Stereophonics – Studio SFR (05/03/2013) ENGLISH

 

I wrote, on my “Graffiti On The Train” review how incredible things can sometimes happen to you… Two weeks ago, I was spending time on my FB when one of my friends showed up and announced me that Stereophonics would perform at the SFR Studio for a private audience. She also asked me if I’d be interested to go and it took me exactly 4 seconds to answer: one second for each letter of “YES” plus the exclamation mark. It crossed my mind that my presence could be required at the office (one of the downside of NOT working in the music domain) but at that very moment, I couldn’t care less… Hopefully, the schedule was so perfect that I was able to go. So here I am Paris!

After dropping our bags at the hotel, we go to the radio to pick the tickets that will allow us to enter the venue later that day. Before the show, we wander around Paris to admire the sight of the fantastic monuments and bridges of the town while speaking of our favorite artists… Walking so much whet the appetite so we decide to eat something before heading to SFR Studios where some fans were already waiting…

So… here we are inside the SFR Studio and my first impression is that we’ll definitely a nice moment there considering the size of the venue. It’s not every day that you can attend to a live show in a place that small. It turns out that we will be 120 lucky people at most to witness Stereophonics’ big return.
 



The stage : before show, soundcheck by guitar tech



 

 8:30PM, after a short introduction, the band arrives on stage. As usual, Adam Zindani and Richard Jones stand respectively on the left and right side of the stage, with Kelly Jones standing in the middle. On the left corner and behind Kelly stand their keyboardist (Tony Kirkham, I suspect) and Jamie Morrison, Stereophonics’ new drummer.

The band starts their performance with their latest single, “Indian Summer”. This version is something between the video version and the one available on YouTube as “Secret Sessions” where Kelly plays the song alone with his guitar. The song is obviously stripped from the string orchestra and looks tonight more like a ballad than the full of energy tune of the album but remains just as beautiful. It also allows us to appreciate even more the guitar lines (both acoustic and electric) out of it, probably my favorite sides of this song… Awesome one and a good way to start the evening.

The band then plays one of its hit songs, “Maybe Tomorrow”. This one has always had a calming vibe that could put any trouble mind at rest. Its guitar solo is always appreciated and fans let it know to the band by yelling a bit, bringing a smile to Kelly’s face as Adam’s fingers move on his guitar strings.

Time now for their new album’s title song: “Graffiti on the Train”. I wrote in my review on how this song overwhelmed me but I was far from imagining how things would go once I witnessed the band doing it live. I confirm this one is a pure jewel… Under white lighting, Kelly sings almost the entire song with his eyes closed, completely focused on the story of the two lovers. The electric guitar and piano part at the end are just perfect and I must admit that I was emotional for a split second when Mister Jones sang the line ‘The train sped down the line, it was the last train he would ride’. Right at that time and even more so now, I do realize how much picking this song as the album title was the best thing to do. 

Time for some “oldies” with “Just Looking” from their 1999 album “Performance & Cocktails” before coming back to their new album with “Been Caught Cheating”. Most of my friends who have listened to the album consider this one as their favorite: let’s face it, the blues suits Stereophonics. As Richard’s moving his body to the rhythm of the song, we can all enjoy the moment and I realize that, even though Kelly Jones had written this song with Amy Winehouse in mind, his voice is just so fine on this track. Adam’s solo is once again just perfect and brings additional depth to the song. I liked “Been Caught Cheating” when I listened to Graffiti for the first time and it wasn’t though my #1 song of the album but… after tonight, I can actually now picture this one as a possible future single.

 

© Sound of Violence (Photographer : Mauro Melis)



 Kelly now explains to the audience that the song they’re about to play is the first single they ever released, back in 1997: “Local Boy in the Photograph”. I then notice the unique look of Adam’s guitar: one white six-string that could probably be able to tell us a lot of stories as it seems to have a few years age of time. The color is missing on its left top side and you can see the wood. Aaah boys and their guitar.

I also notice at that point that Kelly has played every song with an acoustic guitar since the beginning of the show, leaving electric parts to Adam. It appears that it will be the case for the whole set.
Remember how I wrote that Kelly Jones never fails when it comes to sing a song? I’ll never write a line like that again… it’s too much bad luck ‘cos… he did it that night! I’m not sure many people noticed it though and I wasn’t sure myself until seeing Adam and Richard’s large smiles. It lasted for a split second but when I saw these two smiling, I knew something went a bit wrong. To me, that’s one of the charming aspects of live shows: at least, you know that what you see (and hear) is all “real”. Anyway, this anecdote also showed up how much these guys get along quite well: it sometimes takes just a look between them to understand each other or sending a silent message that can only be decrypted by an inner-member of the Stereophonic team. I loved that moment so much full of complete complicity!

