Kelly Jones – Don’t Let The Devil Take Another Day: Album Review

By Howard King on 3rd December 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Recorded at several UK venues in 2019, this intimate recording of treasured songs and personal anecdotes from Kelly Jones is a must-have addition to every Stereophonics fan’s collection.

Release date: 4th December 2020

Label: Parlophone

Format: 2CD / 3LP / Digital

One of the highlights of any Stereophonic concert is the spot when Kelly Jones takes the stage, straps on an acoustic guitar, tones down the volume and sings a few numbers without the band. His powerful voice still fills the stadium, arena, festival field as faithful followers listen in quiet admiration.

Now here at last we have an album emulating those moments, it’s packed with many of Kelly’s re-worked songs, albeit still with his Stereophonic mates. There is a pleasant blend of soulful renderings off recent albums , classic albums and solo projects from the past with acoustic versions of more familiar standards. In this case shuffled in between the extensive live setlist of 21 songs are acoustic renditions of old favourites Local Boy in A Photograph, No-ones Perfect, Maybe Tomorrow, Just Looking and Dakota as a finale.

Kelly is no stranger to the odd cover version and puts a new twist on Kris Kristofferson’s Help Me Make It Through The Night. This is oft covered and can sometimes be murdered but he shows the confidence which oozes from him and carries it off superbly as it brings back a personal family memory.

The power and warm sensitivity doesn’t just show in his singing but every song has a back story, which audiences listen to respectfully. All the stories are told expressing his emotional connection to them and the characters he sings about.

He even puts a twist on his own songs too as in I Wanna Get Lost With You . Yet this acoustic version is still as dynamic as the recorded version.

The strength of his performances is how he wins over fickle audiences who normally expect recorded versions they are familiar with and he knows how fickle they are as he shows his nerves when he says its ‘Like walking a f***ing tightrope every night.”

There are songs, which tell stories, offer philosophical thoughts , autobiographical recollections and songs of love and are all embellished by his amusing, emotional and informative intros, which form an integral part of the songs themselves.

Not only is he is able to be a sensitivevocalist and an accomplished guitar player he is a compelling raconteur telling stories of his own personal life and early brushes with rock celebrities.

Thank goodness Kelly’s voice is still going strong without it music as a whole would have been poorer, what a loss that would have been. At the barrier wishes you well for the future.

Amongst all the plethora of reimagined, rearranged and re-recorded music sprinkled around the music scene at the moment this is amongst the best…sorry correction…is the best I’ve heard!!!

I’ll be surprised if this album doesn’t become one of every ‘phonics fans favourites in fact I’d go so far to say it could be amongst the all time music classics and if anyone who thinks they know about music says not then they don’t know as much as they think!!

I recall Kelly Jones on a TV interview after the release of Language, Sex , Violence Other? that they were still seeking to improve…well as far as performance goes he’s reached a peak here.

The accompanying documentary Don’t Let The Devil Take Another Day will be arriving in UK cinemas on 11th December, followed by a global online premiere on 18th december via Trafalgar Releasing.