There's just no killing them, is there? No matter how hard we try. A grim inevitability surrounds the 'Phonics' continued existence - you get the distinct impression that come some apocalyptic global meltdown, the only thing the survivors will have to entertain them whilst battling giant mutant cockroaches for scraps of food will be the self-same Stereophonics. And you've got to give them credit, in the face of such barely concealed hatred, for releasing a song as good as this...
...Nope. Can't do it. Can't even write that with a straight face. Of course Rewind is dreadful. Furthermore, it's second-hand dreadful, resembling I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2 to a litigation ready extent.
But why would Bono, Edge & Associates bother? For with the minimum of fuss, the 'Phonics have managed to drain any semblance of merit from their donor song. What was once a chest-beating, thou-shalt-not-defeat-me vocal now sounds like cats screwing Liam Gallagher on a bed of glass, and the guitar bears the same relationship to the original as urine does to beer: some of the same constituent parts, but really a piss-poor substitute. Which, helpfully, is a pretty succinct summation of the whole sorry thing.
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