 

© Sound of Violence (Photographer : Mauro Melis)

 

As Kelly mentions it, they’re about to perform “No-one’s Perfect”, tonight’s last song taken from “Graffiti on the Train”. A moment of quietness for that beautiful song…

Well actually, now that I think of it and looking back on it a few days after the show, that’s how I’d described the audience that night : a bit too quiet. All right, there weren’t songs like “The Bartender and the Thief”, “Madame Helga”, “Trouble” or “Catacomb” in the set list and maybe it influenced the audience in some ways but… come on, people! I was on the back and sang like crazy when they performed “Just Looking” and “Local Boy…”. All right, I was at the back but it’s either I’m deaf and didn’t hear the crowd singing or the boys are able to literally hypnotize a full audience… and I’m quite sure it was none of these two things that happened that night. Or maybe I imagined it. Or maybe I should have changed my habit and try the front stage. I’ll never know, I guess…

 

© Sound of Violence (Photographer : Mauro Melis)

 

Kelly introduces the next song by telling us that he was sleeping and having a dream. In his dream, Ringo Starr showed up near his home and… it inspired him the song. I’m still wondering in which ways though: maybe the Beatles’ drummer wanted to trade Kelly’s flying giraffe for the octopus that was once in his garden? Some songs’ inside secrets are hard to get… Anyway “I Wouldn’t Believe Your Radio” is still one of those uplifting songs that can easily bring a smile on any face. 

To start “Pick A Part That’s New”, Kelly starts counting from one to four, with the help of the audience, before realizing he’s in France: therefore, he starts counting again… in French this time. At the end of the song, a girl shouted that it was her birthday to which Kelly answered that they also had a birthday boy amongst them. I first thought he was talking about one of the roadies that were standing on the left side of the room (or maybe he was…) but realized – two days too late – that he was mentioning… Adam. The guitarist and background vocalist of Stereophonics was actually celebrating his 41^st birthday that day. No cake on stage but a great laugh when Kelly mentioned that he was… 26 year-old now.

Birthday Boy...
© Sound of Violence (Photographer : Mauro Melis)

  

The band then plays “Have A Nice Day”, with both Adam and Richard on the background vocals. Another fine moment provided by that thrilling song that makes me sway from left to right and vice versa. Stereophonics end their private show with another one of their hits, “Dakota”, before leaving the stage…

Then that was it.

Well… not quite actually. REALLY not quite.

Just like I did with the Imagine Dragons guys, I left home with a copy of the band’s album review I wrote just in case they’d stay a while after the show. They didn’t but I approached one of their roadies, a lovely guy, and explained to him what was in the envelope I had in my hand. He kindly offered to give it to them and here’s my chance to thank him for his kindness. 

Stereophonics played for around an hour and once outside the SFR studio, my friend and I wondered what we could do at such an early hour. The evening was quite warm for a winter night so we decided to enjoy that nice weather and stick around a bit in the open air and make the most of such a beautiful evening. Being both music addicts, we started talking about various artists coming from many different musical horizons: Joseph Arthur, Fistful of Mercy, Fountains of Wayne, Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl, Nikki Sixx, The Beatles, Tom Petty… Before we realized it, more than one hour had passed and it was 11P.M. That’s when the Stereophonics men decided to show up…

They were nice enough to take a picture with me and also signed my “Keep Calm and Carry On” Deluxe Edition. Of all my CDs, I picked this one for a reason: it was the first album released after Adam Zindani was officially made a member of Stereophonics… and I had not received my pre-ordered Limited Edition of “Graffiti on the Train” yet.
Life’s full of surprises: I guess Adam probably never imagined for a split second he’d be a part of the Stereophonics history when he and his band Casino toured with them as the Welsh band’s opening act back in 2005. I’m glad he did: through the whole set, Kelly played acoustic guitar and let Adam play electric guitar. Although I was a bit sad that Kelly’s famous Gibson SG Cherry guitar didn’t show up, I think Adam’s guitar skills are awesome and the more I was watching him play, the more it felt like he was right where he was supposed to be.

Speaking of his band Casino, I highly recommend the band to you: the Birmingham-based band is a musical blast! I listened to their “The Spider Simpson Incident” album Wednesday and… have literally not been able to stop listening to it since then! I am also going completely crazy ‘cos I can’t find any physical copy of the CD and have to keep playing the album through YouTube. How am I supposed financially supporting a band I like when I can’t buy their album? I know… this is crazy. No. I’m crazy I think. Anyway… let me introduce you to “Runaway”, their latest single, available on iTunes.

  

Here’s another video of Casino and… watch closely Adam’s guitar: it’s the one he had in his hands tonight.

