•
Rating:
As we were....
On August 21, 1997, with "Be Here Now," Oasis placed the tombstone on a large part of what is commonly known as britpop. Just four days later, a very promising Welsh band, the Stereophonics, led by the elfin frontman/singer/guitarist/songwriter Kelly Jones, a sort of cross (vocally speaking) between Rod Steward and Liam Gallagher, released their debut. The album, titled "Word Gets Around," immediately achieved good success, easily entering the top ten, and already the comparisons (as often happens in the U.K.) were rampant, with the foremost being with the immortal Who.
Now that we're almost in 2009, we all know the 'phonics never became the new Who, but they have made plenty of good things, starting with this debut: forty-two minutes of guitars and beautiful melodies that kick off with the compelling "A Thousand Trees" and close with the delightful melancholy of "Billy Davey's Daughter", moving through harder tracks ("Looks Like Chaplin"), lighter-waving ballads still heavily influenced by the then-ubiquitous Gallagher brothers ("Traffic"), and perfect tracks for a nice car journey preferably to unknown destinations ("Check My Eyelids For Holes" and "Same Size Feet", plagiarized five years later by Oasis themselves for their "The Hindu Times").
Sometimes the Welsh trio veers toward indie rock-leaning patterns, as in the case of the brief and bouncy "More Life In A Tramp's Vest", while elsewhere they try to move emotions, succeeding quite well (the hit "Local Boy In The Photograph"). An obligatory mention for the sublime "Not Up To You" which, with more care in production and arrangement, could have even worked great as a smash hit.
Jones interprets every single syllable with incredible skill and passion, as if every note performed were the last, and the band follows him with enthusiasm and conviction.
One of the most beautiful debuts of the late nineties, this "Word Gets Around", highly recommended for anyone who wants to get an idea of Jones and company's (good) music.
Key tracks: "Looks Like Chaplin", "More Life In A Tramp's Vest", "Not Up To You", "Too Many Sandwiches"
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 A Thousand Trees (03:02)
Standing at the bus stop
with my shopping in my hands
when I'm overhearing elderly ladies
as the rumours start to fly
Hear them in the school yard
in the scrap yard
in the chip shop
in the phone box
in the pool hall
at the shoe stall
every corner turned around
It started with a school girl
who was running
running home to her mam and dad
told them she was playing
in the change room
of her local football side
They said tell us again
she told them again
they said tell us the truth
I find it hard to believe
cause he taught our Steve
he even trained me
taught Uncle john
who's a father of three
CHORUS
It only takes one tree
to make a thousand matches
only takes one match
to burn a thousand trees
You see it in the class room
in the swimming pool
where the match stick men are made
at the scouts hall
at the football
where the wise we trust are paid
They all honour his name
he did a lot for the game
he got his name knocked up
above the sports ground gates
Now they're ripping them down
stamping the ground
picture gathers dust
in the bar
CHORUS
Wake up and smell the rain
shake up he's back to stay
he hasn't been on a holiday
growing seeds don't believe
why he's been away
In the school yard
change room
playing fields
bathroom
phone box
office blocks
corners turned around
They keep doubting the flame
tossing the blame
got his name knocked up
above the sports ground gates
Now they're ripping them down
stamping the ground
pictures gathers dust
in the bar in the lounge
CHORUS
04 Local Boy in the Photograph (03:22)
There's no mistake
I smell that smell
It's that time of year again
I can taste the air
The clocks go back
Railway track
Something blocks the line again
And the train runs late for the first time
A pebble beach
We're underneath
A pier just been painted red
Where I heard the news for the first time
And all the friends lay down the flowers
Sit on the banks and drink for hours
Talk of the way they saw him last
Local boy in the photograph
He'll always be 23
Yet the train runs on and on
Past the place they found his clothing
There's no mistake
I smell that smell
It's that time of year again
I can taste the air
The clocks go back
Railway track
Something blocks the line again
And the train runs late for the first time today
And all the friends lay down the flowers
Sit on the banks and drink for hours
Talk of the way they saw him last
Local boy in the photograph... today
He's gone away
05 Traffic (04:54)
We all face the same way
Still it takes all day
I take a look to my left, pick out the worst and the best
She paints her lip, greasy and thick
Another mirror stare, and she's going where?
Another office affair, to kill an unborn scare?
You talk dirty to a priest?It makes them human at least
But is she running away, to start a brand new day?
Or is she going home? Why's she driving alone?
Is anyone going anywhere?
Everyone's gotta be somewhere
She got a body in the boot, or just bags full of food?
Those are model's legs, but are they women's are they men's?
