Stereophonics "Graffiti On The Train"

 

I purchased this four months ago today without a second thought.  I was/am a big fan of the UK alt/pop-rock movement of the 90's which gave us bands like The Charlatans, Manic Street Preachers, Oasis, Mansun, Ocean Colour Scene, Travis etc., etc., etc..  Stereophonics has a major asset in the songwriting abilities of frontman Kelly Jones, and this album as a whole is a wonderful example.  The title track is as good as anything I've heard this year, giving me goose bumps no matter how many times I hear it...

 



As I finished up multiple spins last week, I began to finally research some info for you.  Many are citing U2 and Coldplay as references, which I don't get from a musical standpoint, but maybe they mean having a similar chart impact.  This debuted at #3 in the UK and hasn't fallen off in the five months it's been out.  It's hit nine other charts for twenty-one weeks, none of which were the U.S., but there's a reason I'll get to in a minute.  Allow me to offer a live version of what was the pre-release lead single...



Dammit, he sounds like Tim Finn several places on the record...not a bad thing, at all. 

As I scanned down the band's discography, none of the titles stirred the dusty vaults of my mind but the album covers looked familiar since we sold a shitpot full of the first two albums to all the Brits shopping on I-Drive.  The third full-length was the only one to crack the American Top 200, but it was album four from the summer of '03 that hit the Big Time in the UK and Europe, peaking at #1 with a chart run through the fall of '04.  They've been a stadium filler over there since then.  Anyway, I was almost certain I had one or both of the early records but couldn't be sure since the musical cobwebs were thick, so I hauled out the R - Z volume of my catalog and nope, no sheet for Stereophonics.  Sonofabitch, I suppose I gave the demos to store employees who also fell under the spell of the pop sensibilities of this band.  No matter, this is an easy add to the catalog...

I purchased a deluxe edition with three extra tracks, one is a longer, "stripped" version of the title track (just as good, if not better than the original), and a remix of this one...



Yep, chocked full of great songs.  So where can my American friends get their copy?  Nowhere, mon frère, not until the Tuesday post Labor Day, and I'm unsure if you'll have the option of the extra songs, either.  Look for this cover, too...