  

I also had funny moments with Richard, who apparently thought I had a “cool jacket” (thank you Sir!) and who’s one of the coolest and funniest musician I’ve ever met. One of those moments is immortalized in a 7 seconds movie shot by my camera: here’s what happens when you forget to change your camera settings… I reaaaaally must thank the Welsh guy for his kindness and… patience. ;)
 

"Cool jacket" in front in REALLY less cool kitchen wallpaper :D

  

Remember what I wrote on Jamie Morrison on my review… before updating it when I found out he wasn’t the drummer involved in “Graffiti on the Train”? Well… from where I was standing, I didn’t have a good view on the drummer and had only my ears as witness of his drumming. But… I wasn’t wrong when I wrote “from what I’ve heard while listening to ‘Graffiti On The Train’, I’m not worried, the drummer perfectly fits into Stereophonics’ world”. Just replace the ‘listening to Graffiti on the Train’ part by ‘attending tonight’s show’ and you’ll have my opinion on Stereophonics’ new drummer.

There are more stories to tell about our crazy Stereophonics adventure, including having a famous French actor right beside us, jumping in the subway or missing the train and wondering if I may finally go back to Belgium and be back at work the next morning or even a story including chickenpox but… let’s keep it simple. Let me just tell you this: the underbelly of Paris is now all different to me… Thanks you guys for that show, “the” moment and your time. I had a blast!

And I am – with some of my friends – waiting for you. In Belgium this time.

PS – I’d like to thank again Sabrina, who made all this possible, as well as the Morning Rock team of Oüi FM.

I’d also like to thank the Sound of Violence website and photographer Mauro Melis for kindly allowing me to use some of their pictures. 
 

Setlist :

-         Indian Summer

-         Maybe Tomorrow

-         Graffiti Train

-         Just Looking

-         Been Caught Cheating

-         Local boy In The Photograph

-         No One’s Perfect

-         I Wouldn’t Believe Your Radio

-         Pick a Part That's New

-         Have A Nice Day

-         Dakota

 

Stereophonics – Studio SFR (05/03/2013) FRENCH

J’avais écrit, dans ma critique de “Graffiti On The Train” que parfois, des choses incroyables peuvent vous arriver… Il y a deux semaines, je passais le temps sur Facebook lorsqu’une de mes amies est apparue et m’a annoncé que les Stereophonics joueraient au Studio SFR en concert privé. Elle m’a également demandé si je serais intéressée d’y aller et il ne m’a fallu que 4 secondes pour répondre : une seconde pour chaque lettre qui compose le mot « OUI », suivi du point d’exclamation. Le fait que ma présence soit peut-être requise au bureau (un des inconvénients de ne PAS travailler dans un domaine musical) m’a traversé l’esprit mais précisément à ce moment-là, autant vous dire que je m’en souciais fort peu… Fort heureusement, le planning fut tellement parfait que je fus en mesure de pouvoir me rendre au concert. Attention, Paris, me voilà !

Après avoir déposé nos sacs à l’hôtel, nous partons pour la radio afin de prendre les précieux billets qui nous permettront d’entrer dans la salle plus tard dans la journée. Avant le concert, nous nous promenons dans Paris et admirons les fantastiques monuments et ponts de la ville tout en parlant de nos artistes favoris… Marcher ouvrant l’appétit, nous décidons de manger un morceau avant de nous rendre au Studio SFR où des fans attendent déjà l’ouverture des portes…

Alors… nous voici à l’intérieur du Studio SFR et ma première impression est que nous allons définitivement passer un moment exceptionnel déjà rien qu’à voir la taille de la salle. Ce n’est pas tous les jours que l’on peut assister à un concert dans une salle aussi petite. Il s’avèrera que seuls 120 chanceux maximum pourront être le témoin du grand retour de Stereophonics.

La scène : avant le concert, vérification par le guitar tech

 

20h30, après une courte introduction, le groupe arrive sur scène. Comme à leur habitude, Adam Zindani et Richard Jones se tiennent respectivement à gauche et à droite de la scène tandis que Kelly Jones prend position au centre. Dans le coin gauche et derrière Kelly se tiennent leur claviériste (Tony Kirkham, j’imagine) et Jamie Morrison, le nouveau batteur de Stereophonics. 

Le groupe démarre sa prestation avec leur dernier single en date, « Indian Summer ». Cette version est un juste milieu entre la version vidéo et la version disponible sur YouTube baptisée « Secret Sessions » où Kelly joue la chanson seul avec sa guitare. La chanson est bien entendu dépouillée de toute la partie orchestre et ressemble ce soir plus à une ballade qu’au morceau énergique de l’album mais n’en est pas moins aussi belle. Cette version nous donne l’occasion d’encore mieux apprécier toutes les parties guitares (qu’elle soit acoustique ou électrique), qui reste probablement mon côté préféré de cette chanson…  Grandiose et un bon moyen de commencer la soirée.

