Paul Weller

Many artists have built a successful new career out of the ashes of a major band. But few have turned the trick twice and survived to take their career into a third chapter. As the leader of the Jam and the Style Council, and finally as a solo artist, Paul Weller created a burning brand of rock and soul, then did it again . . . and again. We begin our Modfather overview with "You Do Something To Me", a nigh-on perfect alliance of soul and folk from his third solo album, 1995's Stanley Road; and the excellent title track from 1993's Wild Wood — both songs place him in a tradition that stretches back to Traffic and tap into a sensitive, rustic heart that was almost invisible during his time with the Jam. Weller looks back to his Style Council days in the live arena, in Next Steps.

Dedicated followers of the Jam's punk-fired energy were heart-broken, appalled, when Weller broke up the Mod-inspired band at the height of their success. But he had glimpsed a new future, exploring avenues of soul, pop and dance music with the Style Council — here, as a nod to that seven-year collaboration with keyboard player Mick Talbot, we've included 2005 live versions of their 1984 single "Shout To The Top" as well as the previous year's "Long Hot Summer". As a mark of Weller's range, it pays to set those tracks against the punchy "Come On / Let's Go" from his muscular, rocking 2005 release, As Is Now, on which he rediscovered the power of a fiercely slashed chord. Noel Gallagher joins forces with the Modfather, in Deep Cuts.

Paul Weller started out with the Jam as a principled punk who dressed like a mod and wrote poetry like Philip Larkin (e.g. "A hundred lonely housewives clutching milk bottles their hearts" — "A Town Called Malice") — and in that fractured, multi-faceted identity there was at least some clue that he would become not just Brit rock's paternal Modfather, but a true renaissance man. No wonder that Noel Gallagher from Oasis singled Weller out as a leading influence and, more than offering a simple name-check, embarked series of collaborations including a guest guitar spot on "I Walk on Gilded Splinters" and a big production hand in "Echoes Round the Sun" from 2009's Number One double album, 22 Dreams.

Paul Weller is one of British rock's great survivors: a man of the people with a unique vision, and the guts to see it through to fruition. Age has dimmed none of the youthful energy that made him an icon in his teens: he falls back in love with rock 'n' roll on a regular basis, in between the periods of reflection marked by his gentler folkish material, and that drive has earned him universal music biz respect. Here, we give you the absolute best of Weller's solo career, from reprised versions of Jam classics, through unexpected covers (Sister Sledge get Weller-ized on "Thinking Of You") to 2009's 22 Dreams — an album that plays like the natural culmination of his entire career to date, taking in rock, soul, folk and more besides. From fierce Mod to rock god, Weller remains a British national treasure.