Paradise Lost the Stone Roses and the Spirit of ’89

Paradise Lost: the Stone Roses and the Spirit of ’89By David Brent JohnsonPosted May 2, 2009

Why an English rock band seemed to matter so much in the tumultuous year of 1989.

(Note: I wrote this article in 2007 for a local arts magazine. Given the Beatles-related theme of Night Lights this week, as well as recent, unfounded rumors of a Stone Roses reunion for the 20th anniversary of their landmark debut album, I thought I’d post it here.) (UPDATE 2011: a reunion is happening)

God made us and God destroyed us.—Ian Brown on the Stone Roses.

Beatles 1964The idea that a rock band might change the world, or even save it, has been with us ever since the Beatles flew across the ocean in 1964 and captivated an American audience still mourning the death of John F. Kennedy. When John Lennon infamously quipped two years later that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, he struck a nerve partly because his remark was quite possibly true, at least among his group’s young fans; and the release of the album Sergeant Pepper the following summer vindicated for many the notion that four young men armed with only musical instruments now held an authoritative sway over an entire generation that went far beyond a new aesthetic. Even as the band proved itself more than mortal in the years to come—receiving a critical drubbing for their film Magical Mystery Tour andsouring into solipsistic bitterness during the Let It Be sessions—they continued to exert a mystical hold on their followers, inspiring the “Paul is dead” saga as well as a fringe cult of massmurderers, the Manson family.

In the wake of the Fab Four’s 1970 breakup, rock critics and fans kept alive the hope first that the Liverpool icons would reunite (a dream brutally terminated by John Lennon’s murder in 1980) and then that a new, musically almighty band would emerge to supplant them. For years that kiss-of-death phrase “the new Beatles” was hung on everybody from the Bay City Rollers and Duran Duran to the Knack. In terms of global success, the Swedish group Abba came closeto a Beatle-like level in the late 1970s, but they made no cultural impact beyond their great run of pop singles. Oasis achieved a phenomenal success in their home country of the United Kingdom in part by shamelessly aping the Beatles, sometimes lifting their hooks wholesale, and even made inroads into America with their song “Wonderwall” (the title taken from a George Harrison LP); but they fell flat with their bloated 1997 CD Be Here Now, and have been content ever since to put out so-so albums every three years and rest on their laurels as the kings of themid-1990s Britpop scene.

Stone RosesIF THERE WAS EVER a band that seemed poised to equal the Beatles, musically and culturally, it was the Stone Roses in 1989. They came from Manchester, England, the same grimy, depressed city that produced two of the most important groups of the 1980s, Joy Divisionand the Smiths. While those bands were known for their gloomy outlook on life (the Smiths somewhat unfairly; many overlooked the wry, satirically biting humor in singer Morrissey’s lyrics,and who could be depressed listening to the marvelous, jangling hooks that guitarist Johnny Marr produced?), the Stone Roses took a different tack. They emphasized color and vibrancy; their music was a revelatory and startling brew of Jimi Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone, and the Byrds, emphasizing flowing, crystalline guitar lines, an infectious dance-house rhythm section, and a pouting pretty-boy singer whose charisma conveyed both sensitivity and bravado,strong enough to overcome his frequent inability to stay in tune.

Stone Roses She Bangs the DrumsTheir CD covers were splashy, explosive imitations of Jackson Pollock’s artwork, a neat match for the electrifying illumination of their sound. If Pollock’s paintings were energy made visible, then a Stone Roses song like “Waterfall” was a Pollock painting translated into sound, with looping lines of wet, kinetic splendour and a rhythm that suggested an eternally joyous beat:

Their debut album, The Stone Roses, came out in the spring of 1989, on the cusp of the revolutions that were beginning to sweep Eastern Europe and resonate around the world. It’s hard enough to be a band that emerges with a powerful, unique look and sound; it’s even harderto somehow be lucky enough to converge with a powerful historical moment. It happened for theStone Roses, who would release a song later that year with the title “What the World Is Waiting For,” intentionally or unintentionally summing up the feelings of many in England towards the band.

The Manchester scene from which the Roses emerged was often referred to as “Madchester,” and it was saturated in Ecstasy, perhaps the drug of the late 1980s, and one with an uncanny ability to make its user feel, at least temporarily, that he or she had become the person he or she had always wanted to be, and that any foe was now a friend. It easily fostered the potent appeal of rock ‘n roll’s utopian vision, predicated upon illusory premises—that one will be young,or at least feel young, forever. That testing the limits of hedonistic excess will not have any consequences. That inspiration will arrive every album cycle.

The best rock ‘n roll is an invocation of endless, ecstatic possibility, and that is why it offers us a religious-like reflection of life as an infinite extension. When the Stone Roses sang “Burst into heaven” in the opening line of their song “Elephant Stone,” Elephant Stone accompanied by a splash of cymbals, the exuberant weave and wave of Reni’s drums, and the sparkling sense-surround arpeggios of John Squire’s guitar, they manifested that vision; the listener felt they hadarrived in heaven simply because they couldn’t help it, that the sheer joy and beauty of their music had lifted them there. Burst indeed…how often does one experience that sensation in modern pop? History, the dread chains of lived experience, dissolved; when Brown sang “the past was yours but the future’s mine” and proclaimed from the stage, “It’s not where you’re from,it’s where you’re at,” it was easy to feel that another prophet had arrived.

This celebratory manifesto of music, this Wordsworthian bliss made sound, seemed especially appropriate in 1989, a year in which unimaginable things were happening in Eastern Europe. In the swoop of just a few months dictatorial regimes fell in a chain effect of peaceful revolutions, and the Berlin Wall, that ugly symbol of human division and alienation, came down in one evening (in fact, I remember hearing the news via a long-distance telephone call from a friend; I was home at the time, listening to the Stone Roses).

There’s much irony here; the regimes that fell were rooted in communism, the political philosophy that had promised paradise on earth. The Roses’ politics were always leftwing and socialistic in nature (their song “Bye Bye Badman” invokes the May 1968 Paris student uprising), and the revolutions of ’89 were against socialism gone wrong. The irony doubled backon itself; in Czechoslovakia, rebels and agents of change such as writer Vaclav Havel were inspired by Western leftwing rock ‘n roll icons such as John Lennon and Lou Reed. When Haclav took over the reins of leadership in Czechoslovakia, he appointed, as his Special Ambassador to the West on Trade, Culture, and Tourism, that beloved conservative scion Frank Zappa. (Bush administration officials pressured Havel to withdraw the appointment, but he still made Zappa an unofficial cultural attaché.)

Around the time that the Berlin Wall was coming down and the Velvet Revolution was sweeping away a government in Czechoslovakia, the Stone Roses capped their incendiary breakthrough year by releasing a new single, “Fool’s Gold.” They had finished their debut album with two anthemic closers, “This Is the One” and the audaciously-titled “I Am the Resurrection”; now they upped the ante with an epic dance track that took their brand of paisley funk to an even higher level. It seemed the Roses could do anything; they were brash, supremely talented, good-looking, and only in their mid-20s. They had been working and practicing together for four years,and they had attained that magical realm where the sum of all the members is far greater than the parts, and where any music the artist touches turns to transcendental splendor. Already, though, something darker had begun to embed itself in this rock ‘n roll poetry of deliverance—in “Fools Gold,” Ian Brown sang, “I’m standing alone/You’re weighing the gold/I’m watching you sinking.” Was he talking about Ecstasy? The folly of rock-star worship? Consumerist culture? (Later, Brown would say that the song had been inspired by the Humphrey Bogart movie The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.)