Le groupe joue alors une de ses chansons les plus connues, « Maybe Tomorrow ». Ce morceau a toujours eu une rythmique permettant à n’importe quel esprit tourmenté de trouver un peu de repos. Son solo de guitare reste toujours grandement apprécié et les fans le font d’ailleurs savoir au groupe en criant, amenant un sourire sur le visage de Kelly tandis que les doigts d’Adam glissent sur les cordes de sa guitare.

Ils interprètent alors la chanson-titre de leur nouvel album : « Graffiti on the Train ». J’avais écrit dans ma critique à quel point cette chanson m’avait touchée mais j’étais loin d’imaginer comment les choses se passeraient une fois que j’aurais le groupe en train de la jouer sous mes yeux. Je confirme que cette chanson est un pur bijou… Sous un éclairage blanc, Kelly chante quasiment toute la chanson les yeux fermés, complètement concentré sur l’histoire de ces deux amoureux. Les parties guitare et piano à la fin de la chanson sont juste parfaites et j’avoue avoir été émue pendant une fraction de seconde lorsque M. Jones a chanté ‘The train sped down the line, it was the last train he would ride’. A ce moment précis et encore plus maintenant, je réalise pleinement à quel point prendre ce titre pour titre de l’album était la meilleure des choses à faire. 

Petit retour dans le passé avec « Just Looking » de leur album « Performance and Cocktails » (1999) avant de revenir au nouvel album avec « Been Caught Cheating ». La plupart de mes amis qui ont écouté l’album considèrent celle-là comme une de leurs favorites : admettons-le, le blues va très bien aux Stereophonics. Tandis que Richard bouge son corps en rythme avec la chanson, nous apprécions le moment et je réalise que, bien que Kelly Jones ai au départ écrit cette chanson en pensant la proposer à Amy Winehouse, sa voix colle parfaitement au morceau. Le solo d’Adam est encore une fois parfait et apporte une profondeur supplémentaire à la chanson. J’avais apprécié « Been Caught Cheating » lors de ma première écoute de Graffiti et ce n’était cependant pas ma chanson numéro 1 de l’album mais… après ce soir, j’imagine bien cette dernière comme éventuel futur single.



© Sound of Violence (Photographer : Mauro Melis)

 

Kelly explique à présent au public que la chanson qu’ils vont jouer est le premier single qu’ils ont sorti, en 1997 : « Local Boy in the Photograph ». C’est alors que je remarque l’aspect particulier de la guitare d’Adam : une six cordes qui pourrait probablement nous raconter pas mal d’histoires car elle semble avoir quelques heures au compteur. La couleur a disparu sur le côté supérieur gauche et a laissé place au bois nu. Aaaah les garçons et leur guitare.
Je remarque également que Kelly a joué toutes les chansons à l’aide d’une guitare acoustique depuis le début du concert, laissant la partie guitare électrique. Cela sera le cas pour tout le set.
Vous vous souvenez que j’avais écrit que Kelly Jones ne se ratait jamais lorsqu’il s’agissait de chant ? Plus jamais je n’écrirai cette ligne… elle porte malheur puisque… il s’est raté ce soir-là ! Je ne suis cependant pas certaine que beaucoup de personnes l’aient remarqué et je n’en étais moi-même pas certaine jusqu’à ce que je voie les larges sourires d’Adam et Richard. Cela n’a duré qu’une fraction de seconde mais lorsque j’ai vu ces deux-là sourire, j’ai su que quelque chose avait cloché. A mon sens, c’est l’un des côtés sympas des concerts : au moins, on sait que ce qu’on voit (et entend !) est « réel ». Quoi qu’il en soit, cette anecdote a aussi montré à quel point ces gars-là s’entendent bien : il ne faut parfois qu’un regard entre eux pour qu’ils se comprennent ou envoyer un message silencieux qui peut seulement être décrypté par un membre de Stereophonics. J’ai adoré ce moment plein de complicité entre eux !