She shouts down the phone, missed a payment on the loan
She gotta be above the rest, keeping up with the best
Is anyone going anywhere?
Everyone's gotta be somewhere
Waits tables for a crook?
Wrote a hardback book?
You teach kids how to read?
Or sell your body on the street?
A nurse without a job?
Another uptown snob?
But have I got you all wrong?
One look and you were gone
Is anyone going anywhere? X 3
Everyone's gotta be somewhere
07 Check My Eyelids for Holes (02:43)
I gotta lose weight, I, I swallow honey
Is my stand up show, still, still, still that funny
Am I back for good?
I said that I, said that I would be
She's down waist low trying to make me happy
Because I like watching you.
It's time I tried, gotta check my, check my eyelids, check for holes
It's time I tried, gotta check my, check my eyelids, check for holes.
Two weeks late I, I, I gotta test for babies, shop take is falling low.
I'm not going back, back to the factories, because I like what I do
It's time I tried, tried to check my, check my eyelids, check for holes
It's time I tried, tried to check my, check my eyelids, check for holes
It's time I tried, tried to check my, check my eyelids, check for holes
It's time I tried, tried to check my, check my eyelids, check for holes
It's time I tried,
It's time I tried,
It's time I tried,
It's time I tried,
It's time I tried,
It's time I tried,
It's time I tried to check my lids for holes
10 Goldfish Bowl (03:02)
Same long faces in the work-mans hall,
Caramel Crisp counts his birds,
Cliff Chips lines up his dominoes,
Kingfisher lead singer calms his nerves
I'm drinking, sinking, swimming,
I'm drowning, working, smirking, learning,
I'm burning, sleeping, thieving, cheating,
Beating, I'm eating, I'm deep in a goldfish bowl,
It's sink or swim
The hall down town just burnt to the ground,
My boxing ring turned to ash,
Red-head, ginger bread, sells tickets at the door,
Stella sleep walks in the sand
I'm drinking, sinking, swimming,
I'm drowning, working, smirking, learning,
I'm burning, sleeping, thieving, cheating,
Beating, I'm eating, I'm deep in a goldfish bowl,
It's sink or swim,
Looking in, They're looking in
Hard up, outta luck, time to ride the village bike,
A bike been used ten times or more,
Grape vine, here's the wife, lays down her royal flush,
I think I've lost another wife
I'm drinking, sinking, swimming,
I'm drowning, working, smirking, learning,
I'm burning, sleeping, thieving, cheating,
Beating, I'm eating, I'm deep in a goldfish bowl,
It's sink or swim,
They're looking in, its sink or swim
11 Too Many Sandwiches (05:03)
Shopping spree for the family tree,
Haven't seen your family tree in quite a while!
Too many sandwiches and wine,
Sherry stains down your best mans tie,
What a speech.
The band arrives, the granny's cry,
Singers tongue's in the barmaids mouth,
What a voice.
Grandpa drunk a drop or two,
His heads still stuck in the portaloo,
What a man.
You bought a sequin dress for your chicken breast,
The disco's late and he's overpaid tonight,
You got a diamond ring,
And the man who sings,
The man who sings made love to the barmaid twice,
And that's just tonight
The blue rinsed hairs lift up the chairs,
The bands too loud they're off down stairs,
What a noise.
The bride and groom they dance their dance,
And the singer mimes "there's still a chance",
The barmaid smiles
You bought a sequin dress for your chicken breast,
The disco's late and he's overpaid tonight,
You got a diamond ring,
And the man who sings,
The man who sings made love to the barmaid twice,
And that's just tonight
You bought a sequin dress for your chicken breast,
The disco's late and he's overpaid tonight,
You got a diamond ring,
And the man who sings,
The man who sings made love to the barmaid twice,
Ha! Grandpa drunk a drop or two,
His heads still stuck in the portaloo again!
The bride and groom they dance their dance.
The singer mimes "there's still a chance tonight"
and the barmaid smiles.
12 Billy Davey's Daughter (03:45)
I never knew her name
I only knew her fame
She lived near my town
Another goldfish to drown
Well I just past the bridge
That parts us from them
The bridge that she used
Again and again
Again
I remember when they found her
Billy Davey's daughter
The word gets around
Billy Davey's second daughter
Threw herself to dirty water
Billy's left with nothing but a dream
He dreams ...
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By roman-candle
SINCERE! A virtue that in today’s music circuit is a rarity.
‘WORD GETS AROUND’... an album that now belongs to the past and that when judging now, certainly makes some coy passages, despite this, for me, it remains there: a dormant backache, that on cold nights returns to surface.
