LATER...with Jools Holland (23/05/2008 - Series 32, Show 8)

The last show in the series and a real disappointment because it should have ended on a high. Ultimately it was rather dull musically, made up for by some good and relevant interviews.

Tuesday 20/5

• Paul Weller - 22 Dreams
• Martha Wainwright - You Cheated Me
• Jimmy Cliff (Chat with JH)
• Tricky - C’mon Baby
• Jimmy Cliff - Many Rivers To Cross
• Paul Weller (Chat with JH)
• White Lies - Unfinished Business
• Martha Wainwright - Bleeding All Over You
• Paul Weller - Push It Along

Friday 23/5

• Paul Weller - Have You Made Up Your Mind
• Martha Wainwright - You Cheated Me
• Tricky - Council Estate
• Jimmy Cliff (Chat with JH)
• White Lies - Unfinished Business
• Jimmy Cliff - Many Rivers To Cross
• Paul Weller - Invisible
• Martha Wainwright - So Many Friends
• Paul Weller (Chat with JH)
• Yoav - Club Thing
• Tricky - Puppy Toy
• Martha Wainwright (Chat with JH)
• White Lies - Death
• Martha Wainwright - Bleeding All Over You
• Paul Weller - Push It Along

Whether you like him, love him or loathe him you cannot deny that Paul Weller is an incredible talent and institution. That is no reason alone to love his music at the moment which fails to hit the heights of his previous incarnations in The Jam, Style Council and solo highlight of Wild Wood and Changing Man. For now his music just is not very good. Weller opened and closed both shows, performed four songs and enduring two interviews (basically the same). Recent single Have You Made Up Your Mind is good, as is 22 Dreams but the piano led Invisible sounded like a SC rejected b-side and rockier number Push It Along is terrible. He also makes an uncomfortable interviewee, nervous and fidgeting constantly.

Martha Wainwright is always a great performer and her material is better live than recorded. Like Weller she had two songs on the Tuesday, repeated on Friday in addition to All My Friends. Her vocals are excellent as are her band (including new husband ‘the bass player’) but it was all a bit predictable. And you know she is showcasing the best songs on the album which isn’t a great advert. She also got to talk to Jools and was a mad but engaging subject, genuinely emotional seeing footage of her mother performing.

A surprise this week is Tricky. He has been away for years and it showed, although his vocal delivery is still engaging. Accompanied on the weak C’mon Baby and the bitter Puppy Toy by female singer Alex, it was compelling but essentially difficult to take in. The manic Council Estate attempted to make a statement and shake things up but if you look at the new material from fellow stalwarts Portishead, there is no comparison.

Jools’ special guest was Jimmy Cliff, talking about the new musical version of The Harder They Come - the only thing he seems to be known for these days, and performed Many Rivers To Cross with Jools on the piano. This voice is suffering slightly in his advanced years but it was still a good rendition.

Of the remaining two acts, White Lies did a passable impression of Editors - all drama and no tune. Sadly the best artist on the show and the most interesting musician, Yoav, only got to perform one song on the Friday show. He was amazing. A one man band, playing every part of the guitar, reaching every vocal range and changing the backing program with his bare feet via peddles. Excellent stuff that left me wanting more.

So not a great finale but a decent show. Jools consistently gets great guests, a mix of the old and the new, the relevant and the interesting. Without competition it frequently gets self-indulgent but we can bear this as long as there is great music. More more more.