Café Bleu is the official debut album released by the English band the Style Council. It was released on 16 March 1984,[3] on Polydor Records, produced by Paul Weller with Peter Wilson. It followed four non-album singles in the UK, the first three of which (and their B-sides) 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 (owned by Weller) except for the strings which were recorded at CBS.[4]
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.[5] The singles "My Ever Changing Moods" and "You're the Best Thing" both reached the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart.[5] 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.
Contemporary critics were divided. Sounds dismissed the record as "dispensable dross", while others were more favourable.[16] In Smash Hits the album was given a 8+1⁄2 rating out of 10, Peter Martin writing: "Paul [Weller] clearly wants to win fans not on reputation but on musical worth. Me I never liked the Jam but this, c'est magnifique."[12]
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.'"[6]
Café Bleu was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[17]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 (for the time at least) made this record a sophisticated, progressive piece of pop."[2]
Track listing
All songs written by Paul Weller, except where noted.
The US LP, retitled My Ever Changing Moods, drops two tracks ("Me Ship Came In!" and "Council Meetin'"), adds one ("A Solid Bond in Your Heart"), and substitutes an extended version of "My Ever Changing Moods" for the shorter UK LP version.
^ Certain releases of the My Ever Changing Moods album include the single version of "You're the Best Thing" (4:18) instead of the full-length album version (5:45) originally featured on Café Bleu. However, there is no indication of the different version anywhere on the album jacket (as the album sleeve for these editions of My Ever Changing Moods still lists a song length of 5:45, and the saxophone solo that adorns the single version is uncredited in the liner notes).[18]
US cassette track listing (My Ever Changing Moods)
The cassette contains the complete US LP. and also restores the two dropped tracks, "Me Ship Came In!" and "Council Meetin'".
Side one
"My Ever Changing Moods (12-inch version)"
"The Whole Point of No Return"
"Blue Café"
"The Paris Match"
"Dropping Bombs on the Whitehouse"
"A Solid Bond In Your Heart"
"Me Ship Came In!"
Side two
"You're the Best Thing"
"A Gospel"
"Strength of Your Nature"
"Here's One That Got Away"
"Headstart for Happiness"
"Mick's Blessings"
"Council Meetin'"
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'"
