Word Gets Around

Word Gets Around is the first studio album by Welsh rock band Stereophonics. It was released on 25 August 1997 through V2 Records and reached number six in the UK Albums Chart, making it one of three Stereophonics albums not to reach number one; the other two being 2009's Keep Calm and Carry On, which reached number eleven, and 2013's Graffiti on the Train, which went to number three. Much of the album is written about everyday life in Cwmaman, the band's hometown. The deluxe and super-deluxe editions were released on 18 October 2010. The name of the album comes from lyrics in the album's last song, "Billy Davey's Daughter".

Word Gets Around
Studio album by Stereophonics
Released	25 August 1997 (1997-08-25)
Recorded	October 1992 – February 1997
Genre	Rock[1] indie rock[2] Britpop
Length	42:02
Label	V2
Producer	Bird & Bush
Stereophonics chronology
Word Gets Around (1997) Performance and Cocktails (1999)
Singles from Word Gets Around
"Local Boy in the Photograph" Released: 17 March 1997[3] "More Life in a Tramps Vest" Released: 19 May 1997[4] "A Thousand Trees" Released: 11 August 1997[5] "Traffic" Released: 27 October 1997[6]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Galeria Musical	[7]
Kerrang!	[8]
NME	7/10[8]
Pitchfork	5.8/10[9]
Vox	8/10[8]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"A Thousand Trees"	3:02
2.	"Looks Like Chaplin"	2:32
3.	"More Life in a Tramps Vest"	2:19
4.	"Local Boy in the Photograph"	3:22
5.	"Traffic"	4:54
6.	"Not Up to You"	4:37
7.	"Check My Eyelids for Holes"	2:43
8.	"Same Size Feet"	4:00
9.	"Last of the Big Time Drinkers"	2:45
10.	"Goldfish Bowl"	3:03
11.	"Too Many Sandwiches"	5:01
12.	"Billy Davey's Daughter"	3:45
Total length:		42:02

All lyrics are written by Kelly Jones; all music is composed by Stereophonics

Re-release

On 24 August 2010, Stereophonics announced on their website that Word Gets Around, along with Performance and Cocktails, were to be re-released.^[10] To accompany the re-releases, Stereophonics performed all the songs off both the albums at the Hammersmith Apollo on 17 and 18 October 2010.^[10] They were released on 18 October 2010^[11] and were made into two forms:

Track listing

Deluxe: The original album on one disc and a bonus CD featuring 12 b-sides and rare tracks.

CD 2 (B-Sides and rarities)

No.	Title	Original release	Length
1.	"Carrot Cake and Wine"	B-side on "A Thousand Trees"	4:28
2.	"Tie Me Up Tie Me Down"	B-side on "Traffic"	2:17
3.	"Poppy Day"	B-side on "More Life in a Tramps Vest"	3:41
4.	"Raymond's Shop"	B-side on "More Life in a Tramps Vest"	2:54
5.	"Chris Chambers"	B-side on "Traffic"	3:42
6.	"A Thousand Trees" (BBC Radio 1 Evening Session)		3:15
7.	"Local Boy in the Photograph" (BBC Radio 1 Evening Session)		3:13
8.	"Looks Like Chaplin" (Live at Newcastle University)		3:38
9.	"Same Size Feet" (Live at Newcastle University)		4:10
10.	"Not up to You" (Live at Newcastle University)		6:45
11.	"She Takes Her Clothes Off" (Decade in the Sun Deluxe Word Gets Around session)		3:17
12.	"More Life in a Tramps Vest" (Pre-record deal Grass-roots demo)		2:43
13.	"The Last Resort" (Eagles cover)	B-side on "Local Boy in the Photograph"	6:23
Total length:			50:26

Super deluxe: The album on one disc (as listed above) and two bonus CDs (one with 15 b-sides and the other includes 10 rare tracks), artcards and a replica of Kelly Jones' notebook.^[12]

CD 2 (B-Sides)

