From Pitchfork Media:

More than 30 years into his career, Paul Weller has made his most varied and surprising album. He's made plenty of good and even great records in the past, with the Jam, the Style Council and on his own, but 22 Dreams is really something unique in his catalog, and it's refreshing to hear him changing the script like this so late in the game. The album's 21 tracks (dream #22 is a story by Simon Armitage, included in the CD booklet) simultaneously introduce a host of new ideas to Weller's music and play like a microcosm of his career and musical life, ranging from crunching rock to piano ballads and truly dream-like psychedelia. It may be his finest solo effort, and easily hangs with its closest contenders, 1997's Heavy Soul and 1993's Wild Wood.


From the Associated Press:

This is Weller at his most experimental in decades. Each song shifts genres, snapping Weller's soulfully tuned voice from crooning to belting and back ... Still handsome in those '60s Fred Perry polo shirts, Weller may look the part of a Modfather, but he digs deeper on 22 Dreams.


From Pop Matters:

What songs like these have done is separate Weller from the cliched alternative-rock that other aging artists put out shamefully these days. The difference with Weller is that he has maintained a majestic vision that is consistently worthy of production for over 30 years, a sentiment illustrated deeply on 22 Dreams. Apart from being the most eclectic and resourcefully imaginative solo album of Weller's career, 22 Dreams also turns out to be one of his most consistent efforts. Considering its length and degree of material, it is a colossal achievement in songwriting even for the reputable likes of the Modfather.

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