The Welsh group Stereophonics chose to go straight to the point in Make'em Laugh, Make'em Cry, Make'em Wait. He comes out grown.
The remark at least has the merit of provoking amused smiles in this dressing room at the Parisian Zénith where three-quarters of the Stereophonics group (only Jamie Morrison, the drummer, is missing) have taken up positions on the spacious sofa. A Zenith where he will once again be sold out – and easily – a few hours later. The story goes that instead of this new album with an extended name – Make'em Laugh, Make'em Cry, Make'em Wait – a “simple” compilation was planned, which would include two unreleased songs. Before these two songs became eight and an album upon arrival. Except that, almost the same scenario, led to the birth of Oochya!, the previous effort, three years ago.
We would almost come to believe that we now have to threaten the Stereophonics crew with a compilation so that they deign to get back to work… “The context was not the same, engages Kelly Jones, the lead singer and songwriter of the Welsh gang. But it's true that between us, we asked ourselves the question of the relevance of a thirteenth studio album at this precise moment in the group's journey. There was also the fact that, in the meantime, I had released a solo album (Inevitable Incredible, last year, editor's note) and before that this other project, Far From Saints, and I didn't know if the writing of new songs would be spontaneous, which was the case in the end.
Laugh… is the perfect negative of Oochya! Short, collected, crafted into eight songs barely exceeding half an hour, where, with the previous one, we… crossed the hour mark for the first time in the history of the Stereophonics.
Find this interview with on Stereophonics and many others in our n°173, available on newsstands and via our online store.
