I'll drink another drink for you

Continuing my trip back through the 2003 album charts.

29/06/03 : You Gotta Go There To Come Back - Stereophonics 


Our fourth visit with Stereophonics and I really enjoyed their 2005 offering (but, of course, have never revisited it), so I have hope for this one, which I never heard at the time.

Hmmm, it's a bit more rough and ready than Language Sex Violence Other? - I didn't mind it, but I can't say I loved it either. It just didn't feel very crafted - maybe that's the feel they were going for, but it misses the spot for me. I also really didn't need a full hour of it. And I think that's all I've got to say on the matter really - it's just all a bit "meh", really.

We're at #3 in the charts this week on their fourth week of an incredibly undeserved 41 week run, with it spending a further twelve weeks in the chart in '04. The rest of the top five were Beyoncé (a new entry), Evanescence and two best-ofs from the incredibly similar George Benson (a new entry) and S Club 7, with the next highest new entry being a Jim Reeves best-of (#21).

Wikipedia has more than I was expecting on the album telling us it's their fourth album (they're up to twelve now) and their third #1 album (they're up to EIGHT now!). Kelly Jones tells us that the band intentionally went for a raw sound and lists different influences that don't all make sense to me including blues, garage rock, soul, Stevie Wonder and Martin Gaye, whereas the critics compared it to White Stripes, AC/DC, The Isley Brothers and Creedance Clearwater Revival - so yeah, there's all sorts on here. The critical reception was quite mixed but commercially it did OK, also getting to #1 in Ireland and lower chart placings across Europe. 

"Customers also listened to" Travis, Manic Street Preachers, Ocean Colour Scene and Oasis - yup, I can see all of them. I think I know what Stereophonics were going for here, but it just didn't hit the spot for me - I prefer it when they put a bit more craft into things.

22/06/23 - Enjoyable, but weirdly forgettable
06/07/23 - One I somehow missed at the time

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