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Ahhh remember 1999? There was the Euro. Bill Clinton single-handedly
persuading sex shops to stock cigars. Gwyneth Paltrow giving
that
Oscar speech. Columbine. Man United doing the treble. Posh marrying
Becks.
Edward marrying Sophie. Guigsy and Bonehead leaving Oasis. It
was
also the year three Welshmen trounced the charts, music channels and
radio
stations collectively to become the UK's rock band du jour with their
album
Performance And Cocktails.
Then something happened. They started whining about the trappings of
their illustrious fame and generally lost it a bit on 2001'S J.E.E.P.
Then
one of the Welshman was told his services were no longer needed (Stuart
Cable) by the lead Welshman (Kelly Jones). A year passed and their junk
fest
You Gotta Go There To Come Back was shifted out just in time for summer
2002. Now five years on, it can be confirmed that the local boy in the
photograph was indeed abducted.
Forget the obese pretentiousness of the title. Forget Kelly Jones's
overblown insistence to wail like a cat downing battery fluid. Where
are the
songs?
The first twenty minutes of LSVO judder by forgetfully. The new rock
n'
roll may be the new new, but it's a no-no for the
Stereophonics.
Jones is desperate to branch out their sound. His vocal parts are
produced to the point you wonder whether his abductees replaced him
with an
android. It works quite well on recent single Dakota, meshing a spacey
eighties rhythm with the patented Phonics chorus. While it is noble to
want
to reinvent after eight years in the business, the Stereophonics do it
at
odds with themselves.
Early on, Jones busies himself with the now customary session of
Rod
Stewart karaoke. Rewind jumps back to the fringes of Joshua Tree
territory. Pedalpusher is much of the same degrading stuff Jones has
been
putting out of late, with that painfully faux snarl. And as ever, the
song
choruses are recycled in the way the Stereophonics like to recycle
them.
This just feels it was produced to deadline for the bankable spring
release
and summer tour.
But most people knew the direction the Stereophonics were taking
when
Jones grew his hair and took to wearing white suits and Stetsons to
shows
with a million dollar grin. If there is a saving grace - of very few -
Deadhead is it, reminding you why once, the Stereophonics were so
good.
All one can do is hope - or pray if it's your bag - the aliens will
return the real Jones without the amnesia, clutching that great notepad
of songs he always seemed to carry.
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