The Cost of Loving is the third studio album by the English band the Style Council, released on 7 February 1987 by Polydor Records.[2] The album was recorded over a period of three months in 1986, at Solid Bond Studios in London (owned by their lead vocalist, Paul Weller). The album is generally regarded as the culmination of the smoother, more adult-oriented sound of the band's later work. The album peaked at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart, and achieved gold status from the BPI. It featured the singles "It Didn't Matter" and "Waiting", which had corresponding music videos. "It Didn't Matter" reached the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart, however "Waiting" failed to make the top 40, which was a first for any Style Council single.
On release, The Cost of Loving received mixed reviews from music journalists. Today, the album is generally seen as a turning point in the band's career, leading to the sounds later explored on Confessions of a Pop Group (1988) and Modernism: A New Decade (1998), whilst also signalling the start of the band's declining commercial and critical success. The band themselves have been quite vocal in being less satisfied with the album.
Production and recording
This album saw the group concentrating on the R&B styles that had been growing in America during the eighties. The album included a cover version of "Angel," a song originally recorded by Anita Baker for her debut solo studio album, The Songstress (1983). Its urban contemporary feel was a jolt to listeners who had grown accustomed to the continental mix of soul music, jazz, and European folk styles that the band had displayed on their previous two studio albums. United States label Geffen Records heard the tracks and promptly dropped the Style Council from their roster. Socially conscious soul music pioneer Curtis Mayfield was asked to mix some of the material on the album, which displays hints of being influenced by house music and the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis sound. Tracks from the album were included in a 37-minute film, Jerusalem, about the band.
Cover art
The initial British pressings of the album were conceived and issued as two 12" EPs in a gatefold sleeve (designed by Simon Halfon with ideas from Paul Weller). PolyGram records would eventually issue the album Stateside without its much-maligned international orange jacket design. When asked by Uncut magazine whether the album cover was intended as "a citric version of The Beatles' White Album?", Weller replied that "the only thing" he "can say in its defence is that it's in some book as one of the top 100 album sleeves."[3]
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote, "Filled with bland, professional soul-pop, few of the songs have memorable melodies and the band tends to meander through the slick arrangements." He further noted that "Weller's lyrics were self-important and under-developed, with only the hit single 'It Didn't Matter' making a lasting impression among the undistinguished songs that comprised the majority of the album."[1]
Alfie Vera Mella of Cryptic Rock was more positive. In his retrospective review for the album's 30th anniversary, he stated, "The classy touch of The Cost of Loving continues to be a reminder of the band’s [the Style Council's] predilection for slick, smooth, big sound; less simple song structures; as well as jazzy and bluesy instrumentation. That in mind, the album has aged gracefully and become even more enjoyable thirty years later."[9]
In 1991, the NME included the album in a list of fourteen albums that "should've been an EP".[10]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Paul Weller, except where noted.
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