Kelly Jones

After the patience-testing epic live album by the Stereophonics, Kelly Jones has decided to turn his back on his band-mates to launch his solo career. Only The Names Have Been Changed truly is a solo effort, with Jones performing the majority of the songs by himself on guitar and not much else. And it isn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. In saying that, it’s a hollow victory simply because while it lacks the pretensions of the more recent Stereophonics efforts, it is still incredibly earnest in a way that makes it hard to take seriously. The songs, each named after a woman, were recorded in a mere two days, and while there’s something admirable about going with first takes, some of the tunes feel unfinished, as if they are demos of what could be something more. The accompanying DVD simply reaffirms that Jones is determined to be a serious musician no matter what — the "making of” documentary explains how he wrote each song in about ten minutes and then Jones compares himself to David Bowie without even a hint of irony. Until he gains some perspective, the best anyone will be able to say about any of his records is "it’s not as bad as I thought it would be.”