No.	Title	Original release	Length
1.	"Carrot Cake and Wine"	B-side on "A Thousand Trees"	4:28
2.	"Tie Me Up Tie Me Down"	B-side on "Traffic"	2:17
3.	"Poppy Day"	B-side on "More Life in a Tramps Vest"	3:41
4.	"Raymond's Shop"	B-side on "More Life in a Tramps Vest"	2:54
5.	"Chris Chambers"	B-side on "Traffic"	3:42
6.	"Who'll Stop the Rain (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover)"	B-side on "Local Boy in the Photograph	2:32
7.	"Home to Me"	B-side on "A Thousand Trees	3:25
8.	"Buy Myself a Small Plane"	B-side on "Local Boy in the Photograph"	3:15
9.	"The Last Resort" (Eagles cover)	B-side on "Local Boy in the Photograph"	6:23
10.	"Summertime"	B-side on "A Thousand Trees"	3:25
Total length:			36:02

CD 3 (Rarities)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"A Thousand Trees" (BBC Radio 1 Evening Session)	3:15
2.	"Local Boy in the Photograph" (BBC Radio 1 Evening Session)	3:13
3.	"Same Size Feet" (Live at Newcastle University)	4:10
4.	"Looks Like Chaplin" (Live at Newcastle University)	3:38
5.	"Not up to You" (Live at Newcastle University)	6:45
6.	"More Life in a Tramps Vest" (Pre-record deal Grass-roots demo)	2:43
7.	"Looks Like Chaplin" (Pre-record deal - Grass-roots demo)	2:28
8.	"In My Day" (Pre-record deal - Grass-roots demo)	2:58
9.	"She Takes Her Clothes Off" (Decade in the Sun Deluxe Word Gets Around session)	3:17
10.	"Looks Like Chaplin" (Acoustic)	2:46
11.	"A Thousand Trees" (Acoustic)	3:19
Total length:		38:32

Personnel

Stereophonics[13] Stuart Cable – drums Kelly Jones – vocals, guitars Richard Jones – bass Additional[13] Marshall Bird – keyboards Nadia Lannman – cello on "Billy Davey's Daughter" Richard Payne – accordion on "Not Up to You"

Technical[13] Bird & Bush – producer, engineer, mixing Bob Ludwig – mastering Lee Dunn – artwork, design Emma Jones – studio assistant

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1997–2000) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[14] 71 French Albums (SNEP)[15] 35 Irish Albums (IRMA)[16] 29 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[17] 8 Scottish Albums (OCC)[18] 17 UK Albums (OCC)[19] 6

Year-end charts Chart (1998) Position UK Albums (OCC)[20] 65 Chart (1999) Position UK Albums (OCC)[21] 71 Chart (2000) Position UK Albums (OCC)[22] 74 Chart (2001) Position UK Albums (OCC)[23] 170

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[24]	3× Platinum	900,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone.

References

Footnotes

1. Damas, Jason. "Review: Word Gets Around". Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
2. "Album by Album: Kelly Jones on the Stereophonics' Back Catalogue". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 18 October 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
3. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 15 March 1997. p. 31.
4. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 17 May 1997. p. 36.
5. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 9 August 1997. p. 33.
6. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 25 October 1997. p. 31.
7. Nascimento, Anderson (29 July 2011). "Word Gets Around" (in Portuguese). Galeria Musical. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
8. O'Connor (2001), p. 123
9. DiCrescenzo, Brent. "Stereophonics Word Get Around". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 19 June 2002. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
10. "WGA and P&C re-released plus 2 special shows". The Stereophonics Ltd. 24 August 2010. Archived from the original on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
11. "WGA and P&C shows now on sale". The Stereophonics Ltd. 27 August 2010. Archived from the original on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
12. "Word Gets Around (Super Deluxe Edition) [Box Set]". Amazon. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
13. Word Gets Around (CD booklet). Stereophonics. V2 Records. 1997.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
14. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 267.
15. "Lescharts.com – Stereophonics – Word Gets Around". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
16. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Stereophonics". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
17. "Charts.nz – Stereophonics – Word Gets Around". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
18. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
19. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
20. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1998". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 18 August 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
21. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1999". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
22. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2000". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
23. "The Official UK Albums Chart 2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
24. "British album certifications – Stereophonics – Word Gets Around". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 March 2022.

Bibliography

• Danny O'Connor (2001). Stereophonics – Just Enough Evidence to Print. London: Virgin Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7535-0527-4.

External links

• Word Gets Around at Stereophonics.com