Advanced Search Beta »
Basic Search Fields
Wake Up The Nation - Paul Weller
Metascore
84 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 22 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
view
per page
  1. Q Magazine
    100
    With the exception of Bob Dylan, there isn't a single artist, living or dead, who has managed a record this audacious 30-plus-years into a career. Wake Up The Nation is that good. [May 2010, p.114]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. The Guardian
    100
    The fearless try-anything spirit of Paul Welly, it seems, is still alive and well.
  3. Dot Music
    90
    Compact and succinctly direct, its 16 tracks rarely break the three-minute mark but are packed with a greater density of ideas than its predecessor.
  4. All Music Guide
    90
    This is music of the mind that remains fiercely visceral, music that feels of a piece of Weller's entire body of work, but is quite unique in its execution and impact.
  5. PopMatters
    90
    Wake Up the Nation, once again illustrates not only his perennial songwriting prowess, but also his incredible staying power amidst artists for whom influence is sporadic and brief at best.
  6. Prefix Magazine
    85
    Wake Up The Nation comes across as a lean, physical record with enough lucid zingers to make you hungry for more.
  7. The A.V. Club
    83
    Taken all together, Wake Up The Nation is either a standout album from a brilliant career, or utter wankery. One thing's certain: It ain't dull.
  8. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    It's a collection of ludicrously fresh-sounding, short and sharp material (the majority of tracks are under two-and a-half minutes) that confirms he's in the midst of a seriously impressive rebirth.
  9. Clash Music
    80
    Lean, mean and as uncompromisingly focused as its maker, this is an album for everyone's collection, and whilst Weller is perhaps not the man he once was, the man he is now is most definitely still a force to be reckoned with.
  10. BBC Music
    80
    Nevertheless, what the album lacks in depth, it more than makes up for in the length and breadth of Weller's imagination.
  11. Mojo
    80
    An astonishing landmark, and great record, wherein the Mod once again becomes The Modernist. [May 2010, p.94]
    All this publication's reviews
  12. Uncut
    80
    Wake Up The Nation, an album that goes a long way to differentiate itself from its predecessor in sound, texture and atmosphere.
  13. musicOMH.com
    80
    Overall Wake Up The Nation is an impressive achievement which sees Weller's brand of psychedelic soul-rock revitalized. Retro has rarely sounded this fresh.
  14. Slant Magazine
    80
    Wake Up certainly stands as a collection of top-notch material, representing the second part of a late-term renaissance for an artist who already had a reputation as an innovator.
  15. Pitchfork
    77
    That's just about a half-hour shorter than 22 Dreams, but the disc in turn is twice the fun.
  16. Under The Radar
    70
    In the end, Wake Up The Nation serves as a set of songs that will prompt listeners to shuck preconceptions and just enjoy an album. [Spring 2010, p.66]
    All this publication's reviews
  17. Spin
    70
    The aptly titled Wake Up the Nation hardly feels like a nostalgia trip; in the taut, two-minute boogie-punk number "Fast Car/Slow Traffic," Weller could be describing himself in relation to his heritage-rock peers.
  18. Hot Press
    70
    Modfather gets his weird on.
  19. Los Angeles Times
    63
    "Wake Up the Nation," if anything, is at times too manically experimental.
  20. Drowned In Sound
    60
    Overall, Wake Up The Nation isn't a bad record, but it can be a bovine test of endurance, at least if one is to devour all sixteen tracks in one sitting. Had the quality control officers had the guts to stand up to its creator in chief, this could have been an endearing re-affirmation.
  21. Boston Globe
    50
    Wake Up the Nation rocks with abandon, to be sure. What it needs is cohesion.
  22. No Ripcord
    Jan 7, 2011
    40
    Lyrically Wake Up The Nation is largely inscrutable, while sonically it remains a shambling and ungainly listen.
prev next
Page:
  • 1