© Sound of Violence (Photographer : Mauro Melis)

 

Kelly signale qu’ils vont jouer « No-one’s Perfect », dernier extrait de « Graffiti on the Train ». Un moment de calme pour une chanson superbe…
En fait, maintenant que j’y repense et avec le recul de plusieurs jours, c’est ainsi que je décrirais le public de ce soir-là : un peu trop calme. D’accord, il n’y avait pas des chansons telles que “The Bartender and the Thief”, “Madame Helga”, “Trouble” ou “Catacomb” dans la setlist et cela peut éventuellement et d’une certaine manière avoir influencé le public  mais… allez les gens ! J’étais à l’arrière et j’ai chanté comme une malade lorsqu’ils ont joué « Just Looking » et « Local Boy… ». OK, j’étais à l’arrière mais soit j’étais sourde et je n’ai pas entendu la foule chanter, soit les garçons sont capable de littéralement hypnotiser une foule entière… et je suis quasiment certaine que ce n’est ni l’un, ni l’autre. Ou peut-être l’ai-je imaginé. Ou peut-être aurais-je dû changer mes habitudes et tenter le front stage. Je ne le saurai jamais…

© Sound of Violence (Photographer : Mauro Melis)

 

Kelly nous annonce la chanson suivante en nous expliquant qu’il dormait et était en train de rêver. Dans ce rêve apparaissait Ringo Starr qui… lui a inspiré la chanson. Je me demande encore dans quelle mesure, ceci dit : peut-être que le batteur des Beatles souhaitant échanger la pieuvre qui était à une époque dans son jardon (Octopuss’Garden) pour la girafe volante de Kelly ? Les secrets de certaines chansons ne sont pas toujours faciles à percer… Quoiqu’il en soit, « I Wouldn’t Believe Your Radio » reste une de ces chansons entrainantes qui ramène rapidement un sourire sur n’importe quel visage.

Pour démarrer « Pick A Part That’s New », Kelly commence à compter de un à quatre avec l’aide du public, avant de réaliser qu’il est en France et de redémarrer le compte… en français cette fois. Une fois la chanson terminée, une fille crie que c’est son anniversaire, ce à quoi Kelly Répond qu’ils ont également un anniversaire parmi eux. J’ai d’abord pensé qu’il parlait de l’un de leurs roadies qui se tenaient dans le côté gauche de la salle (peut-être était-ce le cas finalement…) mais ai réalisé – deux jour trop tard – qu’il parlait de… Adam. Le guitariste et choriste des Stereophonics fêtait ce jour-là son 41^ème anniversaire. Pas de gâteau sur scène mais un bon moment de rigolade lorsque Kelly signale qu’il a… 26 ans.
 

♫♪ Joyeux anniversaire... ♫♪
© Sound of Violence (Photographer : Mauro Melis)

  

Le groupe joue alors « Have A Nice Day », avec Adam et Richard qui officient aux chœurs. Autre chouette moment que cette entrainante chanson qui me fait me balancer de gauche à droite et vice versa. Stereophonics termine son concert privé avec un autre de leurs hits, « Dakota », avant de quitter la scène.

Et c’est fini.

Enfin… pas tout à fait en fait. VRAIMENT pas tout à fait.

Comme je l’avais fait avec les garçons d’Imagine Dragons, j’avais quitté la maison avec une copie de la critique de leur album au cas où ils resteraient un peu après le concert. Ils ne sont pas restés mais j’ai approché un de leurs roadies, un très chouette type, et lui ai expliqué ce que contenait l’enveloppe que j’avais en main. Il m’a gentiment proposé de la leur donner et j’en profite pour le  remercier pour sa gentillesse.

Stereophonics a joué à peu près une heure et une fois sortie du Studio SFR, mon amie et moi nous demandons ce que nous allons faire puisqu’il est encore tôt. La soirée était plutôt chaude pour la saison et nous décidons de profiter de cette agréable météo et de rester à proximité en profitant de la soirée un maximum. Etant toutes les deux des accros à la musique, nous commençons à parler d’artistes venant de nombreux horizons musicaux différents : Joseph Arthur, Fistful of Mercy, Fountains of Wayne, Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl, Nikki Sixx, The Beatles, Tom Petty… Sans nous en rendre compte, plus d’une heure avait passé et il était 23h. C’est ce moment qu’ont choisi les garçons de Stereophonics pour sortir.

Ils ont eu la gentillesse d’accepter que nous fassions une photo ensemble et de signer mon Edition Deluxe de « Keep Calm and Carry On ». De tous mes CDs, j’avais choisi celui-là pour une raison bien précise : il s’agit du premier album sorti après qu’Adam Zindani devienne officiellement un membre de Stereophonics… et je n’avais pas encore reçu ma précommande Edition Limitée de « Graffiti on the Train ».
La vie est pleine de surprises : j’imagine qu’Adam n’a jamais imaginé une seule seconde qu’il ferait un jour partie de l’histoire de Stereophonics lorsque lui et son groupe Casino ont fait la première partie du groupe Gallois en 2005. Je suis contente que cela soit le cas : durant tout le set, Kelly a joué de la guitare acoustique, laissant Adam jouer de la guitare électrique. Bien que je sois un peu triste de ne pas avoir pu voir la célèbre Gibson SG Cherry de Kelly, je trouve Adam extrêmement compétent comme guitariste et plus je le regardais jouer, plus j’avais le sentiment qu’il était là où il devait être.

