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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.
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Nevertheless, what the album lacks in depth, it more than makes up for in the length and breadth of Weller's imagination.
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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.
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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.
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Modfather gets his weird on.
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"Wake Up the Nation," if anything, is at times too manically experimental.
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MojoAn astonishing landmark, and great record, wherein the Mod once again becomes The Modernist. [May 2010, p.94]
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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.
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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.
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That's just about a half-hour shorter than 22 Dreams, but the disc in turn is twice the fun.
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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.
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Wake Up The Nation comes across as a lean, physical record with enough lucid zingers to make you hungry for more.
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Q MagazineWith 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]
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The fearless try-anything spirit of Paul Welly, it seems, is still alive and well.
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Wake Up The Nation, an album that goes a long way to differentiate itself from its predecessor in sound, texture and atmosphere.
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Under The RadarIn 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]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 14 out of 16
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Mixed: 1 out of 16
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Negative: 1 out of 16
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Nov 20, 2020
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Jun 23, 2012