You Gotta Go There to Come Back is the fourth studio album by alternative rock band Stereophonics. Produced by Kelly Jones and released on V2 in 2003, this LP became their third consecutive album to top the UK chart, selling 101,946 copies in its first week alone. It is the final Stereophonics album to feature long-time original drummer Stuart Cable before he was fired in September 2003. The album’s title comes from the eighth track "I'm Alright (You Gotta Go There to Come Back)".

Recording

Kelly Jones produced the album himself, working fast in hoping to capture the "vibe" of the band's concerts; "I wanted to create a record that was very raw, very spontaneous but had loads of detail and textures and layers," Jones noted, "We pushed ourselves in many places we've never been before." The NME felt that the album's "retro-garage" style made it "accidentally hip," comparing it to acclaimed contemporary garage rock revival "headbanger blues" bands like the White Stripes,

Throughout the album there are "different moods and changes." Jones stated: "Every few bars, when your brain's saying, 'Have you heard that now', I wanted to put something new in there." He felt this set the album apart from most other contemporary albums, which he felt "sound like one song from beginning to end." The album also sporadically features "ornate strings reminiscent of Chris Farlowe's British soul in the 1960s." Lead single "Madame Helga" has been described as gospel The quieter "Rainbows and Pots of Gold" has soul influences and concerns "a friend who stole [Jones'] girl."

| rev2 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev2Score = B

| rev3 = Dotmusic

| rev3score = 7/10

| rev4 = The Guardian

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| rev5 = Mojo

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| rev6 = NME

| rev6Score = 6/10

| rev7 = PopMatters

| rev7score = 8/10

| rev9 = Uncut

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| rev10 = Under the Radar

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Commercial performance

You Gotta Go There to Come Back joined its predecessors at #1 on release. It was re-issued with bonus tracks in February 2004, coming into the UK charts again at #35, finally re-entering at #16 in September 2004. It was the 28th biggest selling album of 2003 in the UK. The track "Maybe Tomorrow" became one of their biggest hits; it was played over the credits of the Academy Award-winning movie Crash (2004) and also during the opening scene of the film Wicker Park (2004). It was also used in a season one episode of One Tree Hill and featured on the first Charmed soundtrack.

Track listing

Bonus tracks

The track "Moviestar" appears on later editions of the album as track 4 and was released with a DVD containing the videos for the singles.

Vinyl editions

The album was released in gatefold sleeve at first, containing two records. When "Moviestar" was included on the album the gatefold sleeve contained three records.

Personnel

Stereophonics

  • Kelly Jones – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica, Clavinet, Fender Rhodes, Mellotron, Wurlitzer
  • Richard Jones – bass guitar, harmonica
  • Stuart Cable – drums, percussion

Technical

  • Javier Weyler – hand clapping, percussion
  • Jim Lowe – mellotron, piano
  • Stephen Papworth – hand clapping, kettle drums, percussion
  • Paul Spong – cornet, flugelhorn
  • Backing vocalists – Angie Brown, Sam Brown, Sam Leigh Brown, Melanie Marcus, Aileen McLaughlin, Anna Ross

Orchestra

| 8

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Year-end charts

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|-

! scope="col"| Chart (2003)

! scope="col"| Position

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! scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)

| 28

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References

  • You Gotta Go There To Come Back at stereophonics.com