Café Bleu


Café Bleu is the debut studio album by the English band the Style Council. It was released on 16 March 1984, on Polydor Records, produced by Paul Weller with Peter Wilson. It followed four non-album singles in the UK, the first three of which were released outside the UK as the album Introducing The Style Council in North America, Australasia, Japan and some European countries. The album was mainly recorded at Solid Bond Studios except for the strings which were recorded at CBS.
Café Bleu included a large number of extra musicians, known as Honorary Councillors, including Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt from Everything but the Girl. The album represented a huge shift away from Weller's previous group The Jam and towards incorporating his favoured elements of classic soul, jazz and rap. The album received mixed reviews on its release, but became the band's biggest success on the UK Albums Chart, spending 38 weeks on the chart. The singles "My [Ever Changing Moods]" and "You're the Best Thing" both reached the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart. The single version of "My Ever Changing Moods" is a different recording to the album version.
Café Bleu was renamed My Ever Changing Moods in the United States to capitalise on the success of the single of the same name, and featured a slightly different track listing.

Critical reception

Contemporary critics were divided. Sounds dismissed the record as "dispensable dross", while others were more favourable. In Smash Hits the album was given a rating out of 10, Peter Martin writing: "Paul clearly wants to win fans not on reputation but on musical worth. Me I never liked the Jam but this, c'est magnifique."
In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic found that Café Bleu, although being indicative of "the group's fatal flaw – a tendency to be too eclectic and overambitious", is nonetheless "one of their better efforts", praising Weller's "solid soul-tinged pop songs, including 'My Ever Changing Moods,' 'Headstart for Happiness,' 'You're the Best Thing,' and 'Here's One That Got Away.'"
Café Bleu was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Treble included it in a 2014 list of 10 essential sophisti-pop albums, saying that while it does not feature synthesisers like the other albums on the list, "a mix of blue-eyed soul, jazz, and modern influences made this record a sophisticated, progressive piece of pop."

Track listing

All songs written by Paul Weller, except where noted.
Side one
  1. "Mick's Blessings" – 1:15
  2. "The Whole Point of No Return" – 2:40
  3. "Me Ship Came In!" – 3:06
  4. "Blue Café" – 2:15
  5. "The Paris Match" – 4:25
  6. "My Ever Changing Moods" – 3:37
  7. "Dropping Bombs on the Whitehouse" – 3:15
Side two
  2. "A Gospel" – 4:44
  3. "Strength of Your Nature" – 4:20
  4. "You're the Best Thing" – 5:40
  5. "Here's One That Got Away" – 2:35
  6. "Headstart for Happiness" – 3:20
  7. "Council Meetin'" – 2:29
'''Additional track listing'''

Personnel

;The Style Council
  • Paul Weller – vocals, guitar; bass guitar on "Me Ship Came In!", "Dropping Bombs on the Whitehouse" and "Council Meetin'", synthesiser on "Strength of Your Nature", flute on "Council Meetin'"
  • Mick Talbot – keyboards, piano, Hammond organ; brass synthesiser on "Strength of Your Nature", bass synthesiser on "You're the Best Thing", brass sound on "Headstart for Happiness", Clavinet on "Council Meetin'"
  • Steve White – drums, percussion
with:
  • Billy Chapman – saxophone on "Me Ship Came In!", "You're the Best Thing" and "Dropping Bombs on the Whitehouse"
  • Barbara Snow – trumpet on "Me Ship Came In!", "Dropping Bombs on the Whitehouse", "A Gospel" and "Headstart for Happiness"
  • Randy Anderson – guitar
  • Tracey Thorn – vocals on "The Paris Match"
  • Chris Bostock – double bass on "The Paris Match", bass on "Here's One That Got Away"
  • Ben Watt – guitar on "The Paris Match"
  • Dizzi Heights – rap on "A Gospel"
  • Hilary Seabrook – saxophone on "A Gospel" and "Headstart for Happiness"
  • Dee C. Lee – backing vocals on "Strength of Your Nature" and co-vocals on "Headstart for Happiness"
  • Bobby Valentino – violin on "Here's One That Got Away"
  • Pete Wilson – drum programming on "A Gospel" and "Strength of Your Nature"