Paul Weller has shared a new single, ‘Clive’s Song’, featuring Led Zeppelin icon Robert Plant. Listen below.
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The song is the fourth preview of the soloist and former Jam frontman’s upcoming covers album, ‘Find El Dorado’, which is released on July 25 via Parlophone (pre-order/pre-save here).
It follows his recent renditions of the Bee Gees‘ ‘I Started A Joke’, ‘Lawdy Rolla’ (originally recorded by obscure French studio band The Guerrillas) and ‘Pinball’ (Brian Protheroe).
‘Clive’s Song’ was written by Clive Palmer – a founding member of the Incredible String Band – for Hamish Imlach, who recorded it on his 1971 album ‘Old Rarity’.
“Though the song remains relatively undiscovered, avowed folk and blues aficionado Robert Plant didn’t need persuading when Paul invited him to Black Barn for the resulting session,” reads a press release.
“For fellow West Midlander, Steve Cradock, it all amounted to an indisputable highlight.
“Plant is a walking treasury of tales that stretch way back before Led Zeppelin. He regaled everyone present with tales of going to see Son House and Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee when the American Folk Blues Festival reached Birmingham Town Hall in 1967.”
Weller and Plant swap harmonies and lead vocals on the collaborative, stripped-back cover, with the latter also unleashing a harmonica solo.
‘Clive’s Song’ reflects Weller’s “escalating fascination with the vanguard of folk and blues artists who emerged in Britain and Ireland in the 1960s and early 1970s”. Check out the official visualiser above.
‘Find El Dorado’ is described as “a map of [Weller’s] emotional and musical DNA” that sees him “revisit songs that have long lived in the back of his mind – now reimagined with fresh meaning and a sense of reverence”.
The upcoming record also features reimaginings of classic songs by the likes of The Kinks (‘Nobody’s Fool’) and Bobby Charles (‘Small Town Talk’).
In a previous statement about the project, Weller said: “These are songs I’ve carried with me for years. They’ve taken on new shapes over time. And now felt like the moment to share them.”
An official description reads: “This is Weller at his most reflective, offering listeners a rare glimpse into the music that made him, and a reminder that great songs never age, they just evolve.”
‘Find El Dorado’ marks Weller’s return to Parlophone Records. He released his 17th and most recent solo LP, ’66’, via Polydor in May last year – the day before his 66th birthday.
Last month, Weller was seen among the supporters at Kneecap’s court hearing in London, where member Mo Chara appeared on terror charges. The soloist had previously joined numerous artists in signing a letter from Heavenly Recordings to defend the Irish rap trio’s “freedom of expression”.