En parlant de son groupe Casino, je vous le recommande vivement : le groupe de Birmingham est une explosion musicale ! J’ai écouté leur album « The Spider Simpson Incident » et... n’ai littéralement pas été capable d’arrêter de l’écouter depuis ! Je deviens aussi complètement dingue parce que je n’arrive pas à trouver de copie physique de l’album et que je dois écouter l’album via YouTube. Comment suis-je censée soutenir une groupe que j’aime si je ne peux pas acheter leur album. Ouais, je sais… c’est dingue. Non. Je suis dingue, je pense. Bon… laissez-moi vous présenter « Runaway », leur dernier single, disponible sur iTunes.

  

Voici d’ailleurs une autre vidéo de Casino et… regardez de près la guitare d’Adam : c’est celle qu’il avait dans les mains lors du concert.

  

J’ai aussi eu quelques moments gags avec Richard, qui pensait que j’avais une « cool jacket » (Merci M’sieur !) et qui est l’un des musiciens les plus cools et drôles que j’ai jamais rencontrés. Un de ces moments est immortalisé dans une vidéo de 7 seconds enregistré par mon appareil photo : voilà ce qui arrive quand on oublie de changer les propriétés de son appareil… Je dois vraaaaaaimen remercier le Gallois pour sa gentillesse et… sa patience. ;)
 

Ma "cool jacket" devant le papier peint un peu moins cool de la cuisine :D

 

Vous vous souvenez de ce que j’avais écrit à propos de Jamie Morrison dans ma critique… avant d’ne faire un update lorsque j’ai réalisé qu’il n’était pas le batteur qui avait bossé sur « Graffiti on the Train » ? Et bien… de là où je me tenais, je n’avais pas une bonne vue sur le batteur et n’avait que mes oreilles pour témoins de ses aptitudes à la batterie. Mais… Je n’avais pas tort quand j’écrivais que « de ce que j’ai pu entendre en écoutant ‘Graffiti On The Train’, je ne suis pas inquiète, le batteur a tout à fait sa place dans l’univers des Stereophonics ». Remplacez juste la partie « en écoutant ‘Graffiti On The Train’ » par « durant le concert de ce soir » et vous aurez mon avis sur le nouveau batteur des Stereophonics.

Il y a bien d’autres histoires à raconter à propos de notre folle aventure Stereophonicsienne, notamment se retrouver juste à côté d’un célèbre acteur français, faire des sauts dans le métro ou rater le train et se demander si je pourrai finalement rentrer en Belgique et être au bureau le lendemain matin voire même une histoire incluant la varicelle mais… restons-en là. Laissez-moi juste encore vous dire ceci : les dessous de Paris (« The underbelly of Paris » - Indian Summer) ne sont désormais plus tout à fait les mêmes pour moi maintenant…
Merci les garçons pour ce concert, « le » moment et votre temps. Je me suis éclatée !

Et – avec certains de mes amis – je vous attends. En Belgique cette fois.

PS – je tiens encore une fois à remercier Sabrina, qui a rendu tout ceci possible, ainsi que l’équipe du Morning Rock de Oüi FM.

Je souhaite également remercier le site Sound of Violence et le photographe Mauro Melis pour m’avoir autorisée à emprunter certaines de leurs photographies.

 

Setlist :

-         Indian Summer

-         Maybe Tomorrow

-         Graffiti Train

-         Just Looking

-         Been Caught Cheating

-         Local boy In The Photograph

-         No One’s Perfect

-         I Wouldn’t Believe Your Radio

-         Pick a Part That's New

-         Have A Nice Day

-         Dakota

 

Stereophonics - Graffiti On The Train (2013) ENGLISH

Aaah dear friends, four years of absence is a VERY long time when you care about someone: Stereophonics’ last album, “Keep Calm And Carry On”, was released in 2009 and – although I ended up appreciating this one as much as the band’s other albums – it took me a few more times listening to it to fully do so.

More than a year ago, I got some information that the band was back in the studio to record a new album. Even more interesting, I found out they were actually partly recording it in my sweet little country of Belgium (sometimes, little things like that makes you even prouder of being Belgian, trust me!). If I had been some kind of “groupie”, I’d have headed straight to ICP Studios in Brussels ‘cos I was almost sure this was THE studio they were hiring. Wasn’t wrong… Wasn’t “groupie” enough to sit in front of the studio entrance waiting for the guys to show up though… Mostly because I firmly believe that artists who are in creating process should be left alone to work in the most peaceful atmosphere ever possible.
Speaking of working peacefully, Stereophonics parted ways with V2 and have now their own label, named “Stylus Records”, therefore allowing them to do things their own way. Fun fact: if the band got its its name from a… “stereophonic” radiogram they saw at Stuart Cable’s family home (the band’s first drummer that sadly passed away in 2010), their label has also the name of another musical item. The stylus is the part of the record deck with the needle, the one that actually helping the music escaping from your LPs and fly to your ears… Enough with technical stuff, let’s come back to the album, shall we?