THERE IS A PASSAGE about halfway through The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Tom Wolfe’s chronicle of the 1960s adventures of Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters, which describes Kesey and company at a Beatles concert circa 1965, observing the unison hysteria of the teenage crowd as they revel in the rock ‘n roll spectacle of the Fab Four. As Kesey watches, the Beatles send off ripples of energy merely by pointing their instruments in different directions. Wolfe writes, “They have brought this whole mass of human beings to the point where they are one, out of their skulls, one psyche, and they have utter control over them—but they don’t know what the hell to do with it, they haven’t the first idea, and they will lose it. In Kesey the vibration is an awful anticipation of the snap—“

Ultimately, “Fool’s Gold” would prove to be the Roses’ last moment of unadulterated glory. A concert attended by more than 30,000 at Spike Island in May 1990 was marred by terrible sound. The follow-up single to “Fool’s Gold,” “One Love,” featured a chorus with the lyrics, “You can have it all/Easy, easy” suggesting a gesture of (shudder) ersatz ecstasy. (Squire himself later cited “One Love” as another reason for the Roses’ extended creative hiatus, saying, “It wasthe first time that it felt like we were just hacking it out.”) Legal battles with their label then prevented the group from recording or even writing new music. Promoters in the U.S. were eager to book them, but they balked at the notion of an American tour. They performed in Glasgow in June 1990 and then vanished for the next four years.

Several lengthy magazine articles have detailed how the Stone Roses “blew it” during those lostyears. After winning the dispute with their label, they signed a multi-million dollar contract with Geffen Records and apparently descended into isolated, self-destructive behaviors of one sort or another. Second Coming Stone RosesFinally, at the end of 1994, they emerged with their long-awaited follow-up, the aptly-titled Second Coming. The intro was magnificent, and as John Squire’s guitar broke through the primordial clouds around the four-minute mark, it was easy to believe that their melodic majesty would reign again. The Roses were attempting to forge something akin to an early-1970s outlaw sound—harder, darker, drawing heavily on Led Zeppelin. Whereas the ecstatic opening of “Elephant Stone” cried out “Burst into heaven,” the first song on Second Coming spoke of breaking into heaven. Ease had become effort. The frenzied thrash of “Begging You” suggested a new dancefloor sound for the band, while the sneering kiss of “How Do You Sleep?” delivered via sweet vintage hooks recalled the melodic triumphs of the past.

It went downhill from there, with only a few magical swoops up to the aesthetic heights the Roses had once commanded with such grace. Although Second Coming is better than generallycredited, the musical influences are less digested and more overt than on the first album; John Squire, reportedly in the depths of heavy cocaine usage while making the record, loses himself all too frequently in Jimmy Page wannabe displays of guitar wankery. Several songs are mediocre and derivative, not even rising to the level of passable B-sides. This was what the world had waited for for five years? The rock press savaged the record, and its sales fell far short of expectations.

The outlines of Second Coming’s ambitions were clear; with its shadowed overtones and premonitions of mortality, a better-written and recorded version might have been the perfect capper to a year that had seen the springtime suicide of grunge icon Kurt Cobain. Instead, Oasis stole a march on them and reinvented the myth of rock-star herodom with the album Definitely Maybe. That was what the world was waiting for in late 1994. (When Oasis foundered nearly three years later with their own ultrahype album, Be Here Now, it seemed to confirm the following formula: great success + heightened expectations + copious amounts of cocaine= long, wankerous guitar solos.)

Even more disastrously, Reni, the brilliant drummer who had also lent many of the Roses’ songsa jubilant vocal harmony, left the group shortly after the album’s release. It was the beginning of the end; a year later John Squire also departed, and the Roses disbanded after an embarrassing gig at England’s Reading Festival in August 1996. Squire formed another band, the Seahorses, which broke up after one poorly-received record; Mani, the group’s bassist, joined Primal Scream; and Ian Brown managed to establish a fairly successful solo career, impeded temporarily by a jail sentence for air rage. Reni went into seclusion and has been heard from only rarely since. The other three give occasional interviews, and Brown and Squire are infamous for sniping at each other through the media. Though the band’s been offered excessively large sums of money to reunite (the Resurrection Tour, anybody?), so far they’ve refused. The aura of past glory still clings to them, even if they now seem mired in the muck of everyday life like the rest of us.

We live in an age when the thought of revolution seems like a distant dream, with an awarenessof how past ones have often turned into nightmares. 1989’s promise of global peace has been waylaid by new ideological conflicts. Still, it is the fuel of utopian vision that fires the most exquisite beauty in our lives and in our art. “It was just about freedom,” Ian Brown said several years ago. “A celebration of freedom and what was possible, what you might achieve.” Until failure—ultimate, inevitable in its chilly cloak—descends, miracles may pass. Afterwards, one may be put in mind of the mournfully impassioned chant that ends The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test:

“WE BLEW IT!”

“…it was perfect, so what do you do?…”

“WE BLEW IT!”

“…perfect!…”

“WE BLEW IT!”

…leaving us with only the music of fierce ecstasies once known.

The Stone RosesThe Very Best of The Stone Roses

5.0classicReview by Knoxvillelives USER (9 Reviews)March 25th, 2005 | 16 replies

Release Date: 2002 | Tracklist

The Stone RosesThe Very Best Of The Stone Roses

Ian Brown-VocalsJon Squire- GuitarMani- BassGary Mounfield- Drums

The Stone Roses emerged in 1988 and, with the likes of The Smiths and The New Order, were at the forefront of their respective musical genres. The Roses were the first and best band to emerge from the Manchester Baggy scene and to me; they are even more British than The Kinks.Their first, self titled, album is widely considered to be one of the finest debut albums of all time and is oft included in top 20 album polls. It was Jon Squires jangly sixties guitar stylings, Manis ultra pop bass line and Ian Brown unprecedented self belief and Christ like proclamations that made them seem so seminal. From the first track, I Wanna Be Adored to the very last jammed out second of I Am The Resurrection this album is a tripped out but melodic, intimate yet in yer face, home grown talent to superstar grandiose collection of songs which are impossible not to like.But then, after swarms of imitation bands, the Manchester Rave scene with the Stone Roses had helped establish went national with techno and Oasis, a more punk home grown group went supernova and the Stone Roses disappeared for six years, before returning with a whole new sound with their new album, Second Coming. At the time, it was cast aside as self indulgent (courtesy of the now self assured and soloing madly Squire) but it is still a pretty listenable album with moments of pure genius which appear here on, what is surely, one of the most essential greatest hits around; this simply belongs in your collection.

1. I Wanna Be AdoredThis song builds very slowly, starting with hiss, effects (traffic noise) before Manis brilliant Bass line emerges totally mesmerising you as Squire slowly picks out a semi recognisable riff underneath before the drums build up to the songs beat. Enter Brown, the driving force of the band, with a hypnotic vocal, which are almost a whisper and a fantastically catchy chorus line and a winding guitar line. The song breaks into a slightly heavier section, which then falls backwards, Brown wailing

out, I wanna be adored. A fantastic intro the songs sound and the album, this is theStone Roses vibe in a nutshell.

2. She Bangs The DrumsA quick fire cymbal drum intro and another, slightly more approachable and pop bass line from Mani. Squire and Brown enter at the same time, with both guitar andvocal melodies seeming to wrap around each other with a wonderful verse and a simply gorgeous chorus, with Brown being supported by Squire (a vocal combination that will take some getting used to, not quite having the same voices as Pink Floyds harmonies, this is a very raw, thrown together combination). The one thing I can see wrong with this song is the slightly out of place interlude, whichjumps oddly back to the chorus. Otherwise an excellent song.

3. Ten Storey Love SongThis is taken from the second album, and is actually the only song on it that COULDhave been put on the first one. There is an odd intro, which sounds a little like the end of Strawberry Fields Forever with the march band drums and slidey guitar. Ian Brown sings very well on this song but the lyrics leave a little to be desired and the chorus doesnt quite have the same edge as the two previous songs. The guitar on this song is actually bordering on annoying, with palm-muted riffs being played out under the voices. A bit of a break in quality, but Im sure some will like it.

