Keep the Village Alive | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 11 September 2015 | |||
Recorded | July 2011 – December 2014 | |||
Studio | ICP Studios (Brussels, Belgium) Stylus Studios (London) [1] | |||
Genre | Rock [2] [3] | |||
Length | 40:35 | |||
Label | Stylus Records | |||
Producer |
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Stereophonics chronology | ||||
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Singles from Keep the Village Alive | ||||
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Keep the Village Alive is the ninth studio album by Welsh rock band Stereophonics. Released on 11 September 2015, it was produced by lead singer and guitarist Kelly Jones, along with Jim Lowe. It is intended to be the second of two album volumes, with its predecessor Graffiti on the Train being the first. It is the first album to feature Jamie Morrison, who joined during the production of Graffiti on the Train in 2012. Keep the Village Alive was met with a similar positive response as Graffiti on the Train and topped the UK Albums Chart, becoming the band's first to do so since Pull the Pin (2007).
During the writing process for the band's previous album Graffiti on the Train (2013), Kelly Jones had written 40 song ideas, 30 of which were recorded and completed. [4] [5] With the intention of releasing an album trilogy, the band decided against this idea after Green Day released their ¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tré! series, [6] instead planning to release another album with ten songs. [7] Tracks from these sessions were included in Keep the Village Alive, though these track names are not stated. [8] Stereophonics had finished their Graffiti on the Train Tour on 28 November 2013 and in late February 2014 they went into the studio to start working on the album. [9] [10]
Speaking about "I Wanna Get Lost With You", Kelly Jones mentioned the track is about "wanting to lose yourself personally, and lose yourself with somebody, and then just literally get out there." [11] Jones came up with the melody for "Song for the Summer" while sleeping in the studio after listening to another track for half a day. The next day he wrote the lyrics in a short time and it took 45 minutes to record. [12] Jones approved the album for mass production on 22 June 2015. [13]
After the band decided against the album trilogy, the following album was due to be released some point between the release of Graffiti on the Train and January 2014. [14] Kelly Jones tweeted in late September 2014 that the album had been mixed and was to be released in autumn 2015 and have new songs released in May. [15] True to their word, it was later announced in May 2015 that a new song ("C'est la Vie") would be released a day later and the album on 11 September 2015. [1] [16] This harkens back to when Stereophonics' studio albums were released every two years from Word Gets Around (1997) to Keep Calm and Carry On (2009). [17] Between the final mix and lead single release, the band played the opening night of the Teenage Cancer Trust 2015 concert – during this they debuted three new songs from this album: "C'est la Vie", "Song for the Summer" and "I Wanna Get Lost With You". [18]
On 17 July Gigwise announced the next single from the album would be "I Wanna Get Lost With You" and they would have an exclusive showing of the band's music video for it on 20 July; a trailer for the video was released on the day of announcement. [11]
The lead-single from the album, "C'est la Vie", was first played on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show and was released the following day. [19] [20] A music video was released the same day on Stereophonics' Vevo channel, it was directed by Kelly Jones with cinematography by John Conroy and stars Antonia Thomas, Aneurin Barnard and Mathew Aubrey. [1] [21] The second single, "I Wanna Get Lost With You", was released on 21 July 2015 [22] – the music video was released the day before, starring Barnard and Sophie Kennedy Clark. [11] The third single, "Song for the Summer", was released on 27 November 2015 but the music video was uploaded to the band's YouTube channel a month before and stars only them. [23] [24] "White Lies" was released as the fourth single on 19 February 2016, [25] the music video was uploaded to YouTube a day before, directed by Jones and features the band performing live at one of their December 2015 shows. [26]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 6.1/10 [27] |
Metacritic | (63/100) [28] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [29] |
Clash Music | (6/10) [2] |
Classic Rock | [30] |
Drowned in Sound | (6/10) [31] |
The Independent | [32] |
laut.de | [33] |
Mojo | [34] |
Q | [35] |
PopMatters | [36] |
Uncut | [37] |
Keep the Village Alive has received generally favourable reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 63 based on 10 reviews. [28] Jedd Beaudoin of PopMatters gave a four-star review of the album and called it an "impressive yield of ace tracks" while complimenting they sound "as fresh as anything the Phonics have done in the entirety of their career." [36] In his review for Drowned in Sound , Dan Lucas praised several of the tracks, stating they "make this the best Stereophonics album since You Gotta Go There to Come Back" while calling the album as a whole a variety of "straightforward piano, [...] rhythms [...] electric and acoustic guitars." [31]