"Graffiti On The Train" cover... Look for the "Stylus" mention... ;)
Original art by Stephen Goddard

  

Last October, we were finally able to have a sneak peek at this new album thanks to its first single, “Violins And Tambourines”. A haunting musical piece, gaining power as seconds go by… whether it is musically or vocally. Strings added some depth to the track: needless to say that getting a little help from David Arnold, one of the finest film composers of England (Stargate, Shaft, Hot Fuzz as well as James Bond’s Tomorrow Never Dies, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and many more…), was quite an asset for a track like this one… Although Stereophonics is more “guitar-ish” than strings, this song was very promising and I was eager to listen to more songs from this new album…

 

 

The next single “In A Moment” sounded more like a Stereophonics song than the previous one and had that common point to many of their songs : a melody that sticks inside your head for quite a while… The “You think you’ve it all, the writing’s on the wall […] in a moment” melody part has that musical side… It is also impossible not to mention the great guitar solo near the end. So, I was totally into this one as well…  

Could they do better with the next single? At some point, the excitement has to fall down, right? Well… then came “Indian Summer”. I already wrote on how a song can affect you within seconds, turn your musical heart upside down and bring that electric shiver that spreads through your entire body… some kind of physical reaction to something you can barely explain yourself. Well… that did happen to me the first time I listened to “Indian Summer”. This one is a pure diamond: you can see its beauty on a global scale but if you lean a little bit and look closer, you may see little details that make it even more beautiful… Try this: take each instrument on this one and listen very closely to each one of them and you may realize how much the acoustic or slide guitar part or piano parts were necessary to add a little something to make “Indian Summer” so perfect.
The irony in this song is that the subject is not really a happy one but that I always have a smile on my face while listening to it because of its beautiful melody… That one was also the one I was waiting for a long time to feel better as the few weeks before its release had put me in some “high pressure and close to despair” state of mind. Now gone. Never been a fan of summer time but this one’s a good one!

 

 

 

These three tracks were so great that waiting for the album became kind of a torture… but FI-NA-LLY, here comes the 4^th of March and “Graffiti On The Train”! 

Needless to say I was so much in love with “Indian Summer” that I was a bit worried I couldn’t stop listening to that one and give the album’s other songs the best attention they fully deserved. These songs really had to have a great deal of “something more” to take me away from “Indian Summer”. Did they have that little “something more”? The answer is… YES!! HELL, YES! 

As soon as you listen to “We Share The Same Sun”, it is obvious the Stereophonics guys haven’t lost any of their great energy. Critics have sometimes labeled the band a pop-rock band and I never understood from where they’d gotten that. Sure, tracks like “Have A Nice Day” (Just Enough Education to Perform, 2001) or “Innocent” (Keep Calm And Carry On, 2009) have a more pop side but come on, identifying Stereophonics as a “pop” band??? Those critics should take a moment to listen to “We Share The Same Sun” and the great “Catacomb” with its powerful guitar part to realize that they rock…  That long instrumental part in “Catacomb” is definitely one of the best they’ve ever composed! Really hard not to get up and start dancing around with your hands up in the air. Believe me… I’ve tried.  

Stereophonics is a rock band but let’s admit though that the Welsh band also has a softer side … “Been Caught Cheating” is a nice bluesy track that helps us remember how much this music genre is one of the finest ways to tell the world about the saddest events of a human’s life. Aaaaw, that one played in duet with the great B.B. King would be such a fine piece of art.
“No-one’s Perfect”? Right but there’s at least one thing perfect in there… the song itself. That one is a nice ballad, with limited number of instruments: no strong guitar riffs, no strings orchestra… Basically just enough stuff to put Mister Jones’ voice on the front stage.  

