Glenn Williams
MUSIC WRITER IN JAPAN
ALBUM
KELLY JONES
INEVITABLE INCRDIBLE
Sony Music International
It seems incredible in itself that it has been seventeen years for the Stereophonics frontman to release a second solo album. That it was at some point, inevitable, is a given but no one could have anticipated just how good it would be let alone the man himself who has stated that “I didn’t plan to write an album, it wrote me.”
Whilst Kelly has never been one to shy away from lyrics and music that dig deep into your emotions, on this album, he has excelled, pushing himself deeper and taking us with him on a journey through a set of songs and landscapes like no other before. The scope across the entire album is best described as cinematic but vivid and visual are also needed and the individual pieces are touching, piteous, poignant along with a dozen other adjectives to describe sentiment.
If the album feels isolated, that’s because it was completed largely out of his comfort zone. Firstly, his primary writing instrument this time was the piano. Then he took himself off to a remote recording studio on an island off the coast of Norway (Ocean Sound in Giske if you want to Google it) and recorded the piano and vocals live before adding an orchestra. Throw in a time limit of six days and you come up with the inevitable question of ‘Madman or Genius?’ Answer: The latter.
The disc comes with a 24-page colour booklet with the lyrics and images and quotes that obviously reflect where his mind was/is however, your guess is as good as mine as to exactly that status – and we’d both be wrong. The Japanese release includes a 12-page b/w booklet with the translated lyrics and liner notes.
Above all else, the music asks you to listen– and I mean really listen, not just throw it on your phone when you’re walking down the street to the shops - and when you do, you will go on a voyage not only into Kelly’s mind but also your own. You won’t get answers to questions but you will get questions you’ve never asked yourself before. Maybe that was one of Kelly’s intentions when he wrote and recorded it but there again, maybe not; who knows with Mr Jones? Either way, this album is beyond expectations. Quite frankly, he may well have just have painted his masterpiece.
Track List
Inevitable Incredible
Turn Bad Into Good
Time’s Running Away
Echowrecked
Sometimes You Fly Like The Wind
Monsters In The House
May I Came Home From My War
The Beast Will Be What The Beast Will Be
ALBUM
CHAMPLIN. WILLIAMS. FRIESTEDT
CWF3
Sony Music International
It’s astonishing just how fast four years have gone since the last CWF album but of course that included the covid era which has thrown everybody’s memory of time out of whack. Here we are then, a new album, easily their most enjoyable yet and with four excellent bonus tracks for the Japanese edition.
On first listening, it’s a pleasant album, exactly what you would expect from the combined talents of the trio. It starts with some chorused guitars, a fat 1980s synth (a homage to Eddie Van Halen’s sound) before the introduction of a foot tapping beat and an earworm melody, all of which combine on the very appropriately titled, Brighter Day. CWF3 runs for about an hour through slow and medium paced songs, three written by the team of Peter Friestedt/Robert Säll, the remaining eight a combination of various members and friends, many of whom make guest appearances. By the end of it, you’ll be very satisfied that you bought it and will be happy to listen to it again but then something strange happens…
On the second playing, your ears dig a little deeper into it and you start to realise that this is no ordinary AOR album. There are subtle nuances, parts and sounds, all the way through that enhance the listening pleasure and make it an aural experience. The audio quality and clarity of the production are second to none as each song seems to glide out of your stereo, warming and embracing you making it from start to finish, an hour of the finest AOR songwriting, performance and recording you could wish for: the Blu-Spec CD mastering adds shine to an already highly-polished recording.
Of course, you can’t have an album like this without an all-out power ballad and this has a belter! Find The Love, with a simply sweet guitar solo, is destined for radio play around the world for years to come - think 1980s Chicago. Elsewhere, there are hints of Toto and more of Chicago scattered throughout but the trio have gone to great lengths this time to establish themselves as a band and not three individuals. The bonus tracks are two studio tracks and two live tracks, the latter will wet your appetite for the upcoming shows at Billboard in Japan in September; the Japanese edition also has a limited-edition jacket.
CWF3, as the title suggests, is their third album and third albums are known to either make or break a band. Champlin, Williams and Friestedt are each already established in their own rite and this album, undoubtedly, will take them as a band, to the next level.
Track List
Brighter Day
Sure
Wings Of Tomorrow
Find The Love
Carrie
I Will Find You There
Stay With Me
Almost Had Me There
Fly Away Now
Moments Of Joy
The Last Unbroken Hearts
Japanese release bonus tracks
Time Never Stops (Theme for Swiss Timing)
Hard Habit To Break (live)
When You Look In My Eyes (live)
Carry On 2024 (2024 remaster)
CHAMPLIN.WILLIAMS.FRIESTEDT
Live at Billboard Tokyo and Osaka!