In a mixed response for Clash Music , Luke Winstanley summarised the album as "enjoyable and solid, if unadventurous rock record anchored, as always, by that tremendous voice." [2] Senior Editor for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine declared the opening track "comes crashing out of the gates" but summarised "the power trio still trades on the hybrids of Coldplay and U2". In a much less enthusiastic review, Andy Gill from The Independent regarded Kelly Jones' writing "bereft of inspiration [...] with insipid lyric clichés". [32]
All tracks are written by Kelly Jones
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "C'est la Vie" | 3:41 |
2. | "White Lies" | 3:57 |
3. | "Sing Little Sister" | 3:27 |
4. | "I Wanna Get Lost with You" | 3:50 |
5. | "Song for the Summer" | 2:56 |
6. | "Fight or Flight" | 3:42 |
7. | "My Hero" | 3:48 |
8. | "Sunny" | 4:20 |
9. | "Into the World" | 4:04 |
10. | "Mr and Mrs Smith" | 6:50 |
Total length: | 40:35 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Ancient Rome" | 4:41 |
2. | "Let Me In" | 4:28 |
3. | "Blame (You Never Give Me Your Money)" | 4:43 |
4. | "You Are My Energy" | 3:58 |
5. | "You're My Star" (acoustic 2015) | 5:24 |
6. | "I Wanna Get Lost With You" (acoustic 2015) | 4:15 |
Total length: | 27:29 |
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Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
Certifications
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Region | Date | Version | Format | Label |
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United Kingdom [38] | 11 September 2015 |
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| Stylus Records [a] |
Just Enough Education to Perform is the third studio album by Welsh rock band Stereophonics. Released on 11 April 2001, the album topped the UK Albums Chart with 140,000 copies sold. and spawned three top-ten singles in the form of "Mr. Writer", "Have a Nice Day", Step on My Old Size Nines" and "Handbags and Gladrags". The album's title comes from a line in the song "Mr. Writer".
Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley. The band consists of Kelly Jones, Richard Jones, Adam Zindani, Jamie Morrison and touring member Tony Kirkham (keyboards). The group previously included Stuart Cable (1992–2003) and then Javier Weyler (2004–2012) on drums. Stereophonics have released twelve studio albums, including eight UK number one albums. A successful compilation album, Decade in the Sun, was released in November 2008 and charted at number two on the UK Albums chart.
You Gotta Go There to Come Back is the fourth studio album by alternative rock band Stereophonics. Produced by Kelly Jones and released on V2 in 2003, this LP became their third consecutive album to top the UK chart, selling 101,946 copies in its first week alone. It is the final Stereophonics album to feature long-time original drummer Stuart Cable before he was fired in September 2003. The album’s title comes from the eighth track "I'm Alright ".
Word Gets Around is the first studio album by Welsh rock band Stereophonics. It was released on 25 August 1997 through V2 Records and reached number six in the UK Albums Chart, making it one of three Stereophonics albums not to reach number one; the other two being 2009's Keep Calm and Carry On, which reached number eleven, and 2013's Graffiti on the Train, which went to number three. Much of the album is written about everyday life in Cwmaman, the band's hometown. The deluxe and super-deluxe editions were released on 18 October 2010. The name of the album comes from lyrics in the album's last song, "Billy Davey's Daughter".
Performance and Cocktails is the second studio album by Welsh rock band Stereophonics. It was released by V2 on 8 March 1999. The name of the album comes from lyrics in the album's first song, "Roll Up and Shine", just like the previous album's name, Word Gets Around came from lyrics in that album's final song.
Language. Sex. Violence. Other? is the fifth studio album by alternative rock band Stereophonics. Produced by Kelly Jones and Jim Lowe, it was released on 14 March 2005 on V2 Records. After the band's two previous albums, which contained much more acoustic music and an overall mellower sound, the band brought back the harder and more abrasive alternative rock and indie rock sound they were known for and songs such as "Doorman" and "Brother" are some of the band's most aggressive songs. A new wave influence is also prevalent on the album.
Welsh rock band Stereophonics have released twelve studio albums, one live album, one compilation album, four extended plays (EP), two box sets, forty-seven singles and thirty-nine music videos. In the UK, Stereophonics have been awarded six multi-platinum album certifications, one platinum and six gold; one of their singles has been awarded a multi-platinum certification, three platinum, four gold and seven silver. They have sold over 15 million copies worldwide, which includes 9,000,000 albums, 6,600,000 singles and 100,000 video albums, making them one of the most successful Welsh rock acts. The band released their first studio album, Word Gets Around in 1997 which reached number six in the UK Albums Chart. With the release of "The Bartender and the Thief" and its album Performance and Cocktails (1999), the band achieved mainstream success within the UK. The album was certified 6× platinum and is one of the band's best-selling albums.
Decade in the Sun: Best of Stereophonics is a compilation album of greatest hits by Stereophonics. It features tracks from all six of the band's previous albums, beginning from the 1997 debut release, Word Gets Around, all the way through to 2007's Pull the Pin, plus two brand new songs, "You're My Star" and "My Own Worst Enemy". "You're My Star" was also released as a single.
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