Graham Coxon and Paul Weller - This Old Town

Despite the potential for disaster, the song passes the test with distinction.

Released 30 Jul 2007 | | By Matt Churchill | Rating:

Graham Coxon and Paul Weller - This Old Town

Two of the most influential people in British music have combined to produce an instantly likeable four minutes of generation-crossing music. Paul Weller's fire certainly hasn't gone out as a songwriter, as this collaboration with Britpop's most inventive guitarists shows. The song takes the best elements of Weller's most recent singles 'C'mon/Let's Go' and 'From The Floorboards Up' and fuses them with Coxon's ear for a riff, and naive, yet brilliantly pitched, vocals.

Zak Starkey arrives on drums, adding the wealth of experience he has from touring with The Who and Oasis. His power and ample articulation gives the song a robust feel; it's not encouraging a Moddish swagger as such, but it certainly asks for a puffed out chest with shoulders back and RayBans on.

With only 5,000 copies of the vinyl being pressed, this is a must-have for all Weller and Coxon fans. Despite the potential for disaster (as so often happens when two artists of huge stature come together) the song passes that test with distinction.30/07/07Matt Churchill