''Never Said Goodbye'' is the second solo

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Welsh singer-songwriter

Cerys Matthews Cerys Matthews (; born 11 April 1969) is a Welsh singer, songwriter, author, and broadcaster. She was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia and a leading figure in the "Cool Cymru" movement of the late 1990s. Matthews programmes and ...

. It was released on 21 August 2006 by

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...

. Matthews co-produced the album with Ben Elkins and

Stuart Sikes Stuart Sikes is an American recording engineer. He has won a Grammy Award in 2005 in the Best Country Album category for engineering the album ''Van Lear Rose'' by Loretta Lynn. He also produced critically acclaimed singer Cat Power's 2006 Shortli ...

. The album received generally positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, who noted its

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

influences and "expansive" sound compared with its predecessor, ''

Cockahoop ''Cockahoop'' is Cerys Matthews' first solo album, released in 2003. It peaked at number 30 on the UK Albums Chart, spending five weeks therein. Track listing #"Chardonnay" (w, m: Roger Cook (songwriter), Roger Cook, Hugh Cornwell) – 3:04 # ...

''. ''Never Said Goodbye'' peaked at no. 1 on the UK Independent Albums chart.

Release and promotion

"Open Roads" was released as the album's lead single on 7 August 2006. The maxi single included covers of "

Soul Love "Soul Love" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on his 1972 album ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' by RCA Records. Co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott, it features Bowie's backing band know ...

" by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

and "Grace Cathedral Hill" by

The Decemberists The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon. The band consists of Colin Meloy ( lead vocals, guitar, principal songwriter), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (piano, keyboards, accordion), Nate ...

. Ahead of the album's release, Matthews embarked on a UK tour which began on 27 July 2006 at

Llangollen Town Hall Llangollen Town Hall ( cy, Neuadd y Dref Llangollen), is a municipal building in Castle Street, Llangollen, Denbighshire, Wales. The structure, which is the meeting place of Llangollen Town Council, is a Grade II listed building. History The ...

and concluded with a headline slot at

Cardiff Big Weekend The Cardiff Big Weekend took place annually from 1993 to 2011 and in 2017 as part of the Cardiff Festival organized by Cardiff Council. It lasted three days and was billed as "the UK’s biggest free outdoor music festival". The Line Up 20 ...

festival on 6 August 2006.

Critical reception

Sharon Mawer of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave ''Never Said Goodbye'' a mixed review, noting its "pleasant folky numbers" though opining that various moments are "just too slow". Simon Price of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' described the album as a more "confident affair" than Matthews' previous album ''

'', and "a polite, bijou piece of work which rewards your attention but never demands it." Nicole Keiper of ''

The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, ...

'' described ''Never Said Goodbye'' as a "far more pop-rocked up affair" than its predecessor. Naomi West of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' opined that the album is "huge ndexpansive of spirit and sound" featuring "songs backed with dense arrangements of pounding drums, eccentric backing vocals and squirling organs". Jon Seller of '' The Skinny'' magazine described ''Never Said Goodbye'' as an "interesting if at times pedestrian album" featuring "easy-going beats, pleasant guitar and Matthews' trademark domineering vocals".

Track listing

Credits

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Never Said Goodbye''.

Musicians

*Cerys Matthews - vocals, guitars *Kevin Teel - guitars *

Gruff Rhys Gruffudd Maredudd Bowen Rhys (; born 18 July 1970) is a Welsh musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author. He performs solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals, which obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He formed ...

- acoustic guitar (track 11), vocals (tracks 3 & 11) *Matt Martin - acoustic guitar (track 7), percussion (tracks 7 & 11) * William Tyler - acoustic guitar (track 11) *

Mason Neely Mason Neely (born April 20, 1979) is an American-born, UK-based record producer, drummer, orchestral arranger and multi-instrumentalist who has produced and arranged for and toured with artists including; Lambchop, Cerys Matthews Cerys Ma ...

- drums (all tracks except 2, 10 & 11) *Jeremy Lutito - drums (tracks 2 & 10) *Brad Pemberton - drums (track 11) *Byron House - bass (tracks 1-6, 8-9) *

Jeff Irwin Jeff Irwin (born September 12, 1977) is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist. He has performed with Griffin House, Cerys Matthews, Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken, Mat Kearney, Taylor Sorensen & the Trigger Code, and Counting Crows. E ...

- bass (tracks 7, 10, 11), euphonium (track 6) *James Haggerty - bass (track 10) *Ben Elkins - keyboards, backing vocals, programming *Troy Johnson - additional piano (track 11) *

Eric Darken Eric A. Darken is an American percussionist, composer, and programmer. Biography Drawing inspiration from his grandfather, a band leader. Darken began playing drums at age 12, and played timpani and mallets in high school. Darken attended ...

- percussion *Todd Kemp - additional percussion (track 11) *Janice Corder, Everett Drake, Ann McRary - backing vocals (tracks 2, 8 & 11) *Sam Ashworth - backing vocals (track 4) *Lloyd Barry, Vinnie Ciesieski - trumpets *Roy Agee - trombone *Jay Phillips - trombone (track 6)

Production

*Producers - Cerys Matthews, Stuart Sikes, Ben Elkins *Engineers - Stuart Sikes, Jeremy Ferguson *Arrangers - Ben Elkins, Cerys Matthews *Mixer - Jeremy Ferguson *Mastering - Andrew Mendelson *A&R - Seth Riddle

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2006 albums Cerys Matthews albums Rough Trade Records albums