Import pressing of their 1997 album, now out-of-print in the US. V2. Album Description
 |  | Best UK album since The Bends and Morning Glory, criminally underrated band |  |
While lately there hasn't been much competition in the stagnant music industry to create something good, this cd is better than anything Oasis has put out since Morning Glory, and infinitely more fun and poetic than anything Radiohead has put out since The Bends. When I was listening to "Too Many Sandwiches" at one point recently, I realized this band is not just a "poor man's Oasis", but may be better than a lot of Oasis altogether. Certainly the lyrics here are better than anything Noel Gallagher could write in a thousand years, and there's true rock n roll power to go with it. This is the kind of rock music I love, and while their later albums may not come close to the glories of "Local Boy In The Photograph" or "Same Size Feet", this is one of the best debuts around.
There's a joy and working class pride that's hard to find in bands these days, and that makes me love them all the more. If you like The Who you must own this, period.
October 18, 2007| | | The First Time Around, The Best Time Around, Word Gets Around | |
Simply put the first time around for The Stereophonics was definately the best in their case. If you've read any of my other reviews, you'd know that I discovered these guys from the track Maybe Tomorrow, off Wicker Park. That made me buy the fourth album, "You Got to Go there to Come Back". I loved that album so I went out and bought their fifth and newest album at the time,"Language,Sex,Violence,Other". Loved that one too so I picked up "Live at Dakota". Loved it, especially some of the old songs that I had never heard before, especially A Thousand Trees and Too Many Sandwiches. This prompted me to get the album that those tracks were from, "Word Gets Around". All in all, this album is one that can be listened to and enjoyed in its entirety. All of the tracks, except for maybe More Life in a Tramps Vest are awesome. Including the great tracks mentioned before from "Live at Dakota", other stellar cuts include Local Boy in a Photograph,Check my Eyelids for Holes, and Goldfish Bowl. A tremendous performance both musically, and especially in Kelly's vocals, are heard on the beautiful Traffic. The best is saved for last with the title track. For such a sad song, it is the perfect ending for a nearly flawless album. Buy it.
September 27, 2006The debut album from Stereophonics, Wales' answer to a hard-rockin' band. This album has the perfect balance of melody, rock sensibilities, and tight performances to make it stand out. Songs like Local Boy in the Photograph and A Thousand Trees get you musically and lyrically in ways that haven't been done in a while. While the album does sound rather generic after a while and has some weak numbers, overall this one was a great starting point for the band.
April 11, 2005they suck they only have 1 good song and it is more life in a tramp's vest and that is the only good song out of all the songs on all of their cd's
July 6, 2004| | | Pedestrian Britpop Perfection | |
I give this album a highly recommended 4 1/2 out of 5 (rounded up to 5) because even though you've heard this type of guitar-heavy pop band at least four times before, you've never heard it this good. The Stereophonics have perfected their genre and are sincerely amazing songwriters.
This Welsh band has been called the "Matchbox Twenty" of Britpop, which can be a good or bad thing depending on how avant garde you claim to be. Unfortunately, the innate talent of this band was overlooked by many critics, because like Matchbox Twenty of american alterative rock, the Stereophonics arrived after the britpop genre had already peaked artistically but record companies were still churning out several interchangeable bands. If you're looking for a band that knows how to construct quality pop songs that are catchy yet poignant, then they're the band for you. If you're looking for a band that sounds completely different than the pop status quo then perhaps you should look elsewhere.
The Stereophonics put together great songs, each with their own pervasive driving beat, and beefy guitar hooks. The raw vocals of Kelly Jones perfectly underscore their tragic, yet beautiful lyrics. Unlike some of their more idyllic contemporary songwriters, the Stereophonics have an uncanny sense of irony in portraying their song subjects. I doubt Matchbox Twenty or Northern Uproar could come up with the staggering metaphorical lyric from "A Thousand Trees" that describes a football coach torn down by rumors: "it takes one tree to make a thousand matches/only takes one match to burn a thousand trees." This first album catches them at their freshest and their songs capture the idealism of youth fading away as it approaches the harsh realities of the real world.
Songs such as "A Thousand Trees," "Looks Like Chaplin," the breathtaking "Traffic," and "Local Boy in the Photograph" all strive to capture the fleeting tragedies that often go unnoticed in small town life. "Last of the Big Time Drinkers" and "Goldfish Bowl" are both songs that lament and celebrate alcohol only as a self-defeating escape to a droll working class existence.
The surge of the Britpop in the mid 90s brought about many interchangeable bands, and the Stereophonics were classified among them. However, this album soars far above the Catatonia, Bows, or Feeder offerings from that same time period, when Britpop was sputtering out. Had the Stereophonics showed up in 1994 when Oasis did, Kelly Jones would be as revered as Noel Gallagher for his superior pop anthems. This is a great band, that is not to be missed. Their first two albums are necessities for connoisseurs of Britpop. November 18, 2003
More reviews at Amazon.com ...
