Shilts: See What Happens

Paul “Shilts” Weimar plays the saxophone with English dance/groove band Down to the Bone (DTTB). That fact should tell you the flavor of his CD, which has that good-time DTTB sound, but also a retro spark that recalls the best of Average White Band. This here music’s a party in a box, baby.

Shilts, who has recorded with David Bowie and Jimmy Page and was a member of Breathe, Sys’tem X, UK Soul and the Brand New Heavies, can fly on the sax and has a polished tone. He fills his CD with session players from DTTB, enlists keyboardist Mick Wilson as co-writer and producer and lets it all hang out on his debut CD, from hand claps, brass blasts and phat beats to organ grinds and bass thumps, all swirling under Shilts’ sax.

Shilts’ intense sax runs, the wah-wah guitar and the records scratches on “Mind the Gap” should be what all the kids in their right minds swing to on sweaty Saturday nights at the club. The tempo is one pace-fast-for eight tracks, then slips into a slightly slower groove for “Your Place or Mine,” a tight, in-the-pocket classic that lasts a delicious seven minutes. Shilts works the reeds on “Your Place or Mine” and shows his skill as a player, letting his jazz chops take over. Then he’s back for more beats and sax on “Tequila Frenzy” and “Cop This!” Whew.

Originally Published November 1, 2001