Music review: Stereophonics, Hydro, Glasgow
Stereophonics, Hydro, Glasgow ***
In efficient, professional fashion, the never entirely fashionable but always dependable Stereophonics have battered out ten albums, only one of which has landed outside the UK top ten.
This means they’ve built a back catalogue which allows them to largely fill a two-hour set with tracks which even casual fans will be familiar with, from the wistful Maybe Tomorrow to the catchy if lyrically slim More Life in a Tramp’s Vest and Mr Writer to a charged closing trio of their most emotive signature hits Local Boy in the Photograph, A Thousand Trees and The Bartender and the Thief (although the appearance of a chorus of Motorhead’s Ace of Spades amid the last may have been trying too hard).
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Hide AdWith the Hydro apparently as full as it gets and the odd arena-scale trick employed – a breakout set on a satellite stage, stripped-back acoustic tracks from Kelley, the Spinal Tap-ish appearance of Scots drummer Jamie Morrison on a kit ascending from the ground during Mr and Mrs Smith – the real enjoyment came from the ebullient efficiency with which the now-quintet played and the enduring power in Jones’ blues-flavoured vocal.
After all this time there’s clearly a lot of nostalgia to their appeal but they bridge the gap between their glory days and the present better than most.