In the late '90s, a rash of Welsh rock bands emerged, among them Catatonia, Super Furry Animals, 60 Ft.
Dolls, and the Stereophonics.
On the surface, the Stereophonics' gritty rock & roll seems relatively uninspired, but upon close listen Word Gets Around proves to be a very accomplished debut.
Vocalist/guitarist Kelly Jones' vocals are raw and rip the songs apart, as his loud, arena-ready guitar assault gives every track a gritty edge.
Jones' lyrics are also of note; highly poetic and meaningful, he writes about the underbelly of a small town.
The anthemic opener, the outrageously catchy "A Thousand Trees," details how a respected high school athletic coach ruined his career through a lurid sexual encounter with a female student, and the quick, jagged "More Life in a Tramp's Vest" displays the view of the world through the eyes of a supermarket bag boy.
Word Gets Around isn't all about hard rockers, though; the hit "Traffic" is a beautifully constructed ballad that works marvelously when a juxtaposition is made between the music and Jones' rough vocal styling.
While Word Gets Around occasionally suffers from blandness, it is a remarkably accomplished debut LP.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Thousand TreesStuart Cable, Kelly Jones, Richard Jones | Stereophonics | Play | 03:02 | 6 MB | 23 MB |
| 2 | Looks Like ChaplinStuart Cable, Kelly Jones, Richard Jones | Stereophonics | Play | 02:32 | 5 MB | 18 MB |
| 3 | More Life in a Tramp's VestStuart Cable, Kelly Jones, Richard Jones | Stereophonics | Play | 02:19 | 5 MB | 16 MB |
| 4 | Local Boy in the PhotographStuart Cable, Kelly Jones, Richard Jones | Stereophonics | Play | 03:22 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 5 | TrafficStuart Cable, Kelly Jones, Richard Jones | Stereophonics | Play | 04:54 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 6 | Not Up to YouStuart Cable, Kelly Jones, Richard Jones | Stereophonics | Play | 04:37 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 7 | Check My Eyelids for HolesStuart Cable, Kelly Jones, Richard Jones | Stereophonics | Play | 02:43 | 6 MB | 20 MB |
| 8 | Same Size FeetStuart Cable, Kelly Jones, Richard Jones | Stereophonics | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 9 | Last of the Big Time DrinkersStuart Cable, Kelly Jones, Richard Jones | Stereophonics | Play | 02:45 | 6 MB | 19 MB |
| 10 | Goldfish BowlStuart Cable, Kelly Jones, Richard Jones | Stereophonics | Play | 03:02 | 6 MB | 21 MB |
| 11 | Too Many SandwichesStuart Cable, Kelly Jones, Richard Jones | Stereophonics | Play | 05:03 | 11 MB | 35 MB |
| 12 | Billy Davey's DaughterStuart Cable, Kelly Jones, Richard Jones | Stereophonics | Play | 03:45 | 8 MB | 18 MB |
| 42 mins | 96 MB | |||||
| 42 mins | 288 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bird | Engineer, Producer |
| 2 | Marshall Bird | Keyboards |
| 3 | John Brand | Management |
| 4 | Bush | Engineer, Producer |
| 5 | Stuart Cable | Composer |
| 6 | Ian Davenport | Assistant |
| 7 | Richard Flack | Assistant, Assistant Engineer |
| 8 | Barney Herbert | Assistant, Assistant Engineer |
| 9 | Emma Jones | Assistant, Assistant Engineer |
| 10 | Kelly Jones | Composer |
| 11 | Richard Jones | Composer |
| 12 | Russell Kearney | Assistant, Assistant Engineer |
| 13 | Matt Lawrence | Assistant, Engineer |
| 14 | Bob Ludwig | Mastering |
| 15 | Marco Migliari | Assistant, Assistant Engineer |
| 16 | John Musgrave | Assistant |
| 17 | Richard Payne | Accordion |
| 18 | Paul Read | Assistant |
| 19 | Stereophonics | Primary Artist |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |