09/03/07 - Rewind Review
Danny O'Connor (director & producer) described this film as not being "ten reasons to love the Stereophonics" and its true it wasn't the usual promotional video airbrushed by record companies making their respective clients look like the best band on the planet. It was in fact the story of three guys from a small Welsh town called Cwmaman (and an Argentinian adopted Welshman from Venuzuela!) and becoming adored by millions of people worldwide, or at least how they got there, because life is what happens in between.

If Danny painted us a picture of who the Stereophonics are with Just Enough Evidence To Print then Rewind is him colouring it in. In the book we're able to read about wild nights with Rhys Ifans in Las Vegas and read the meanings of the songs, but Rewind lets us see who the band are, where they came from, and what they came through to get here.

It takes us from Richard & Kelly's days in their first outfit "Zephr" accompanied by dodgey haircuts, the introduction of Stuart and how they nearly named the band after his mother! How Kelly's weekly visit to the local post office with 12 demo tapes enclosed in old chinese take-away containers finally paid off when they were the first band to be signed to Richard Branson's V2 record label.

It follows the band round every corner, it shows us the truth behind Kelly's acoustic solo tour, what really happened in that Koln hotel room, and what drove Kelly to fire his best friend from the band.

But the story doesn't stop there, theres the aftermath of Stuarts departure, Javier's unique inclusion into the band and we see how for the first time in a long time the Stereophonics once again feel like a proper band.

With words from the likes of Roger Daltry, Bono, Paul Wellar, Jimmy Page & Howard Marks, we do get a look at the first ten years of the Stereophonics, but Rewind doesn't necessarily go back, it shows us how it only takes 3 people to move forward and achieve what would have been considered impossible.

This is a lot more than just a mere documentary, it's a tale of ambition, struggle, triumph and passion, and it doesn't fill in the cracks or leave some doors closed but this certainly isn't the ten reasons to love the Stereophonics, but for any fan, it'll show us why we already do.