Billboard.com has a great recent article/Q&A with musician Paul Weller (The Jam/Style Council). Yep Roc Records recently released a 4-CD box set, Hit Parade, that includes all of his singles and a 60-page book. A 23-track single disc and a double DVD set are also available.

Here’s a snippet of the interview:

Toward the end of the Style Council, when the negative reviews started to roll in, what kind of impact did it have on you?

I found it pretty f*ckin’ devastating, to be quite honest, because all my life, or in a large part of my life, all I was used to was being in a band — touring and making records, and doing whatever you do when you’re in a band. And, all of a sudden, all of that stopped. I didn’t have a band; I didn’t have a label; I didn’t have a publishing deal; I wasn’t really playing live. So everything I knew or was used to had gone. So it took a while for the smoke to clear, and then for me to realize, “Listen, you almost have got to start again.” At the time, that was pretty devastating. But in hindsight, it was probably one of the best things that ever happened to me, because it was a humbling experience. It’s taught me a lot of good lessons, really.

Tell me about some of those lessons.

The first thing it did, after a period of about two years, or 18 months, was to get me back on the road, and just get back out there and play live again. We would be playing to 200-300 people at times — I mean, it was really like starting again. The lesson it taught me was that no matter how much you’ve done in the past, and whatever kind of legacy you’ve supposedly built, it doesn’t mean sh*t, really. You’re only as good as your last record, and that’s no bad lesson to learn. I think that kind of keeps you on your toes, and keeps your eye on the real prize.

You can read the entire interview at Billboard.com.

Order your copy of Hit Parade here.

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