4. WaterfallOne of the Roses most famous songs (you may recognise the riffs from the UK Lotterys old adverts) and rightly so. The guitar is very 60s and Manis bass rolls around like The Beatles Rain and Browns vocal is distant, echoing around your ears in that wonderfully odd sounding harmony he has with Squire. There is but a hint ofa chorus, Shell carry it on through it all, Shes a waterfall but thats all Brown needs to create a perfect urban love song. Squire tries out an acoustic for a quick flash of a solo, before we hear the distinct sound of a brief wah riff while the bass and drums build to a crescendo with two more guitars joining in before it all stops. Perfect

5. Made Of StoneThis is surely one of the Roses finest moments. A horribly sinister song set to one ofthe most delicious chorus your ever likely to hear. Brown sings, the secretly apocalyptic lyrics dripping lazily from his mouth, The streets are cold and lonely andthe cars they burn below me. The guitar is simple, with a picked out chords on an acoustic flashing in an out as Manis bass plods along under the verses. There is alsoa very nice solo, which doesnt quite yet show the flair for improvisation that Squire will so spectacularly demonstrate on second coming, but when that chorus comes back, if youre not singing along, you must be deaf. The instrumentals are quick, thevocals are meaningful and the chorus has one of the best melodies to come from the 80s, and yet, up until I brought this album, I had never heard of it.

6. Love SpreadsThe final track from Second Coming and one of its best songs. Squire showing off a brilliant drop D riff, sounding almost like a Western over a jangly drumbeat. This is

where the Hendrix/Page comparisons come in as Squire improvises the opening riff for the song, taking little pieces of Voodoo Chile and mixing them together for a super intro, with elements of this riff being mixed into the song periodically. Brown is also excellent on this song, at this sneering, boyish best getting to sing out a chorus which rivals Made Of Stone for shear catchiness, Let me put you in the picture, let me show what I mean, the messiah is my sister aint no king but shes my queen. This song is pure rock and roll, with tantalisingly light drum cymbal work, thudding bass and virtuoso guitar and a singer entices you deeper into the song. Hell, its even got a piano break down which builds up and up and up. Fantastic

7. What The World Is Waiting ForBack to the original Roses and you can tell. This guitar is more melodic and the drums are sooo Manchester. Although I dont really like this song, I dont understandwhy. The guitar chimes away throughout, with snippets of acoustic and electric solos in there and a fairly catchy verse, I just cant get into it. The chorus is very sort of thrown together and there is an odd interlude of sorts, Stop the world, Im getting off.

8. Sally CinnamonThe bands first single, with Squires sixties influences being clear, with double tracked guitar, which disappear for short periods of time before coming back, picking out chords again. The drums and bass kick in after the first chorus and its all finefine. Again I just cant get into this song, the Squire/Brown harmony doesnt work for me this time and I cant see why they tried to rhyme cinnamon with heaven. Has no real ending either, just fades away. A poor example of their earlier sound.

9. Fools GoldA VERY GOOD example of the Roses later sound, a mix of their old Madchester ravebeat roots and their more experimental instrumentals. Im sure youve heard this, whether youre tripped out (like the band were on so so many occasions) or dead focused on getting those wah parts right, this song will mesmerise. From that definitive 90s drumbeat to Manis defining bass line, for many, this song IS the Stone Roses, even though they have never sounded like this before or again. Browns singing fades out from being distant to coming right up in front of you but the instrumentals are the key here. The bass and guitar collaborations are the essence of funk, with Mani drifting carelessly from high end tremolo to low end buzzand Squire bringing the Wah right back into fashion with some insanely groovy hooks. The song breaks down several times into mild jams, which some may argue go on for too long (the song stretches to eight minutes and could have been finished perfectly at about 5) but I think this is the song that defines the third era of the Roses, experimental, but still retaining a likeable and somewhat catchy feel. One of the best dance/groove/funk tracks Britain has ever produced.

10. Begging YouThis is a wildly different song from Second Coming, a little before Fools Gold but equally experimental. The guitar part is in many ways typical Squire but the delay

and reverb make it sound out of this world. The drums and bass explode in with a fantastic movement, Browns voice blending, almost lost, in the noise, the guitar weaving in and out. A very good drum and bass track, which actually has a very nice gospel harmony near the end, which would have made a perfect ending, so youd have thought, but then just when youd think it was done, Brown wails out again, his voice put through some effect, before it all starts up again. This is the essence of Rave music, it just came two years too late, and Oasis had changed the face of music away from this, shame really.

11. Elephant StoneSome reversed drums fade in before overridden by a thorough tom tom bashing which pave the way for a classic Squire like riff, an electric jangling away over an acoustic build up, with four guitar going at one point, before it all slows down, then starts up again with a Marimba (a sort of massive xylophone). This repeats with Mani and Brown introduced over this wall of melodic guitar twiddling, which all slows down for some simple strumming for the chorus, Feels like theres a hole in my dream. A wonderful song, with some great contrast between the hyper drums and guitar and the typical Brown vocals, not rushing to catch up with the instrumentals, totally in control of the song. A great example of early Roses.

12. Breaking Into HeavenThe opening track of Second Coming cut down from eight minutes (which featured a 4 minute build of drums and jungle noises) to the best part of the song. This is groovy, seductive music, with Squire using the wah much more melodically than on Fools Gold, with several guitars singing out at once, often overshadowing, certainly,Manis driving bass and unfairly, Browns vocal. Ian Brown is superb on this song, demonstrating real flair and his personality shines through. His voices originality really shines through here, with a husky verse followed by yet another fantastically catchy chorus, Listen up sweet child o mine, have I got news for you which turns into a brilliant harmony (no, a proper harmony this time). But you could tell this album (Second Coming) was to be Squires show, as this song is filled with so many guitar riffs and different tones that you just have to admire it. He solos at least five times, each one being a perfect example of what an Okay guitarist can do with just a bit (a lot) of practise. He had become an incredible competent improviser and it really shows through on this incredibly groovy song, which makes a superb opener to the album.

13. One LoveWhereas this song, for me, is distinctly average. Squire uses the Wah, but it just doesnt suit the song as well as he might have thought. Manis bass line is good, but doesnt have that catch as with his other bass hits. Brown sounds ok, but the lyrics are terrible, featuring one of my pet peeves in terms of writing, Any time you want me, any time at all, any time you need me, all you (yep you guessed it) gotta do is call. None of the melodies work, none of the instrumentals are that great, how did this song get on over Tears???

14. This Is The One

This however is pure genius. Back to the first album and you really can tell. Squire once again mixes acoustic and electric jangling which play over another superb bassline, with flourishes in the bridge and just before Brown comes in, softer than usual.This is perfect vocal/instrumental chemistry and I especially love the way the chorus secretly starts, just beginning under the two hard strums/flourishes, which frequent the song. Simple repeating of This is the one, this is the one give the songgreat meaning, it can be whatever you want it to be and I take it to be a love song, a very good one as well. Brown gets louder and more joyous until jumping right back and whispering the chorus again, gradually getting louder into a sing along of Hey Jude proportions, a superb climax to a superb song, I cannot describe how uplifting this song is, it could go on for at least two more minutes IMO. Youve just got to hear it.

