Performance And Cocktails - Stereophonics > Reviews > She Got The Nick Name Porta Bubble Joan

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money

Advantages:	A good follow up to WGA
Disadvantages:	Not perfect but then what is

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

The Stereophonics followed up the 1997 debut album Word Gets Around with an album almost its equal, Performance and Cocktails. The expectation was high to see how the Phonics would or even if they could make a better album. The result? Better no, As Good? Definitely. They had gone from being the Tragic Love Company playing working men’s clubs to being the Stereophonics, playing Wembley and the Millenium Stadium.

The reason for writing this op is the release of the Phonics 4th album, You Gotta Go There To Come Back, which hopefully I’ll get to by Thursday. The band have a much larger fan base now than they did back in 1999 when this was released. Hopefully this will encourage a few more people to give this album a listen.

The album opens in a spectacular way with one of my favourite un released Stereophonics tracks. The track in question is “Roll Up And Shine”. A quiet first few seconds are disturbed in a big way by the guitars and the drums for a short introduction before the distinctive vocals of Mr Kelly Jones rip in and move the track forward. A very loud and medium paced song it really has your foot tapping and gets you singing along. The title track of sorts from the album as it includes the line Performance and Cocktails.

“Roll Out The Shock Parade,
Free falling from a stage”

Next up we have the first single taken from the album, “Bartender And The Thief”. The video was suppose to be a remake of a scene from Apocalypse Now, and actually worked very well. The track itself starts in a similar way to the last track and is pretty much the same pace with the guitars and drums playing loud, but the vocals are sped up just a touch. Another great sing along track that really gets the album off to a flying start.

“ The Bartender and the Thief are lovers,
Steal what they need like Sisters and brothers”

Another single follows and this time a much slower track, “Hurry Up And Wait”, is one of those mellow tracks you never get tired of hearing. It starts with a slow guitar before Kelly comes in with the vocals and a quiet drum beat in the background that you can hardly hear. It builds a little the further into the song you go and really this is a track that gets you thinking about things. The lyrics are superb and Kelly pulls off the vocals with a certain degree of class that you can’t really imagine from anyone else.

“So hurry up and wait,
but what’s worth waiting for?”

Moving on again we come to probably the best song on the album, but that’s probably got more to do with the Italian Job style video they did for it. Of course the song is “Pick A Part That’s New”. It picks up the pace from the last track and starts with the guitar and a simple drumbeat in the background before it gets a bit louder, for a short introduction before Kelly’s vocals come in. The beat is kept throughout and really makes the song, as the guitars fall in around it accompanying the vocals well and really making something worth listening to.

“People drinking on their own,
push buttons on the phone”

So for the fourth song in a row we have another single. This time the much mellower “Just Looking“, which I’m sure if it was any mellower would be asleep. It starts with the guitar building up out of the silence before Kelly comes in with a low drawn out vocal, as the song really starts to get going. After the first verse before the chorus, the drums come in with a slow steady beat building up a bit before it gets going a bit for the chorus, where the song comes to live for a short time. After the short burst for the chorus it returns to a similar way to the end of the first verse. The vocals are again sounding superb and Kelly really can do any type of song.

“Do I want the perfect wife the word perfect ain’t quite right,
Shopping everyday take it back the next break”

The next song is a lot more upbeat, in a similar vane to the opening to tracks, this is a much louder rock track, “Half The Lies You Tell Ain’t True”. It builds quickly out of the silence again with the guitars quickly leading into the vocals and the drumbeat. This is one of those tracks you listen to love but don’t actually have any idea what its called. The beat carries on well throughout with the vocals varied from the last track, and sounding a bit more at home on a louder track.

“But when you rely on a lie that’s true,
and no one believes in the things you do”

Next up we have the last song used as a single from this album, “I Wouldn’t Believe Your Radio”, another great chart/indie song. It starts with a steady drum beat and Stuart Cable counting in before the guitars join the drum beat for a longer intro than with the last few songs. When the vocals come in they sound exactly as you expect, not quite mellow but not exactly live and rocking either. The wide variety of styles Kelly can pull off really does help the album to sound more like a complete album, than it may have done with simply one style of song.

“I wouldn’t believe your wireless radio,
if I had myself a flying giraffe,
you’d have one in a box with a window”

Another one of my favourite Phonics tracks has to be “T-shirt suntan”. I can’t even think why I like it, it just seems to be a song that is ideal in summer. It starts with the bass and guitar before the drums come in and the vocals very quickly afterwards. The drum and guitars really hold the song together well, with simple beat and a good easy going sound. The vocals are again superb and a lot of thought has gone into the lyrics for all the tracks.

“It’s when all the phrases come around,
the clothes you wear the sex and love”

So into the home stretch with only 5 more songs to go we move on to “Is Yesterday, Tomorrow, Today?”. A very slow start that really was expected. The drums and guitars make what is almost a depressing mood but still somehow seems to make you enjoy the song and not really think to much about the tone of the lyrics. Loud drumbeats really add a bit of tension to the song, whilst mixed with Kelly’s vocals really make this into a quality song.

“Is yesterday, tomorrow, today?
Is nothin’ gonna change the way?

Another mellow track follows with “A Minute Longer”, which really signifies the middle of a slower mellower part of the album. Starts with Kelly’s vocal accompanied by the guitar quietly for the introduction before the drums come in for the chorus, and really drown everything else out. probably the weakest track on the album.

“They’re calling out,
come on lets go,
but I’m miles away
to a year before”

With only three tracks to go we come to “She Takes Her Clothes Off“. A kind of comical song about a woman who despite her age still likes to take her clothes off where ever she can. Its another mellow track that drifts past without you really thinking about it. The vocals are good again and the lyrics have been written in a similar way to Too Many Sandwiches on Word Gets Around.

“She loved to have her little fantasies,
she longed to be the wife of Jimmy Dean”

Picking up the pace for the second to last song is “Plastic California” another superb song that lifts the album back towards where it started. Starting with a slow guitar and drum combination before the vocals come in, Stuart Cable keeps the beat going nicely on the drums and Richard Jones on Bass really accentuates Kelly’s vocals. Maybe a bit more easy going than the first couple but it does build more as the song goes on and lifts away from the mellow tracks that are on either side of it.

“Gin stroke amnesia problems,
overhearing talk of Hollywood,
we wish we could ya should”

Onto the last track we go and its almost another comedy song, “I Stopped To Fill My Car Up”. It’s a bit like when you meet a guy down the pub that you know is lying with the story he’s telling but you sit and listen to him anyway. The song is very slow and drifts along nicely with a piano accompaniment. The song is quite a good one nice and mellow with the pace of the vocals picking up towards the middle for the chorus, before the drums come in to accompany the piano and vocals.

“And then I looked up,
And looked in the mirror behind me”

Well there we go that is the Stereophonics second album available from all good record stores, especially from WWW.CD-wow.com for £8.99. Hope you enjoy even if you only nick a few tracks from Kazaa.

Band:

Kelly Jones; Vocals and Guitar
Richard Jones; Bass
Stuart Cable; Drums.

Cheers
Andy