Don't You Just Love The Company You're In..? (Just Enough Education To Perform - Stereophonics)

Member Name: sam1942

Product:	Just Enough Education To Perform - Stereophonics
Date:	18/01/07 (171 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's that band we hear so much on the radio (you wouldn't believe it..)

Disadvantages: It's one of their poorer efforts..

Welsh rockers, Stereophonics, surprised their fanatical crowd with their 2001 album, ‘Just Enough Education To Perform.’ To many, it was not the album that was about to punch the lights out of the music industry, and was seen, at the time, as a departure from their recent ‘in your face’ attitude. Mellowed and introspective, this album was a relaxing massage to the mind and although it romped home to number one in the U.K album chart, it was accused of housing too many single releases to keep the rest of us English speaking public interested…

Since the essence of their science is the sound of grunge mixed with stoned poetry, it was never to be to everyone’s taste. There are many of us thirty something’s that usually give this sound a wide berth. The Verve, perhaps, an exception and who ever is going to forgive me if I don’t mention indie Gods, Oasis? So, when embarking on the journey that takes us through ‘Just Enough..’ is one of self discovery and denial. This band may have passed me buy, personally, yet, I still feel that I should pride myself in having at least one Stereophonics album in my abundant collection.

Saving themselves by escaping from Mid Glamorgan as fast as their little acoustic guitars could carry them, the three some made up of Kelly Jones, Stuart Cable (who left abruptly in 2003) and Richard Jones set upon a career of sullen poetical misbehaviour and decided to thrown it in a bucket to show the rest of England.

By the time, they banged their heads together to come up with this album in August 2001, they had already enjoyed mesmerising success with the already number one album, ‘Performance And Cocktails,’ (1999) which was about as exciting as the titled suggested. Their first album ’Word Gets Around,’ (1997) spilled out sentiments of a mimic towards Radiohead and the like, and tragically, the true sense of this band was not altogether apparent until their single to following year, ’The Bartender And The Thief,’ their first top five single - the sparkling ingredient to ‘Performance And Cocktails.’

However better the previous two albums may be, some of us will still be contented with the line that we see on ‘Just Enough…’ The cheerful tune perfect for a dismal day, ‘Have A Nice Day,’ reflects the uncertain future that we live in, in an odd way. A track that is soft, friendly and full of the pictures of rainy days, drenched from a bus hitting a puddle. In fact, you will find that that just may be the high light of the album, but it really depends on the mood that you find yourself reaching for this album in, in the first place. Again, this band has always been an acquired taste. A smile will come to the face for ‘The Office,’ fans when the album features ‘Handbags And Gladrags,’ a well covered track in the past by some big names, yet now will be akin with the cult T.V comedy drama series first sown on BBC2.

I found, I have to admit, difficult to find a pigeon hole in which to put this album in. Is not, as you might expect, on a par with any of their better work. The enlightening, humorous, ‘Wouldn’t Believe Your Radio,’ came much later after this album and I think if you have that idea in mind, then perhaps you may want to think twice about buying this album. If you have ever wandered into a vastly over sized ‘record shop’ where upon entering, your ear drums are immediately given a bashing from some distorted noise coming from the over head speakers, then this album is probably what they are playing. I have to say that there are few tracks that stand out to be just noise. I have found that over a certain age, the brain wants to start experiencing instruments and the easy recognition of them.

The album does give a promising start, a chorus of perfectly tuned humming gives way to an explosion of what reminds me of Anthrax, (the band, that is, not the substance they use on cows..). This powerful introduction is enough to get the juices flowing, but by the time Jones sits back in his comfortable armchair, it all becomes too meaningless. Obsessed with rain, grey days and a bored mind, the musical content seems to follow suit. Before that, there seems to be spark of hope. What this band are capable of achieving as a connection with wistful moments when the mind drifts into a daily daydream. This effect takes hold in ‘Lying In The Sun,’ which should be thought of when doing just that. Even the short lived, ‘Step On My Old Size Nines,’ would have been given a more fitting touch if handed over to experienced frolickers, The Waterboys. A hint of harmonica is the touch that will have you raising your glass to nicer weather.

The ramblings of ‘Nice To Be Out,’ fills the speakers with pleasing melodic, repetitive sounds and perhaps stands out as the one of the better tracks on this album. Kelly Jones inspires the mind with his unique style of rolling off a piece of prose that connects with each beat. Requiring no hidden extras, this track will not, suddenly jump out at you and surprise you with something to won’t to hear. Perhaps, we really get down to the very fundamental approach to this album by the band in the cheekily titled, ‘Everyday, I Think Of The Money.’ It all becomes clear, well, we all have to make a living as this album certainly did for the band, although the most discerning of listeners will still say that it wasn’t their proudest moment.



If this band never record anything ever again, they will forever be remembered for over air play on our commercial radios stations. If nothing else, they have seen us through more rush hours that Chris Tarrant. Their melodic, grunge filled ramblings will be captured in time on a DJ’s turntable, somewhere locally. Such tracks from this album, if you really want to hear them, will be playing somehow, somewhere in the country right now, just turn the radio on…



Have a nice day…





Stereophonics are;

Kelly Jones - vocals/guitar/
Richard Jones - bass
Stuart Cable - drums (replaced by Steve Gorman in 2003 from Black Crowes)

All songs written by Kelly Jones (except for ‘Mr Writer’ and ‘Handbags And Gladrags’)



HMV - £7.99
Virgin - £13.99
Amazon - $2.95 (used)
2001 V2 music records



©sam1942 2006
Ciao and dooyoo

Summary: Indie rock band not unlike their counterparts, Oasis, Radiohead and The Verve..