15. I Am The ResurrectionThe finale to the first album, which actually follows This Is The One on the album. Avery fitting climax with a great drum beat which gives you the sense that something monumental is going to happen, before Mani comes in with a quiet, typically melodic and catchy bass line which plods along under the song and Brownsvocals. The lyrics in this song are actually not very nice, being an attack on someone in a leave me alone sense but Brown makes them sound so inviting. Squires guitar jangles away again, weaving in and out of the vocal melody. The bridge is excellent in this song, Dont waste your words on me I dont need anything from you and shows off the bands skills for writing sing along melodies. But then the chorus come throughafter two almost ant climactic bridges and you realise whatthe band had been building up to, with Brown just reaching that high note on I Am The Resurrection in a superbly implemented chorus which could go on forever, but Is overtaken by Squires guitar. The bands timing on this song is superb with lots of nice moments of stopping and starting before slowing into a jam being led by Manis(yes, him again) bass line. This jam is actually quite nice to listen to, but I dont feelit is the best way to close the album (by this I mean the first album The Stone Roses) as the song before it seemed so perfect. But as a song on its own, absolute genius.

I absolutely adore the Stone Roses and feel that they are one of the most underrated bands, with virtually no recognition in the US (Im the first to do a review, its been 12 years guys!) and I believe this album to be one of the most essential Greatest Hits around, showing a superb range of the bands styles and genre switches. But be warned, after hearing this you WILL want to buy the two albums separately, because I promise you will love this band. So, despite some flaws in the track list (no Tears?, but youll put One Love on?) Im giving this album a5/5

There are so many high points on this album that they far outweigh the low points, which are few and far between. From the seductively confident vocals of Ian Brown,to the always catchy and important bass lines of Mani, to the heavily influenced but always recognisable guitar hooks of Jon, to the light beat making or thunderous rhythm pounding drums of Gary. To the uplifting sing along of This Is The One, to the sneering confidence of Love Spreads, from the menacing omnipotence of Made

Of Stone to the sickly sweet Waterfall, the Stone Roses are a band that need to be recognised as one of the greatest pop composers of the last 20 years.And if this review hasnt convinced you to check them out (after two hours of typing) I have failed.

The Stone Roses 20 Years Later: What the World Was Waiting For

The Stone Roses We were parked at the Meijer gas station on Plainfield Avenue outside of Grand Rapids. Jake was gassing up the black 1976 Datsun 280Z his mother had finally let us take out and I was in the passenger seat listening to classic rock radio station WLAV’s resident hipster Steve Aldridge do the lead-in to his weekly “alternative” music slot, Clam Bake. We’d read all about them in British weekly music rags and had seen a handful of pictures, which was almost enough to sell me on the spot. They were snotty faces and shaggy hair and flared jeans and bucket hats. Aldridge paid them the proper amount of respect as the “next big thing” out of Britain and then cued up the first Stone Roses song I ever heard, “Made of Stone.”

The Stone Roses were an odd band from the beginning. Ian Brown doesn’t exactly have range, or even pitch, and his live recordings are proof of that. But on record—and without the aid of digital pitch correcting tools, thank you very much!—he exudes a sort of foreboding and danger within that somewhat fey whisper of his. When he sings “I don’t have to sell my soul, he’s already in me,” you believe it. There is something menacing about this skinny Mancunian with a slightly simian look and a Christ complex. He’s the street hustler who is underfed and over drugged with a knife in his backpack. It doesn’t take much to imagine him as the scooter boy he claimed to be in interviews and if you’ve been to the rougher parts on Manchester, England you know how raw the inhabitants can be. Their sissies will kick your ass.

We knew from reading the articles that they were obsessed with the Beatles and that guitarist John Squire was a disciple of The Smiths’ Johnny Marr, which made for two references you simply could not beat with us then. You can hear the strains of the Fabs in the backing vocals and Marr’s hand in the 12-string guitars throughout but the Roses were more than the mere sum of their collective influences. The inspirations weave and blend like the paint on their albumcovers, which could just as easily be dismissed as Jackson Pollack knock-offs just as some would dismiss any band who hews a little too close to their musical heroes. But the Roses took those clear references and created a new sound, and that was extremely exciting for two Anglophile Midwestern boys whose favorite bands were in the past. The Stone Roses were different…and they were ours.

I vividly remember the cover of Newsweek that celebrated the twentieth anniversary of Sgt Pepper’s 1967 release. The Summer of Love seemed more like a million years away in 1987 and I couldn’t fathom what the 60s were like. The Civil War years of the 1860s were as easy for me to grasp as the Cultural War years of the 1960s. Today, more time has passed since the publication of that cover story than had passed since the story it was promoting—and that blowsmy mind. This summer marks 20 years from the release of the Stone Roses’ debut album. Anyone old enough to remember that summer can meet me at the bar it talk about the Good Old Days.

The late 80s were a weird time for music and a weirder time for production. The Hit Parade was clogged with shiny pop and shinier metal ballads. The Top Five songs from 1989 are:

1. Chicago – Look Away

2. Bobby Brown – My Prerogative

3. Poison – Every Rose Has It’s Thorn

4. Paula Abdul – Straight Up

5. Janet Jackson – Miss You Much

Now, I don’t want to pass judgment on the merit of those songs (except “My Prerogative,” which rules!), but you must remember this is a few years before “alternative” music was swept in on the plaid coattails of some losers from Seattle. To live in Midwestern America was to be surrounded by people who made these songs popular. It was awful.

So it was by the Grace of God that our mid-sized burg had what was arguably one of the best record stores in the United States: Vinyl Solution. For a brief moment it was the perfect record store with racks of British imports and a girl behind the counter named Karen whom I loved immensely for the time it took to browse the aisles and pay my bill. That she loved the Roses too and later gave me a bootleg of their unreleased demos cemented her place in my heart forever. We never dated; we barely spoke. But she was perfect.

I vividly remember opening the plastic wrap from my imported CD of the Stone Roses’ debut—the one that RIGHTLY ends with “I am the Resurrection”—and staring at the photos inside. There was scruffy Ian Brown in a polo shirt and jeans next to the guitarist who would capture myimagination for twenty years and counting. Bassist Mani was decked out in what looked like a referee’s shirt playing his paint splattered Rickenbacker while drummer Reni peered out from that bucket hat. These guys knew how to create an image, and dismiss it if you will but image is part and parcel with rock and roll. How you look is as important as how you sound and this bandlooked fantastic. There were no “French rolled” jeans pegged to their ankles, there were no Swatches on their wrists, there were no Ralph Lauren logos to be seen. They were British and they were awesome.

The album opens with a frank an honest declaration: “I Want to Be Adored.” Oasis front man Noel Gallagher has said that the Roses’ Spike Island gig is what inspired him to start a band and it’s clear that he took more than musical cues from his fellow Northern punters. The Stone Roses wanted to be famous; they wanted to be the biggest band in the world…and they acted like it. It’s not often you hear an album as ambitious as this. You NEVER hear it in a debut album. The production is a masterful pastiche of guitars and harmonies and backward tracks. It does not sound like any other album of its time. It was only after a hundred listens that we realized the reason “Waterfall” segues so seamlessly into “Don’t Stop” is because it’s the same Goddamn song played backwards with new lyrics and a few added tracks. Mani’s hypnotic bassplaying lulled me into a druggy stupor that let me forget to think and simply follow. The realization was an epiphany and became the source of conversations with like-minded teens at Denny’s for months.

It’s not just producer John Leckie’s wizardry that makes the album though, the melodies are simply undeniable. Despite the fact that they end their debut album with over eight minutes of pure rock bombast, the Stone Roses had a healthy reverence for the British tradition of pop music. The songs are carefully crafted but surprise you with their subtle and confounding

changes. The debut was more subtle than their much maligned and preposterously titled follow-up, The Second Coming, and as a result it is closer to genius.

