Hell”, “Wasteland”, “Saturday’s Kids”, “The Eton Rifles” and the orchestral version of Bruce Foxton’s “Smithers-Jones” are all close relations; bitter reflections on ordinary English men and women – working-class and suburban middle-class – alienated and manipulated by corporate and military power.

This is the second song Weller dashed off to meet the record company’s deadline, and all I can say is that Paul Weller is one hell of a dasher. “Private Hell” is a painful but truthful depiction of modern ennui and the toll it takes on human mental health.Because the incident at the heart of “The Eton Rifles” took place so long ago and because the song is loaded with words and phrases that have little meaning to English speakers outside of the U. K., I thought it might be helpful to provide a summary of the event and Paul Weller’s motivations for writing the song. I copied the following overview from an article on “The Eton Rifles” that appeared on New Frame, a not-for-profit, social justice media publication based in Johannesburg. Full disclosure: the subtitle of the article reflects an editorial bias that I happen to agree with: “A single line from a 40-year-old song succinctly sums up how Boris Johnson, the buffoon of Britain, ended up as prime minister.” The liner notes also imply that the album was a somewhat rushed effort, which may explain why the original underlying concept was not fully developed, as well as the inclusion of one cover song and two prior releases: "Smithers-Jones" had already been released; " Heat Wave" is a cover of the Martha and the Vandellas' Motown hit. Since "The Eton Rifles" was released in advance of the LP for promotional purposes, [3] this leaves only seven entirely new original songs on the album. [6] International releases [ edit ]