Paul Weller wants an album of soul singers covering his songs – but is worried it would seem “arrogant”.
Weller has been dreaming of the project for years but is concerned people would find it self-indulgent and not be interested.
He said: “I’d love to do a record with a few of my songs sung by soul singers.
“I don’t know how to get in touch with [the singers I’d want], but Stone Foundation managed to get Melba Moore to sing on their album and they’ve also had William Bell and Bettye LaVette.”
Paul Weller recalled how much it “blew [his] mind” when he first heard a soul version of one of his old songs.
The music star told Uncut: “The closest I came was when Acid Jazz put out a really old song of mine called, ‘Left Right & Centre’, which I wrote when I was 16.
“They got this American soul singer Dean Parrish to sing it. It was amazing to hear this song which I wrote as a kid trying to imagine I was fucking Otis Redding or something.
“When Dean’s version came out, I finally got to hear it as I heard it when I was writing it as a kid – it blew my mind.”
Weller was happy to receive a list of suggested artists for his dream project.
He noted: “Martha Reeves, Darlene Love, Irma Thomas … Kiki Dee? Yeah I like her. Wasn’t she the first British artist signed to Motown?”
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Gavin Ryan reports with thanks to Australian-Charts.com