Like any band, the Stone Roses was possible because the right four people came together at the right time. John Squire is universally hailed as a guitar genius for his work with the band andyou’d be hard pressed to find a tighter rhythm section than that of Mani and Reni. And while Ian Brown’s vocal limitations have already been noted, I think he’s criminally overlooked as a lyricist, at least as it concerns his work on this album. The cover of the Stone Roses debut is a Pollack inspired splatter piece with three stripes on the left and three lemon slices strewn acrossthe canvass. The stripes are red, white, and blue but are not a reference to Britain’s reciprocal love affair with the USA, it’s a tribute to the French student uprising in 1968; the lemons they sucked to counteract tear gas. With that in mind, read the lyrics to “Bye Bye Badman” and tell me they’re not brilliant:

Bye Bye Badman – The Stone Roses

Soak me to my skin

Will you drown me in your sea

Submission ends and i begin

Choke me smoke the air

In this citrus sucking sunshine

I don’t care you’re not all there

Every backbone and heart you break

Will still come back for more

Submission ends it all

Here he come

Got no question got no love

I’m throwing stones at you man

I want you black and blue and

I’m gonna make you bleed

Gonna bring you down to your knees

Bye bye badman

Ooh bye bye

Choke me smoke the air

In this citrus sucking sunshine

I don’t care you’re not all there

You’ve been bought and paid

You’re a whore and a slave

Your dark star holy shrine

Come taste the end you’re mine

Here he come

Got no question got no love

I’m throwing stones at you man

I want you black and blue and

I’m gonna make you bleed

Gonna bring you down to your knees

Bye bye badman

Ooh bye bye

I’ve got bad intention

I intend to

Knock you down

These stones i throw

Oh these french kisses

Are the only way i’ve found

I’ve got bad intention

I intend to knock you down

These stones i throw

Oh these french kisses

Are the only way i’ve found

What at first seems to be a simple pop song with thinly veiled references to violence on par with our favorite murder ballads is instead a powerful paean to a failed but influential political uprising. Take THAT, Paula Abdul!

It’s been a long time since the Stone Roses took over my life. I’ve since discovered (and re-discovered) new musical obsessions and sharpened my own historical and political viewpoint, but I can’t help but fall back into the sticky hot seat of that Black 280Z whenever I hear the band that would mean so much to my early adulthood. And so it’s appropriate I am writing this from the City of Roses since I’ve been living in their world since 1989.

Perfection! - The Stone RosesGlyphStone Roses

The Stone Roses (1989) were and are Ian Brown – lead vocals, percussion, bongos; John Squire – guitar, backing vocals; Reni (Alan Wren) – drums, percussion, backing vocals; Mani (Gary Mounfield) – bass guitar. Album produced by John Leckie.

This is a tough album for me to write about, because to my ears, it’s essentially perfect: a singular, standalone achievement (though one of startling synthesis, rather than utter originality). Not only has no other subsequent band been able even to come close to making a similar album of this quality, but the band themselves were only able to capture this lightning in a bottle once.

Like that other great British one-off scene catalyzer with a hard/soft name, The Sex Pistols, The Stone Roses apparently only had the one album in them.

But what an album – it has an amazing flow from start to end, yet feels like a greatest-hits or singles compilation. It’s a record of elegant power, and fierce optimism.

Yes, there’s a second Stone Roses album, and it’s better than its initial reputation suggests, but it’s just a pretty good rock record by a very good rock band. It’s not music seemingly beamed in from heaven with no apparent human help. I want to live inside the debut’s world – it’s a magicalplace, full of sound and imagery and feeling that you can get lost in.

Though the band, hailing from the musically fertile town of Manchester, were seen as leading lights of the dance/rock scene known as “Madchester“, they stand outside that, by virtue of their melodic and instrumental rock classicism, which seamlessly integrates bits of sixties British Invasion-related bands like their homeboys the Hollies, as well as the (American) Byrds.

There’s also more than a pinch of the moody, effects-heavy guitar rock of The Chameleons (also from Manchester), some of U2’s emotionally-widescreen ambition, and the post-punk tradition of letting a melodic bass lead the song’s way (Peter Hook produced the original “Elephant Stone” single for them – more on that song later).

And in John Squire, they had a guitarist with the inhuman dexterity of a Johnny Marr or a JimmyPage, able to effortlessly switch from shimmering folk to crunchy rock to raunchy funk, and make it all part of a whole – layered riffs upon licks upon hooks.

Add in a rhythm section as locked-in and versatile as any you care to put them up against – the mononymical Mani on bass and Reni on drums – and a singer capable of surgically delivering

poetic venom with Jaggerian or Lydonian aplomb, but all of it carried on catchy, pretty vocal melodies that would make a Beatle weep.

Pair this with a set of timeless songs, and put them all in a studio with genius producer John Leckie (who worked with former Beatles, Pink Floyd, PIL, XTC, and Radiohead), to help wring every drop of drama and impact from them.

And what you have on your hands here, is an all-time great.

Let’s get to it, shall we?

Headphones, as always, recommended, and rarely more-recommended than here; the beauty (and devil) is in the details, and there’re a lot of subtle tactile pleasures (brushed snares, fingers on strings) that you’ll miss on standard computer speakers.

For the purposes of this piece, we are going to refer to the American edition of the album, which added a couple singles to the UK album running order. (The multi-disc Collector’s Edition – image-linked below – includes all of these songs and more.)

“I Wanna Be Adored”

The Stone Roses – "I Wanna Be Adored" (HD Remastered)

The album-opening song coalesces out of a fog of faint whooshes and metallic sounds, like a faraway foundry, or distant railway station. These mysterious industrial sounds are pretty much the duration of our stay in gloomy black-and-white Manchester; a Technicolor Oz awaits. Presently, a dark, regal bass pulse starts; drums and strings start stacking up.

This all goes on, patiently, for a full 90 seconds before a snare hits twice, and the song proper begins. A minute and a half is practically an eternity in pop-song-time, and with a wait like this we realize we are dealing with a confidence in this song (and album) that borders on outright arrogance.

This arrogance, it turns out, is not only justified; it is doubled-down on, the moment Ian Brown opens his mouth and nonchalantly delivers the first words on the album (and aside from its title, pretty much the ONLY words in the song):

I don’t have to sell my soul, he’s already in me I don’t need to sell my soul, he’s already in me

OK, let’s pause a moment here.

Likening oneself to the Devil isn’t new. The similarly-named Rolling Stones did it, long ago.

But Jagger’s Devil is a modern guy: He’s pleased to meet you, hopes you’ll guess his name. He just wants your kind understanding.

Brown’s Devil is more…old-school.

Recall that Lucifer’s sin was wanting to BE God – to be His equal.

So when the next line hits,

I wanna be adored

…we know now what the narrator is after with the word “adored,” and it’s not your love, or friendship, or anything so human and trivial as mere R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

He wants worship. Veneration. Utter surrender, and total sacrifice.

Barely three lines in.

(It’s perhaps also worth noting that Brown’s mush-mouthedness potentially allows the word “adored” to be misheard as another rock trope, made famous by the guys that often followed them alphabetically in the record bins – namely, as “a dog.”)

We repeat the lyrics, in slightly-varying configurations; the music builds to at least two distinct climaxes (three, if you count the crashing finale), never rushing nor losing a single atom of effortless cool; a marvel of musical detail and high drama, built from very few moving parts. It took the Bunnymen 4 albums to make a song as sophisticated as “The Killing Moon”; U2 didn’t deliver an opener as epic as “Where the Streets Have No Name” until their fifth LP.

The Roses are playing in those legendary leagues by album one, side one, song one.

Whew.

Wait, there’s more?

Oh, yes.

“She Bangs the Drums”

The Stone Roses – "She Bangs The Drums" (HD Remastered)

After the high-hat counts us in with sixteenth-notes, a supple bassline once again leads the way.This time though, it’s fleet and propulsive, which suits the upbeat lyrics.

