ReviewsEntertainment Weekly (4/20/01, p.72) - "...Some of Welshman Kelly Jones' most writerly songs to date." - Rating: B Q (5/01, p.120) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Memorable tunes and the odd decent riff is as spine-tingling as things get....[They] have undoubtedly progressed musically..." CMJ (4/9/01, p.13) - "...An enjoyable listening experience...steeped in acoustic down-home wistfulness that's at times plaintive...and other times catchy..." Mojo (Publisher) (5/01, p.96) - "...Here is an album which is thoroughly comfortable with itself....rarely has any modern band made The Difficult Third Album sound so breezy..."
Additional informationStereophonics: Kelly Jones (vocals, guitar); Richard Jones (harmonica, bass); Stuart Cable (drums). Additional personnel includes: Marshall Bird (harmonica, piano, Wurlitzer piano, background vocals); Glenn Hyde (harmonica); Hazel Fernandes, Aileen McLaughlin, Anna Ross (background vocals). Principally recorded at Real World Studios, Bath, England. An updated and expanded reissue of the Welsh group's 2001 release; includes "Vegas Two Times" and "Nice To Be Out." 2001, U.K. import. Personnel: Kelly Jones (vocals, guitar); Marshall Bird (harmonica, piano, Wurlitzer organ, background vocals); Richard Jones (harmonica); Aileen McLaughlin, Anna Ross (background vocals). Recording information: Monnow Valley Studios, Monmouth, Wales; Real World Studios, Bath, Somerset, England. On JUST ENOUGH EDUCATION TO PERFORM, Brit-poppers Stereophonics offer another refreshingly unpretentious album in which frontman Kelly Jones sings about everyday topics and emotions in his inimitable winsome voice, the whole thing set to outrageously catchy melodies and driven by a strong guitar-based sound. Think a slightly grungier version of the La's and you're not far off the mark, although the album's far too stylistically varied to really be pigeonholed. "Have a Nice Day" could be Cheap Trick without the irony. Jones says the magnificent "Mr. Writer" was inspired by ELO and Stevie Wonder, although it could also pass for early-'70s John Lennon remade a la the Rutles. The exquisitely countryish "Step on My Old Size Nines" comes off as a modern alternative-rock take on early Brinsley Schwarz. Gorgeous stuff, and often rather uplifting.