Paul Weller Find El Dorado
Paul Weller's Find El Dorado arrives as a thoughtfully curated journey through nostalgia and reinvention, earning an 80/100 consensus score across two professional reviews. Critics praise Weller's restrained, pastoral approach, where sparse production and collaborator touches turn covers and originals into quietly revelatory moments rather than showy pastiches. The quick verdict from the critical consensus: the record's charm lies in curation and mood rather than maximalism.
Reviewers consistently point to standout tracks that define the album's strengths. “Nobody's Fool”, “Clive's Song”, “Where There's Smoke, There’s Fire” and “Pinball” emerge as best songs on Find El Dorado, with “Journey” singled out for its tasteful arrangement featuring Seckou Keita's kora. Critics note recurring themes of eclecticism, crate-digging covers and a 70s aesthetic; Weller's choices feel like salvaging lost narrators, folding melancholy and pastoral arrangements into a cohesive whole. Across professional reviews, collaborators such as Noel Gallagher are described as unobtrusive enhancements rather than distractions.
While both reviews celebrate the album's unity and reverence, they also imply limits - the pleasures here are subtle and reward attentive listening rather than immediate hooks. For readers asking whether Find El Dorado is good, the critical consensus suggests it is a nuanced, collaborator-led collection that favors mood and careful reinvention; those seeking Weller's most adventurous statements may find it more reflective than revolutionary. Below, the detailed reviews unpack why these tracks and themes consistently attracted praise across the reviews.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Nobody’s Fool
2 mentions
"here Weller gives the track the reverence it deserves"— Clash Music
Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire
2 mentions
"Weller has given rarities such as ‘Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire’, a forgotten 1984 funk gem, their chance to shine"— Clash Music
Clive’s Song
2 mentions
"culminating in a stirring duet with Robert Plant (!) on Clive Palmer’s ‘Clive’s Song’"— Clash Music
here Weller gives the track the reverence it deserves
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Handouts in the Rain
Small Town Talk
El Dorado
White Line Fever
One Last Cold Kiss
When you are a King
Pinball
Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire
I Started a Joke
Never the Same
Lawdy Rolla
Nobody’s Fool
Journey
Daltry Street
Clive’s Song
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 3 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Paul Weller approaches Find El Dorado as a labour of affectionate curation, favouring pastoral, melancholic reinventions over flash. The review highlights standout covers like “I Started A Joke”, “Nobody’s Fool” and “Clive’s Song” as exemplars of his subtle collaborator-led touch. Bowes writes with warm approval of the album's unity and sparse production, arguing these best tracks show Weller reviving songs for their feel rather than fashion. In short, the best songs on Find El Dorado are the ones where Weller's reverence and restraint let forgotten melodies bloom anew.
Key Points
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The best song is the duet “Clive’s Song” because it culminates the album with a stirring guest appearance by Robert Plant.
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The album's core strength is affectionate curation and sparse, melancholic production that reinvents deep cuts rather than relying on nostalgia.
Themes
Critic's Take
In a tone equal parts wistful and crate-digger's glee, Paul Weller reshapes Find El Dorado into a series of little revelations, where the best songs - “Nobody’s Fool”, “Pinball” and “Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire” - reveal his gift for salvaging lost narrators. The record luxuriates in dun hues and warm beer atmospherics, and Weller’s pared-back readings make the tracks feel both shopworn and alive. He lets unlikely choices breathe - Seckou Keita’s kora on “Journey” and Noel Gallagher’s unobtrusive guitar on “El Dorado” are tasteful intrusions that elevate rather than dominate. The result is a covers album that behaves like an original, a found-objects record that consistently rewards attentive listening.
Key Points
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The best song is strongest where Weller finds a lost narrator and reshapes it with sympathetic, pared-back production.
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The album’s core strengths are its tasteful, eclectic song choices and Weller’s ability to make covers feel like original, atmospheric tableaux.