You Gotta Go There to Come Back

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."<ref name="McCormick" /> He later recalled that recording the album was, for many years, the best recording experience the band ever had, saying: "All the crew were in the room, all the girlfriends were in the room, all the band were there, it was the best recording session ever. It just felt like a fucking really good time."<ref name="Burrows" />

Musical and lyrical style

You Gotta Go There to Come Back features a blues rock styled sound in the mold of early 1970s rock bands,<ref name = "nme review" /> and also displays influences of garage rock and soul.<ref name="Burrows" /> Kelly Jones described the album, with its "very 70s, Stevie Wonder, rock overdub feel", as the fulfillment of his desire to make an album like his favourite soul music: "I was really into soul music - it's not something I'm ashamed about. I was brought up on Stevie Wonder and I love Talking Book and all the overdubs on it, and all that freestyling Marvin Gaye thing. I'd always wanted to make a record like that, and this was the first one I produced so that's probably why I went 'Fuck it I'm just going to do it'."<ref name="Burrows">Template:Cite web</ref> 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,<ref name = "nme review" /> a sentiment also shared by music critic Neil McCormick.<ref name="McCormick">Template:Cite web</ref>

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."<ref name="McCormick" /> Jack Smith of the BBC detected influences from AC/DC, Stevie Wonder, the Isley Brothers and Creedence Clearwater Revival.<ref name="Smith">Template:Cite web</ref> The album also sporadically features "ornate strings reminiscent of Chris Farlowe's British soul in the 1960s."<ref name="McCormick" /> Jones' emotional lyrics for the albums draw on his break-up with his girlfriend of 12 years, and one critic noted how Jones' "life unfolds through words" on the album.<ref name="allmusic" /> Jones said of the lyrics: Template:Blockquote

The opening song, "Help Me (She's Out of Her Mind)", has been described as "easy funk", and comparisons were drawn between Jones' vocals on the song and John Lennon's "Cold Turkey" vocals.<ref name="Smith" /> Jason MacNeil of PopMatters compared the "moody, murky blues rock" song to Southern soul, while describing "Maybe Tomorrow" as "English soul."<ref name="MacNeil">Template:Cite web</ref> Lead single "Madame Helga" has been described as gospel<ref name = "allmusic" /> and glam metal,<ref name="nme review" /><ref name="McCormick" /> with "dirty guitars duplicating a funky brass section."<ref name="McCormick" /> The acoustic, country-styled "Climbing the Wall" features horn and string sections and a Southern rock guitar solo,<ref name="MacNeil" /><ref name="allmusic" /> while the "pseudo-experimentalism" of "I'm Alright (You Gotta Go There To Come Back)" features looped drums and a piano.<ref name="Future">Template:Cite web</ref> The quieter "Rainbows and Pots of Gold" has soul influences and concerns "a friend who stole [Jones'] girl."<ref name="McCormick" />

Reception

Critical response

You Gotta Go There to Come Back received generally mixed reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 60 based on 10 reviews.<ref name="metacritic">Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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

Template:Col-begin Template:Col-break Stereophonics<ref name="YGGTTCB ac">Template:Cite web</ref>

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

Technical<ref name="album-notes"/><ref name="YGGTTCB ac"/>

• Production – Kelly Jones, Jim Lowe
• Engineering – Andy Burden, Jim Lowe, Steve McNichol, Chris Steffenl, Brian Vibberts
• Mixing – Kelly Jones, Jim Lowe, Jack Joseph Puig
• Mastering – Dick Beetham, Chris Blair
• Digital editing – Steve McNichol
• Studio assistants – Chris Bolster, Andy Davies, Max Dingle, Javier Weyler

Template:Col-break Additional<ref name="YGGTTCB ac"/>

• Tony Kirkham – mellotron, piano, clavinet, Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer organ<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 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<ref name="album-notes"/>

• Strings – Mark Berrow, Rachel Bolt, Ben Chappell, Gustav Clarkson, David Daniel, David Daniels, Patrick Kiernan, Boguslaw Kostecki, Peter Lale, Paddy Lannigan, Julian Leaper, Rita Manning, Perry Mason, Anthony Pleeth, Mary Scully, Katherine Shave, Chris Tobling, Bruce White, Gavyn Wright, Naomi Wright
• Alto Sax – Steve Hamilton
• Cornet and flugelhorn – Paul Spong
• Tenor sax – Andy Hamilton
• Trombone – Neil Sidwell
• Trumpet – Sid Gauld

Charts

Weekly charts

Template:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chart

Chart (2003)	Peak position

Chart (2025)	Peak position
Greek Albums (IFPI)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	8

Year-end charts

Chart (2003)	Position
UK Albums (OCC)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	28

External links

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