Keep Calm and Carry On (album)

Keep Calm and Carry On is the seventh studio album by Welsh rock band Stereophonics. Released by Mercury on 16 November 2009, the album debuted at number 11 with sales of 42,771 on the UK Albums Chart,[4] the lowest position for a studio album released by the band. The album was named after a British World War II poster of the same name.[1][5] Keep Calm and Carry On was the first studio album by the band to feature guitarist Adam Zindani as a permanent member of the band. In the initial months after release, fans could access bonus content from the band's website with their copy of the album. This featured videos of a Track By Track rundown of the album, a Welcome Message from the group, the photoshoot for the album, and live audio of "You're My Star" (Acoustic) and "I Stopped to Fill My Car Up" from the Greatest Hits tour.

Keep Calm and Carry On
Stereophonics members sitting on a table in the ocean on a cloudy day, looking at us. The words "STEREOPHONICS" with a line and "Keep Calm AND Carry On" can be seen above the people.
Studio album by
Released16 November 2009 (2009-11-16)
RecordedMid–late 2008 at
  • State of the Ark, Rak, London
  • Westpoint Studios, London
Genre
Length45:09
LabelV2, Mercury
ProducerKelly Jones, Jim Abbiss, Jim Lowe
Stereophonics chronology
Pull the Pin
(2007)
Keep Calm and Carry On
(2009)
Graffiti on the Train
(2013)
Singles from Keep Calm and Carry On
  1. "Innocent"
    Released: 9 November 2009
  2. "Could You Be the One?"
    Released: 15 February 2010

Release

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Region Date
United Kingdom[6] 16 November 2009
Taiwan 5 February 2010
Germany 26 February 2010
United States 11 May 2010[7]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?5.3/10[8]
Metacritic59/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [10]
Drowned in Sound4/10[11]
Daily Express     [12]
The Guardian     [13]
Guitarist     [14]
musicOMH     [15]
Mojo     [8]
The Times     [8]

Critical reception of the album was generally mixed. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 59, based on 8 reviews.[9] The Sunday Times called it "their best album yet" but BBC critic Will Dean wrote "musically it's as solid as you'd expect [...] [b]ut Keep Calm... is unlikely to win Stereophonics any new fans,"[1] while Andy Gill, for The Independent, concluded that "overall, what comes across from Keep Calm and Carry On is confusion."[16][17]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Kelly Jones[18]

No.TitleLength
1."She's Alright"3:27
2."Innocent"3:41
3."Beerbottle"3:54
4."Trouble"3:04
5."Could You Be the One?"3:52
6."I Got Your Number"3:22
7."Uppercut"4:16
8."Live 'n' Love"3:45
9."100mph"4:15
10."Wonder"3:44
11."Stuck in a Rut"3:07
12."Show Me How"4:42
Japanese release bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Innocent" (live)4:03
14."I Stopped to Fill My Car Up" (live)6:49
15."You're My Star" (live)6:05

Deluxe edition CD/DVD

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Keep Calm and Carry On (Deluxe Edition)
 
Video by
Released16 November 2009
GenreRock music, Indie

This deluxe edition of Keep Calm and Carry On, as well as containing the actual album, houses additional pictures and a bonus DVD. The DVD gives a backstage look into the Decade in the Sun: The Best of Stereophonics tour, and also footage of the recording process for the album. Hidden live content from Riverside Studios (originally only showcased online by Babelgum) and the Isle of Wight Festival 2009 is also included

Track listing

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  1. Keep Calm and Carry On - In the Studio
  2. Just Looking - Behind the Scenes of the 2008 Greatest Hits Arena Tour

Hidden Content

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  1. Live at Riverside Studios
  2. "Innocent" (Isle of Wight Festival 2009)

Personnel

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Charts and certifications

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Dean, Will (13 November 2009). "Review of Stereophonics - Keep Calm and Carry On". Retrieved 24 November 2009.
  2. ^ "Keep Calm and Carry On Review". Ultimate Guitar Archive. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  3. ^ "Album Review: Stereophonics - Keep Calm and Carry On". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  4. ^ "Stereophonics - Keep Calm And Carry On". αCharts.us. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
  5. ^ Paphides, Pete (14 November 2009). "Stereophonics: Keep Calm and Carry On". The Times. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
  6. ^ "New Album Out March 4".
  7. ^ "Keep Calm & Carry on: Stereophonics: Music". Amazon. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  8. ^ a b c "Keep Calm and Carry On by Stereophonics reviews | Any Decent Music". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Keep Calm And Carry On - Stereophonics". Metacritic. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  10. ^ "Review: Keep Calm And Carry On". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  11. ^ Lavery, Aaron (20 November 2009). "Album Review: Stereophonics - Keep Calm and Carry on". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  12. ^ Spellman, Robert (20 November 2009). "Stereophonics: Keep Calm And Carry On (Review)". Daily Express. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
  13. ^ Simpson, Dave (13 November 2009). "Stereophonics: Keep Calm and Carry On". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
  14. ^ Guitarist Magazine, Issue 323, December 2009, p.199
  15. ^ Burgess, Andrew (16 November 2009). "Stereophonics - Keep Calm And Carry On | Album Reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  16. ^ Gill, Andy (13 November 2009). "Album: Stereophonics, Keep Calm and Carry On, (Mercury)". The Independent. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
  17. ^ Gittins, Ian. "Stereophonics: Keep Calm And Carry On review". Virgin Media. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
  18. ^ a b c d Keep Calm and Carry On (Hardback CD booklet). Stereophonics. Universal Music Publishing. 2009.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ "Keep Calm and Carry on credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  20. ^ "Radio 1 - Chart - The Official UK Top 40 Albums Chart". BBC. 1 January 2012. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  21. ^ "TOP 75 ARTIST ALBUM, WEEK ENDING 19 November 2009". GfK. 19 November 2009. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
  22. ^ BBC Wales Music (6 January 2010). "Wales Music: Stereophonics Could You Be The One". BBC. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  23. ^ "Album by Album: Kelly Jones on the Stereophonics' back catalogue". Drowned in Sound. 8 March 2013. Archived from the original on 18 October 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  24. ^ "Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
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