Stereophonics Step Into The Sun

One of the things I love most about the advancement of the internet is the fact that I’m discovering new bands literally every single day. I’ve never heard of half the music my friends are listening to, and vice-versa, and that’s fantastic. Naturally, it’s also a double-edged sword, because it’s easy to miss the boat entirely on some great music that would otherwise be right up your alley.

Which brings us to Stereophonics. I remember hearing the name over the years, but never had an identifiable reference point for them- or cared to have one. They were part of a tapestry of bands (specifically UK bands) with catchy names, snazzy haircuts and leather wristbands. Until a week ago, I couldn’t name a song of theirs with a gun to my head.

Is it a good idea to use a band’s Greatest Hits record as an introduction to their body of work? It’s an arguable point, but the b-side and deep-tracks fetishist in me says no. For every Man In The Box, there’s a Right Turn. For every Welcome To The Jungle there’s a Rocket Queen. Where Even Flow and Jeremy ended, Given To Fly and W.M.A. began. And so on. The hits are rarely my favorites.

If there were ever a possible exception to the rule, however, I’d say Decade In The Sun fits the bill. Pulling from 5 number one albums and 25 top 40 singles, Decade is a surprisingly potent sampling of the band’s 12-year history, collectively shining bright enough to finally get the attention of musical ADD sufferers like myself. 

Opening with the band’s only number one single, Dakota, Decade bounds through an impressively diverse collection of tunes that makes short work of recruiting this humble listener as a fan. The 20-song collection is all over the  atmospheric map, seamlessly running between whining, sticky-sweet flippancy (Have a Nice Day), skinny-dipping in the political pool (A Thousand Trees) and timeless magnificence (Local Boy In The Photograph). Somehow, strangely, it all bears the vague familiarity of old friends making music from a mindset you can relate to. 

Step On My Old Size Nines is an endearing folk-pop ditty that’s a soft pitch for a hangover morning, followed by Devil, the chorus of which soars like the Gutter Twins on a good day. More Life In A Tramp’s Vest has a lo-fi, high energy eighties bar rock band feel to it. And that’s not a put-down, despite the fact that it’s the lowest-charting single the band’s ever released. The gentle gravitation of groove in Maybe Tomorrow makes me wanna pick up a guitar or even a damned tambourine, and THAT is exactly, precisely what I love about music. The rhythms that momentarily hijack the network of muscle and nerves that set the pace of your body movement. 

Superman sounds like Scott Weiland and the Cure got together and tried to sound like Queens Of The Stone age, while Handbags And Gladrags is an unabashed, full-throttle Rod Stewart piano ballad. It gets a lot of shit from critics, but if a band can pull this kind of jam off with a straight face, you better make sure your girl’s still holding your hand at the end. Cause if not, she’s probably reaching for this guy’s zipper.

Look. Any band that’s got the balls to do a full-throated version of You Sexy Thing deserves at least an honest listen. It’s not on the album- they recorded it for a Radio 1 Established 1967 compilation CD, but it’s worth a listen:

There’s a delicate balance of many flavors on Decade In The Sun (at least the first disc- there’s a deluxe edition with another 20 tracks), but the variation doesn’t overwhelm the musical palette, even for a newcomer like myself. The two new tracks on the album (You’re My Star and My Own Worst Enemy) are uncelebrated afterthoughts, but hold their own on an impressive collection that’s won Stereophonics at least one new fan.

Decade In The Sun
November 10, 2008
V2 Records

1. Dakota
2. The Bartender And The Thief
3. Just Looking
4. Have A Nice Day
5. Local Boy In The Photograph
6. Maybe Tomorrow
7. Superman
8. Pick A Part That’s New
9. My Own Worst Enemy
10. I Wouldn’t Believe Your Radio
11. You’re My Star
12. Mr. Writer
13. Step On My Old Size Nines
14. Devil
15. It Means Nothing
16. A Thousand Trees
17. Vegas Two Times
18. Traffic
19. More Life In A Tramp’s Vest
20. Handbags And Gladrags