I can feel the earth begin to move I hear my needle hit the groove And spiral through another day I hear my song begin to say “Kiss me where the sun don’t shine The past was yours, But the future’s mine – You’re all out of time”

The planet-sized ego is still there, but there’s another presence in the universe now – the unnamed “She” of the title.

I don’t feel too steady on my feet I feel hollow, I feel weak Passion fruits and holy bread

Fill my guts and ease my head Through the early morning sun I can see her, here she comes

She bangs the drums

Have you seen her, have you heard The way she plays, there are no words To describe the way I feel

Coupled with the sparkling, ringing guitars, this declaration of awestruck love leaves me as speechless as the narrator. In “passion fruits and holy bread,” we get another religious reference, evoking Communion. But here Brown seems to say: if he’s Lucifer, then God is a Her.

And it’s not just who She is, but it’s what She does – creates music, uncontrollably, and with joyful abandon (she “bangs“, not “plays” nor “hits“) – that makes her what she is.

“Elephant Stone”

The Stone Roses – Elephant Stone

This is the first place where the US and UK album versions differ – this 7″ single (originally produced by Peter Hook, remixed here by John Leckie) was added in for American audiences.

Personally, I feel that was a good choice, since it keeps the initial momentum going a little longer, and it’s a fantastic song on its own, with a terrific, driving drum performance from Reni – the way he’s “banging the drums” here is actually one of the few times the dance influence of the burgeoning acid house scene would subtly rear its head on this record.

(The 20th Anniversary edition of the album, while boasting vastly improved sound, with a lot of depth and detail and low-end added, inexplicably drops this song from the running order again –fair warning!)

I was disappointed, too, to find that I had always misheard the chorus. The actual line, “Seems like there’s a hole, in my dreams” is a perfectly-fine wistful psych-pop lyric, but I thought it was “She’s my better whole, in my dreams“.

I’m always a sucker for lyrics that take a cliché and twist it, and changing one’s beloved from a “better half” to an unattainable “better whole” (that is, an “everything”) was a good one.

“Waterfall”

The Stone Roses – "Waterfall" (HD Remastered)

She wakes up, and by all rights her head should be pounding like Reni’s drums in the discotheque the night before.

But she’s never felt so clear-headed in her life.

“Waterfall” is a measured, shimmering love song about breaking free. Producer John Leckie somehow magically fashions the presumed sow’s ear of Brown’s vocals into silky self-

harmonies reminiscent of The Hollies or The Byrds. (Check any live recording on YouTube, and at least when performing in public, Brown can’t carry a tune in a bucket – the difference between Brown’s live and studio recordings is so great, that I half-suspect Brown may have terrible stage fright like Andy Partridge of XTC.)

The lyrics are about “her” again, but this time they draw on some very British “green and pleasant land” pastoral and mythical imagery, as She leaves to go… anywhere, really.

Chimes sing Sunday morn Today’s the day she’s sworn To steal what she never could own And race from this hole she calls home

Now you’re at the wheel Tell me how, how does it feel? So good to have equalised To lift up the lids of your eyes

[…]

See the steeple pine The hills as old as time Soon to be put to the test To be whipped by the winds of the west

Stands on shifting sands The scales held in her hands The wind it just whips her in waves And fills up her brigantine sails

“Don’t Stop”

The Stone Roses – "Don't Stop" (HD Remastered)

This one is pretty much “Waterfall” backwards, with all kinds of studio effects and strange, fragmented lyrics that nevertheless may be continuing the story from “Waterfall,” since one bit goes

Hear the sea spray give I was with her We’re under the ship so get me over Now that was me, listen Now she fishes now, listen

It’s a pretty neat little slice of psychedelia (and “Don’t stop, isn’t it funny how you shine?” is a lovely lyric), but it probably goes on longer than needed to make its point.

Still, it’s a trip on ‘phones and a nice way to catch your breath between “Waterfall” and

“Bye Bye Badman”

The Stone Roses – "Bye Bye Bad Man" (HD Remastered)

Here’s a song that lets us know that despite the sullen, yobbish image Brown often publicly affected, he’s clearly read a book or two besides the Bible. Like the French tri-color and lemons (supposedly used to counteract the effects of tear gas) on the album cover, the song is a reference to the 1968 Paris student riots.

If there’s a song that best symbolizes the flower-punk synthesis of the Roses – the way they tapped into a vein of youthful hope (and discontent) that ran from the hippies, through the punks, to a rave scene they themselves helped catalyze, and made it all seem as one – this is itfor me.

The music is airy and light and optimistic; but the lyrics are pure punk vitriol.

Here he come Got no question, got no love I’m throwing stones at you, man I want you black and blue, and I’m gonna make you bleed Gonna bring you down to your knees

[…]

You’ve been bought and paid You’re a whore and a slave Your dark star holy shrine Come taste the end, you’re mine

[…]

I’ve got bad intentions, I intend to Knock you down These stones I throw Oh, these French kisses Are the only way I’ve found

(These were some more misheard lyrics for me for many years – I thought it was “These stones I throw, are lethal kisses“. “Stones thrown, like lethal kisses” is an elegant phrase, no? And I thought “I want you black and blue, and” might have been “I want to wrack and ruin“, which I think works just as well. Oh well.)

Sing along with the bouncy tune – it’s impossible not to – and you’ll never have felt so happy whilst threatening someone’s life and limb with violence.

“Elizabeth My Dear”

The Stone Roses – "Elizabeth My Dear" (HD Remastered)

But wait – did I say the Roses only synthesized three decades of music, youth culture, and protest?

No, their ambitions to timelessness are greater than that, as this brief snippet of a song shows.

Set to the hundreds-of-years-old melody of “Scarborough Fair”, the Roses’ mini-tribute to the Pistols’ poison-pen “God Save the Queen” (and/or fellow Mancunians the Smiths’ “The Queen IsDead”) seems to remind us that from time immemorial, symbolic regicide is always youth’s solemn duty.

Tear me apart, and boil my bones I’ll not rest, till she’s lost her throne My aim is true, my message is clear It’s curtains for you, Elizabeth my dear

“(Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister”

The Stone Roses – "(Song for My) Sugar Spun Sister" (HD Remastered)

Well, now we’re just spoiled – just ANOTHER perfect love song, with ANOTHER heavenly melody? What can we even say about that? I like the line about every member of Parliament tripping on glue.

“Made of Stone”

The Stone Roses – "Made of Stone" (HD Remastered)

This is a moody one, with apocalyptic empty-street, burning-car imagery. Whether it’s again about riots, or is perhaps just the idle revenge fantasy of a spurned lover is unclear. There are some lines in here that, taken together with the anti-royalty sentiment of “Elizabeth My Dear,” would become sort of eerie when Princess Diana later died in 1997.

I’m standing warm against the cold Now that the flames have taken hold At least you left your life in style

But once again, that melancholy chorus just SOARS.

“Shoot You Down”

The Stone Roses – "Shoot You Down" (HD Remastered)

A sort-of sibling to “Bye Bye Badman,” in that exceptionally-breezy music is once again paired with lyrical malevolence; this time, the target seems romantic, rather than political.

The repeated, casually-murmured assurances that “I’d love to do it, and you know you’ve always had it coming” – sung so quietly, they are nearly whispered – make the titular promise seem like a fait accompli.

But mostly, this relaxed, soothing tune serves to lead us into

“This Is The One”

The Stone Roses – "This Is The One" (HD Remastered)

Wow.

Like “I Wanna Be Adored,” this one has relatively few lyrics and musical segments, with those arranged and repeated for maximum impact, but where “Adored” is dark and murky and menacing, this is bright and triumphant. Once again, images of pastoral natural beauty and fire make an appearance, as the pangs of burning love and unbearable anticipation and desire for freedom are given musical form, and set aloft to flight.

