alexknibb/music

I wanted to draw attention to perhaps one of the finest British rock albums ever committed to record.

Yes, the Stereophonics quickly became the rock equivalent of Phil Collins for a while after their second album, but this is where it all started.

Many great albums are formed as a product of their geography and economics as much as their songs. Blur's Parklife captured east-end London at the start of the 90's, and Word Gets Around by the Stereophonics did exactly the same thing for, well, Cwmaman.

I was going to write a comprehensive review of why I love this album, but Amazon comes close enough to allow me a bit of a laziness.

All I'll say is, if you check them out, listen to Local Boy In The Photograph or A Thousand Trees and truly listen to them. The lyrics are some of the most moving rock can muster.




After the release of Word Gets Around, the Stereophonics blistering debut album, word did, indeed, get around, and rightly so. Firm adherents to the philosophy of "write what you know", Kelly Jones escaped the rural Welsh village of his upbringing and unleashed his remarkable songwriting talent on a world outside the valleys. The album title encapsulates its content perfectly--canny small-town observations rooted in real-life experience and drama. The setting is so insular that the rumours, gossip and stories have nothing to do but buzz round from lip to lip, reverberating off the surrounding mountains. Whereas contemporaries such as Super Furry Animals or Oasis may have exuded a more escapist vibe in their early songs, Jones immerses himself in the everyday events of small-town life and admirably demonstrates an unconditional love for the place he grew up.

Possessing an ability to say so much with so few words, his songs are as emotive as they are mosh-inducing, nowhere more aptly demonstrated than in "Local Boy in the Photograph"'s "He'll always be / Twenty-three / Yet the train runs on and on / Past the place they found his clothing," delivered with the kind of rusty-hacksaw vocal that belongs to Satan himself. Balancing this seriousness is a fine line in subtle humour, as displayed on the customer-service frustrations of "More Life in a Tramp's Vest".

However, the closing salvo of "Billy Davey's Daughter" (a song based on a story that, after its release, turned out to be nothing more than a rumour, thus perfectly capturing the very essence of the album) is a wonderful acoustic outro to a solid rock record. The Stereophonics have never bettered this, and it's their cross to bear that they probably never will. --Ben Johncock

Right. Anyone who has bothered to read my music preferences will have ascertained that I'm something of a music snob. And they're probably right. Specifically, I reserve the majority of my bile for bands or artists who are scandalously overrated. Most recently, Coldplay (shudder) and James "Cockney Rhyming Slang" Blunt.

So for those of you who are aware of this particular character trait in me, you've probably both coughed up your tea to see me thumbing up the boys from Take That. Well, I don't care.

"Shine" by Take That is probably one of the finest pop songs ever written. It's a glimmering, glistening slab of sheer pop perfection.

And the best bit? You don't have to be homosexual or a 14 year old girl to like them any more. I hope. ;)

For those of you of an American persuasion, Take That were nothing short of a phenomenon in the 90s in the UK. Celebrated and derided in equal measure at the time, nostalgia has distinctly softened public opinion of them since their reformation last year, and the lads have proved that the rose-tinted glasses have been wholly unnecessary.

Check out youtube.com/watch [youtube.com/watch] for one of the finest pieces of pure, unadulterated, sugar-coated pop joy your ears could ever hope to hear. :)

"...You see all the reviews said 'The new Magic Numbers album is pretty much exactly like the old one, and let's face it, who wants two Magic Numbers albums?'

"But you know what? I bought the CD anyway, it was in Woolworths for £4.97, and I had all these preconceptions in my mind, but I still think it's brilliant. And this is the crux of my argument. The Magic Numbers CD got mediocre reviews everywhere, but I love it. If everyone sat round this table says an album is crap, but you love it, it doesn't matter one iota. It's a great album as far as you're concerned.

"In the same vein, if everyone around this table says Coldplay are great, and I know they're shite, they're definitely shite."

I have to say I'm dead impressed on two counts:

1. I came up with that brilliantly cogent argument in front of six of my friends in a dream, and
2. I remembered it pretty much word for word once I'd woken up.

I heartily recommend a good portion of Stilton cheese just before bed. :)




And the best bit? I don't even own the Magic Numbers' second album.