Stereophonics 'Live From Dakota' album

2005 was a spectacular year for the Stereophonics. Their fifth album, "Language. Sex.Violence. Other?", heralded a fantastic return to form, sending them out on tour in front of sell-out crowds all over the world, including over 200, 000 fans in the UK alone. It was the result of both hard work and a re-examination of who they were as a band. First Javier Weyler stepped in behind the kit and then, more importantly perhaps, the band re-discovered what they wanted from their music. “We had been a little lost,” says singer Kelly Jones. “Last year, we really found ourselves again. We went through a lot of difficult times and we were searching for what we wanted to be and I think we’ve hit on it now.”

What it’s meant is that they’ve become a live force to be reckoned with. A newfound confidence, coupled with an excitement in the band that bassist Richard Jones compares to the very early days, has led to some truly extraordinary live shows in the last year. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt as comfortable onstage as I have done recently,” says Kelly. “We’ve got a lot more confidence than we’ve ever had before too. Getting back to playing as a three piece onstage – as opposed to having extra musicians there – has really worked, it’s what we were originally and we feel stronger for going back to it. We’ve been really fucking energized too.” “We’ve got that raw feel back too,” adds Richard. “Even just when we were rehearsing it felt really energetic, gritty and in your face. As soon as we started playing with Javier it felt so natural. We felt like a unit onstage – it was like the old gang mentality. It was just the three of us and we knew we all had to pull together. The shows last year were among the best we’ve ever played. The energy and excitement was similar to when we first started playing big shows. We have the same fire burning in our chests now as we did then.”

It’s been something of a whirlwind for Javier Weyler. Within months of joining the band, he had a Number One album on his hands, was touring the world and playing in front of a global audience of millions at Live 8. “Everything happened so fast,” says Javier. “We were touring like crazy which meant I didn’t even have a chance to be nervous by it all. I watched our Live 8 performance for the first time a few weeks ago and I didn’t realize how big it all was at the time. When I watched it back, I was like, ‘Oh fuck!’ It’s been great to be out on the road though. It feels like the other two have been initiating me for the last 18 months! They’ve been to a lot of places before but I’m seeing them for the first time, so they’ve been taking me to all the crazy places and getting me drunk. It’s been fantastic!”

So successful has their year been that the band felt they needed to do something to cap it off. The obvious choice was a live album. “We didn’t want to do a greatest hits package or anything like that,” says Kelly. “We wanted to do a live album because it feels like a celebration of the year we’ve had and also of the ten years that this band has been going. I wanted to put this out as a souvenir, for the fans and for ourselves, because I wanted to capture the moment where we’re all really into the band again. To not share that would be silly. The feeling and excitement in the band hasn’t ever been as strong as this which is why we’ve never done anything like this before.”

“We weren’t really planning on doing a live album,” says Javier. “But the vibe of the shows was so good that we wanted to find a way of storing that somehow. We wanted to do something for all the people that came to those shows too because they’re a big part of the reason that it was so special.” It meant having to trawl through hours of recordings from every show the band played during the last year – a strange experience according everyone in the band. “It was quite painful at times,” says Kelly Jones. “But I was pleasantly surprised at how rocking it was. It was good to hear songs like ‘A Thousand Trees’ or ‘Too Many Sandwiches’ fitting alongside ‘Dakota’ or ‘Superman’. It was quite satisfying to hear how the energy of the first album still fits with what we’re doing now but also how something like ‘Mr Writer’ can fit in the middle of it. The way we’ve made all the songs work together has been great because all the albums are very different in terms of dynamics.”

All three of the band sat in the recording studio, alongside producer Jim Lowe, and played back every night of the tour. The selection process for what made the live album was very simple: “It was all about the vibe and energy of the recording,” says Kelly. “It didn’t matter if we’d played it faultlessly or not, as long as it made us feel excited when we listened back to it. They’re really not all perfect recordings either, some of them are pretty raw at times but that’s what we liked about them.” “We didn’t want to do overdubs or anything like that,” adds Javier. “What’s the point of that? If you spend ages tweaking stuff in the studio, then it’s not a live album anymore.”

More important still was trying to recreate the live atmosphere, the combination of venue, crowd and performance that makes a show so special. “It is hard to re-create the buzz of being at a gig,” says Kelly. “When you’re out, you’re tanked up and having a good time with your mates. Hopefully this is as close to being at one of our gigs as you can get. There are a few songs in there that break the pace up a little but, for the most part, it’s right in your face from beginning to end. With a bit of luck, there aren’t any moments when you’ll want to get up and go for a hot-dog, or whatever else you can do at a gig!”

The aim was to produce the definitive Stereophonics live recording and Kelly, for one, thinks they’ve succeeded. “I do actually,” he says. “If you’ve never been to one of our gigs before, then this will make you want to come. If the only perception you have of us is from a few singles on the radio, then this will totally change your mind. If you were at one of the shows…well, you know what it’s all about and hopefully this will be a great souvenir of your night.”

“If you've never been to one of our gigs before, then this will make you want to come. If the only perception you have of us is from a few singles on the radio, then this will totally change your mind.” - Kelly Jones

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Stereophonics - Live From Dakota