A girl consumed by fire We all know her desire From the plans that she has made I have her on a promise Immerse me in your splendor All the plans that I have made

This is the one This is the one This is the one This is the one This is the one

She’s waited for

Sometimes a tiny snippet of words or syllables and their imagery and melody can be so inherently delicious that they stand alone. I’ve talked before about how I could listen to Richard Butler sing the words “snow-blind and / sleepwalking“ on a loop for days.

Here, as Brown names the object of his desire in seven syllables, my heart catches in my throat.

I’d like to leave the country For a month of Sundays Burn the town where I was born

If only she’d believe me Bellona, belladonna Burn me out, or bring me home

“Bellona, belladonna.”

!!!

Just say those words out loud a few times!

He names his beloved after the Roman goddess of war and deadly nightshade, and abjectly pleads for her to destroy him or love him: There is no difference.

If no woman has used “Bellona Belladonna” as a stage name, someone should.

The song is another dynamic tension/release masterpiece – when the drums thunder back in at 3:02, it’s an army of horses charging over the hill straight at you as the brilliant sunrise breaks inyour blinded eyes. Like the album as a whole, there’s no way to rationally account for how such simple individual parts can add up to so, so much more. Simply magnificent.

But as overwhelming as that is, it’s somehow just leading us into the (sort-of) finale…

“I Am The Resurrection”

The Stone Roses – "I Am The Resurrection" (HD Remastered)

This bookends the original UK album sequence.

In the opener, Brown was the Devil – here, by the album’s end, he’s given himself a promotion, and now he’s the Redeemer.

The lyrical vitriol here, set to the snare’s relentless, pounding quarter-notes, is off the charts; I’ll just include my favorite bit:

Stone me, why can’t you see You’re a no-one, nowhere, washed-up baby, who’d look better dead

Your tongue, is far too long I don’t like the way it slurps and slurs upon my every word

Don’t waste your words, I don’t need anything from you I don’t care where you’ve been, or what you plan to do

Ouch. Vicious.

Yet a God can afford to be magnanimous, so he immediately turns around and drops the bomb – divine absolution – in the form of a beyond-audacious chorus (which the band have already musically teased-but-withheld twice, the cheeky bastards):

I am the resurrection and I am the life I couldn’t ever bring myself to hate you as I’d like

A gossamer guitar solo, and repeat that sky-high chorus once more; then the music spins on its heel and breezily becomes a 4-minute extended funk workout, filled with some scorching guitar licks, impossibly liquid bass, ludicrously nimble drums, and multiple fakeout endings.

It’s as if, having just delivered an epic kiss-off and album for the ages, the band isn’t satisfied with just dropping the mic – they have to moonwalk out the door. Show-offs – but when you’ve got it, you’ve got it.

And that’d be the end of it – except that the US release tacks on the 12″ single of “Fool’s Gold,” like an encore or victory lap.

“Fool’s Gold”

The Stone Roses – "Fool's Gold" (HD Remastered)

I wrote about this one already here. It’s a fantastic dark-funk groove. I just want to give a shout-out to Brown’s genius-stupid lyrics and vocal performance, which evoke some sort of peyote vision quest through Babylon, with traveling companions the Marquis de Sade and Nancy Sinatra. There’s another trademark bit of cool Brownian lyrical malevolence thrown in: He knowsthe truth, and he knows what you’re thinking.

And he won’t lift a finger, as he watches you sinking.

Only one thing left to do then: spin the whole thing over again.

MadchesterBy: Chris Nickson - Updated: 20 Jun 2010|comments*DiscussBritish Rock History Madchester Baggy

Madchester was the name given to a local scene that influenced a nation at the end of the 1980s and at the beginning of the 1990s. It made Manchester the most influential musical city inBritain, a reputation that lingered long into the 90s.

Above all, it brought together two completely separate strands of music – indie and acid house –and forged them into something new and exciting that appealed across the entire spectrum of alternative music fans. Bands like the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays became vital figures in this new music, and their explorations had a trickle-down effect that ran into the Britpop explosion that would happen a few years later.The Roots of Madchester

The roots of the Madchester scene lay in the music of groups like the Smiths and New Order, who took the local indie scene national in the 1980s. They’d made people sit up and look at what was happening in the city, but more importantly, they’d been quite exploratory in their approach to music, staying well outside the jangly guitars that characterised most indie music.

The city also boasted the Hacienda nightclub, one of the most prominent in Britain, which mixedindie with disco, and then the house music coming out of Chicago and Detroit. As the warehouse party scene began, it became a natural centre for the new music, fuelled by the use of Ecstasy.The Bands

The young bands that would transform Manchester into Madchester were already thriving concerns when the acid house scene arrived. However, the only one to have made any impact was Happy Mondays, who’d already released records on the Manchester independent label Factory Records.

Much credit, too, should go to New Order, who’d been pioneers in merging indie and dance music with records like Blue Monday (which they’d re-record in 1988), and undoubted influenceson their younger colleagues.

It really wasn’t until 1989 that things began to gel, although late ‘88 saw a couple of good singles (notably Happy Mondays’ Wrote for Luck) trickling out of Manchester. The bands

seemed to have absorbed the sensibility of rhythm from the dance scene – a freer rhythm than rock – as well as the vibe of clubs like the Hacienda.

But the first real indication that something new and different was happening arrived with the debut album by the Stone Roses, which even today is still considered to be one of the best and most important first albums ever released. Immaculately produced, it showcased some powerfulsongwriting, and a slightly psychedelic mix of rock and dance music that was very infectious.Madchester Goes Baggy

The album was followed by singles from both Happy Mondays and Inspiral Carpets that confirmed the influence of dance music on the Manchester sound, although each band has its unique take and inspiration.

This set the template for the music that would emerge over the next two or three years. Initially the bands were Mancunian, such as the three above or James, but soon it had spread across Britain, with varying degrees of success.

The musical style became known as “baggy” for the clothes many of the musicians wore, with wide flared trousers and very retro 60s fashions.

Things probably reached a peak at the end of 1989, with singles by the Stone Roses and HappyMondays finding their way into the charts, and onto Top of the Pops. That’s not to say Madchester suddenly began to define the pop scene; it still only represented one, more adventurous end of the spectrum, but it was one that was extremely influential on other musicians.

The high point lasted for a year, with Happy Mondays, James and several other bands, including the Charlatans, continuing to releasing singles that made the charts.The Decline of Madchester

It was really drug and legal problems that caused the Madchester scene to sputter and die. Happy Mondays took two years to make their next album, reputedly because of internal bickering and drug problems, whilst the Stone Roses, tangled in litigation with their record label, had to wait almost five years to release another record.

With the momentum gone from its two leading lights, the spotlight began to turn elsewhere, and although other bands on the scene continued to record and issue music, it simply didn’t have the compelling quality to sustain the scene.

The Stone Roses - Second Coming (album review )

Review Summary: The album that made and broke The Stone Roses.

The Stone Roses. What do we make of the 4 lads from Manchester? A successful and hugely influential band that along with the Happy Mondays led the charge of what was known as the 'Madchester' Baggy scene of the late 80's and early 90's. An outfit that inspired a generation of up-and-coming bands from Oasis through to the Arctic Monkeys via Primal Scream, to carry on the legacy of their 1989 eponymous debut well into the 2000's? Or a band that failed to achieve their goal, ending disastrously at the 1996 Reading Festival, a band desperately forging ahead without 2 of their original lynchpin members in John Squire and Alan 'Reni' Wren, after creating

this album, 'Second Coming', an album that to this day receives mixed reviews from fans and critics alike.

