Paul Weller, the eternal Modfather of British rock, returns with a bang this July 25 with Find El Dorado, a cover album that transcends convention. With the stellar participation of Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) and Noel Gallagher (Oasis), this new work is a love letter to the songs that have marked his life.
“These are songs I’ve carried with me for years. They’ve taken on new forms over time. And now I felt it was time to share them,” Weller declares.
An emotional journey through reinvented classics
With a selection as eclectic as it is personal, Find El Dorado includes reinterpretations of songs by Richie Havens, The Kinks, The Bee Gees, Christy Moore and The Flying Burrito Brothers, among others. Through these versions, Weller offers an intimate and modern reading of forgotten or little-known gems, transforming them with his unmistakable style.
Luxury guests: Plant, Gallagher and more
The album shines even brighter thanks to its collaborators:
- Robert Plant participates in “Clive’s Song” contributing vocals and harmonica.
- Noel Gallagher adds acoustic guitars to “El Dorado”, a song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Eamon Friel.
- Also featured are Amelia Coburn, Seckou Keita, Declan O’Rourke and Hannah Peel, bringing unique textures to this collective production.
The production was in charge of Steve Cradock, Ocean Colour Scene guitarist and regular collaborator of Weller, who manages to cohere a proposal diverse in sound but unified in soul.
Tracklist of Find El Dorado
- Handouts in the Rain (Richie Havens)
- Small Town Talk (Bobby Charles)
- El Dorado (Eamon Friel)
- White Line Fever (The Flying Burrito Brothers)
- One Last Cold Kiss (Christy Moore)
- When You Are a King (White Plains)
- Pinball (Brian Protheroe)
- Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire (Willie Griffin)
- I Started a Joke (Bee Gees)
- Never the Same (Lal and Mike Waterson)
- Lawdy Rolla (The Guerrillas)
- Nobody’s Fool (The Kinks)
- Journey (Duncan Browne)
- Daltry Street (Jake Fletcher / PP Arnold)
- Clive’s Song (Hamish Imlach)
Weller, always reinventing himself
Find El Dorado is Paul Weller’s first covers album since Studio 150 (2004). But unlike its predecessor, this project feels more introspective, more rooted in his life experience than in his eagerness to reinterpret hits.
With more than four decades of career, Weller continues to prove that he is a restless, honest and deeply connected to the music that formed him.