The Welsh singer’s distinctive voice has always been an element of the band’s high effectiveness and is one of the band’s trademark. I like Stereophonics’ melodies but Kelly’s voice is also a reason of why I love this band. Whether it’s a rock song or a ballad, the guy has this great ability to bring the right vocal power to make the song sounds just exactly as it should be. I’ve watched God knows many videos and I’ve never seen him failing or missing a part: he perfectly knows his voice and how to use it and as a fan of music, it’s always an amazing thing to watch and listen to… Of course, Kelly Jones writes most of the band’s songs and therefore knows in which direction he can vocally go or which one he must not take but when I listen to him, I have that weird feeling he could take US anywhere HE wants…
Drop all the arrangements, give the man just a guitar and he’s able to turn any song into something different, something that is even more beautiful than the one version we’ve always known… Just check “Maybe Tomorrow” on the “Live From Dakota” album and you may understand what I’m talking about… 

 

“Graffiti On The Train”, the title song, left me… speechless. Air cut in my throat. There’s something incredibly overwhelming and emotional coming out of that song … Oh don’t get me wrong: I know the arrangements are a big part of it but still… It’s not only the melody; it’s also the story that is being told… It’s also that solo guitar near the end followed by some piano: a fine peak for an emotional moment… At some point, I realized that maybe… maybe Mr. Gilmour and Mr. Wright from Pink Floyd could have enjoyed themselves if they were able to play that one together. But of course, Stereophonics and Pink Floyd are two different worlds… Although… There was a time when Kelly Jones was writing songs about things happening in his life or events he witnessed in his entourage (Mr Writer, Have A Nice Day and Rainbows And Pots Of Gold are some of those…) but he recently mentioned he now doesn’t need much “real facts” to write stories/songs. Therefore, you can only wonder if he really met a girl on a train during Indian summer and ended up with the lady or if he knew that couple of “Graffiti On The Train”. But in the end… maybe it’s not worth knowing the truth or where these words came from. All we need is let these songs bring up our emotions and… just… feel.

I mentioned earlier the haunting side of “Violins And Tambourines” but there’s also something quite attractive to “Take Me”, that male/female vocal combination gives more credit to the song than if it had been a single-singer one. 

“Roll The Dice” was a trap I fell into without seeing it coming. Oh it’s OK, it only took me 48 seconds before finding out that things weren’t what they were at first… It’s like… It’s like rolling a dice and having a nice ballad and rolling it again 48 seconds later and finally getting a good rock song. You got me there, boys!
“Roll The Dice” also gives me the opportunity to mention that Stereophonics is not only Kelly Jones but a whole band made of four individuals: Richard Jones, original member of the band and childhood friend of Jones, is the tall but discreet bassist whose bass lines are always appreciated and exactly in the right place into a song; Adam Zimbani has brought his own experience and talent as a guitarist (and vocalist!) since his arrival in the band in 2007… Javier Weyler, Cable’s replacement since his departure in 2003, left the band in September 2012 and was replaced by Jamie Morrison. Jamie may be the “rookie” of the band but from what I’ve heard while listening to “Graffiti On The Train”, I’m not worried, the drummer perfectly fits into Stereophonics’ world.
Update of 8^th March: now that I have received my physical copy of “Graffiti On The Train”’s Limited Edition, it appears that Javier Weyler was still in the band when they recorded the album. Aaaah the wonderful side of buying an album on iTunes… For the record (!) though, Jamie plays on the stripped version of “Graffiti On The Train” on the bonus CD.


I don’t count miles when it comes to see artists live but sadly, I’ve never seen Stereophonics on a stage. Which is a shame considering the number of years I’ve liked them, I know. As soon as I heard about their new album, I was ready to buy tickets but… no Belgian dates announced. Which is a shame too considering they recorded “Graffiti On The Train” in Belgium. Damn! 

But… 

Sometimes, the most surprising things happen to you when you don’t expect them. Just know I may tell you a little more about the band very soon… 

Anyway… It is worth here and now to write that over the course of years and despite the lineup changes, Stereophonics has never failed me when it came to realize that there will always be good music around. Never. As long as these guys – and a few others, of course – will be there, I’m safe in my little musical world. And I DO need that.

PS – this article would DEFINITELY not be complete if I didn’t mention that “Violins And Tambourines”, “In A Moment” and “Indian Summer” videos were all directed by Kelly Jones. The band’s singer has never hid his passion for movies and scriptwriting; he even studied those in college. Now I can’t help but wonder what he could do if he was to turn the script he has written into a long-form movie … but we’ll still have to wait for that. For now it’s music time for the Stereophonics’ singer.

 

 

 

Tracklist :

We Share The Same Sun

Graffiti On The Sun

Indian Summer

Take Me

Catacomb

Roll The Dice

Violins And Tambourines

Been Caught Cheating

In A Moment

No-one’s Perfect

Bonus Tracks iTunes version

Zoe

Graffiti On The Train (Stripped)

In A Moment (Remix) 

Limited edition – Second CD

Overland

In A Moment (alternative version)

We Share The Same Sun (Up Close)

Indian Summer (Up Close)

Graffiti On The Train (Stripped)

In A Moment (Remix)