Whatever your opinion on the album, it was regarded as one of the most anticipated albums in British history and is still a hot topic with anyone with even a passing interest in the band. Upon release, critics, who said that it didn’t stand up at all against their classic debut album, savaged the album. So what reasons can be given for the album failing to even be as good as their first? For one, ‘Second Coming’ was mostly written by guitarist John Squire, who by this stage had taken control of the band and took to writing blues-rock songs in the vein of Led Zeppelin and Cream, making the band's style, let alone the album, sound distant to anything that came before. Other contributing factors include a 5-year gap between albums, leading the Roses to lose momentum they had gained after the success of their first album, and tales of infighting between members, especially between old friends Ian Brown and John Squire. This led the band to implode in April 1996, when John left the band, leaving Ian and Mani (Reni left in early 1995 after the album was released) to continue on with replacement members. Whatever the reasons, it still stands that 'Second Coming' was a crucial release that sealed the fate of one of Britain's finest, yet intriguing, bands.

The Band:

Ian Brown: Vocals

Reni: Drums

John Squire: Guitar

Mani: Bass

The albums starts with distorted guitar feeding back then playing a riff, which leads into a soundscape of a rainforest, with birds chirping and the sound of a river stream, while a guitar can be heard playing in the background. A jungle-style drum beat kicks in after 2 minutes, with the sounds of the forest still going on in the background. This goes on for 4 ½ minutes before ‘Breaking Into Heaven’ comes to life, with Squire’s wah guitar riffing over Ian Brown’s distinctive vocals, coupled with the strength of a boldly fluid rhythm section. It is a perfect opening for the album, and a great way to introduce the band after a 5-year stint in the wilderness, but the opening was just too long and unnecessary for me, leading the song to last for over 11 minutes in total. I can see what they were going for with the long opening, trying to build anticipation, but it just detracts from the tune, instead they should have opted to open up the album with the main song. John’s blues-rock influence really comes to the fore on ‘Driving South’, with it’s very zeppelin-esque riffing, whilst retaining some of the Rose’s old spark, mainly by Reni and his funky drumming patterns. There is really nothing special about this song, but John really does riff like a madman here, which does make a change to the spacious fills of the opening track.

One of the highlights of the album, ‘Ten Story Love Song’ introduces itself with drum rolls and a phaser effect before a nice intro riff introduces Ian’s great vocal performance. This song is a great example of how the new riff-heavy Roses and the old Roses have come together, combining John’s older guitar sound reminiscent of their debut, and how he has taken to playingsolos on this album. It’s a rather lovely tune, and Ian gives a brilliant vocal performance here. Things get a bit funky on ‘Daybreak’ with Mani’s tumbling bassline leading the charge, John playing small Wah-Wah fills and Ian singing like it is 1989. Whilst these 3 members all play greatparts in this song, the tune belongs to Reni and his amazing drum patterns and fills, fitting them

in perfectly around the bass and guitar. It’s a great tune and just rolls along before it kicks in towards the end. A folk sounding acoustic intro opens up ‘You’re Star Will Shine’, including backwards guitar parts interspersed with the acoustic and Reni’s alternate percussion. It is a rather sweet song, with Beatles style harmonies from the entire band, which keep this pleasant song short and sweet. The only song written solely by Ian Brown, ‘Straight To The Man’ starts with the sound of bongos and John’s twanging slide guitar, leading into quite a laid-back and funky tune, which was a sign of things to come from Brown in his current solo work. It has a fluidbassline coupled with Reni’s funky drum pattern, and John’s slide guitar perfectly matching the mood of Brown’s attitude-laden vocals. The funky vibe of the previous song is all but dashed when ‘Begging You’ kicks in, with its choppy guitar intro and dance-beat. A very synthesized affair, this is the sort of song you could easily dance to in a club, what with John’s soaring guitar fills riffing their way across a Reni dance-beat and Mani’s bold bassline, easily one of the best songs on the album.

As far as this album goes, the track listing could have been thought out a bit better, with the songs all having different moods and styles being thrown together, it can confuse the listener. None more noticeable than with ‘Tightrope’, probably one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard,but because it follows up such as intense and draining song as ‘Begging You’, it does dull the effect of this track. It is a very melancholic and loving affair, with John’s acoustic guitar playing a great chord progression over light percussion and yet another solid bassline, but the highlight is not just Brown’s vocals, which are great, but the way in which the band harmonize with each other, a re-occurring feature of this album. ‘Good Times’ is next, with its stable bassline, harmonica and solo riffs that easily sound like a tune that could have been written in the 70’s. When the song kicks into life, It features yet more excessive riffing from John and Ian’s trademark vocals, rendering the song as nothing new as far as this album goes. Yet another acoustic guitar intro introduces ‘Tears’ and features more harmonica, and reminds me a bit of Guns ‘n’ Roses, especially when the song kicks in. To me this song sounds just like ‘Good Times’ except the electric guitar has been swapped with an acoustic. It’s not a bad song, in fact it’s quite good, but it sounds a bit too much like the previous track. A bongo drum and quiet electric guitar open up the penultimate track ‘How Do You Sleep’, which sounds a bit like Bachman Turner Overdrive in the intro, that is until Ian Starts singing. It’s a quite an up-lifting, yet bitter song from the writer’s perspective, but much like the ending of this album, it offers up nothing new, even when being compared to the band’s debut.

Just when you thought the album was going to crash out towards the end, the leadoff single tears into the action and ends it in spectacular fashion. ‘Love Spreads’ is just what the album needed to finish off on, a roof-lifting track compete with blues-rock slide guitar, brilliantly constructed riffs and solos and Ian’s vocals, which snarl at you, giving the song enough attitude to keep Oasis in comments for 6 months. This is easily the best song on the album and one of the Rose’s greatest tunes ever, the line ‘let me put you in the picture/let me show you what I mean/the messiah is my sister/aint no king, man, she’s my queen’ will be stuck in your head for hours after. The lyrics sort of make no sense but this was the best way to finish the album.

The 12 songs are now followed up by 78 blank tracks, with track 90 on the album consisting of asong called ‘The Foz’. The tune lasts for over six minutes and consists of what sounds like a banjo, piano and even more bizarrely, a hand saw, playing together but way out of time, basically just making sort of noisy jam, with chatter, surrounding noises, howling dogs and everynow and again a clearing of someone’s throat interspersing with the song. This is then followed up by another 9 blank tracks, leading to 99 in total. This is a totally pointless way to end the album and kind of takes the shine off a bit.

In all, ‘Second Coming’ was a very different album to what the public were expecting at the time of release. The band (particularly John) was setting out to make a huge comeback after 5 years in the wilderness and it well and truly backfired on them badly. After the release, the band fell apart rapidly, with Reni quitting 4 months after the release, and not featuring often in the public eye since, going on to form a band called The Rub as vocalist and guitarist. A UK tour was cancelled in mid-late 1995 after Squire broke his collarbone while mountain-biking, then he too quit the band on April fool’s Day 1996, famously phoning up Ian Brown to tell him he had quit, going onto a solo career that has more or less failed miserably. The 2 remaining Roses, Brown and Mani, soldiered on with replacement members right up until Reading 1996, apparently a disastrous gig, with the band calling a painful end to the Stone Roses a month after. This is not the way any of the Roses would have wanted it to end. Since then, Brown has forged a successful solo career, releasing albums and touring constantly, and Mani is now a full-time member with fellow funk-rockers Primal Scream. As of 2007, rumours of a reunion persist, with Brown being the only member not up for the idea at all. ‘Second Coming’ is essential to the collection of Stone Roses fans everywhere, and whilst the album didn’t achieve the goals the band had set out to achieve with the album, it still stands as a pivotal moment in the history of one of England’s finest bands.