LONG PLAY
THE STONE ROSES

The Stone Roses (Silvertone/All formats)

'THE STONE Roses", in its seminal, original form, was the most fluent crossover album of the last decade. Its release in May 1989 triggered a mass cultural phenomenon. Indie-dance was activated, its underground sister the rave scene outed, and Britain went Baggy.

Had it not been for this LP, Blur would now be Seymour and Tim Burgess might still be wearing sideburns. Looting of "The Stone Roses" treasures is common. That The Charlatans found international stardom from the results of their scavenging while The Roses have been grounded in court is nothing short of sick.

It is the opinion of many that the Roses were simply "tossing around in court, while they should have been recording a second album. Fact is, however, that Silvertone strung the Roses up. The band would have been foolish to progress forwards from "One Love' inside a deal which afforded them no royalty payment on CD sales and robbed them of their own merchandising revenue, for starters.

There is always much more speculation than information about The Stone Roses. Consequently, we hear two. different reports about how the band have received the reissue of their debut album through the label that brought legal action against them in an attempt to compound the oppressive terms of their contract. First, that the Roses are quite happy about the release, as it will boost the band's public profile while Silvertone take a caning for their mercenary motives. And second, that they are quietly furious.

"The Stone Roses' has been re-formatted on two individual 45rpm 12-inch discs sheathed in a gatefold sleeve. The tracks are cut in their original running order on to vinyl copies. CDs and cassettes also carry the "Elephant Stone' hit 45. The numbered package wears a collection of John Squire's Pollock style paintings (overset inside the pleat with black and white photographs) like it's dressed in drag. However, two years and four months after the fact, the 11 tracks between 'I Wanna Be Adored' and 'I Am The Resurrection' still ring sublime and utterly immaculate.

Only Primal Scream's new "Screamadelica' LP occasionally seeks out and borders on rediscovering the same vibe. The most pressing question is, how much longer will fans actually give a shit about a new Stone Roses album, if indeed a second LP is ever recorded? We waited four years (a pop infinity) for new Geffen label-mates Guns N' Roses' second album, and The Stone Roses hold equal intrigue value in the UK. Their next album is doubtless still one of the most anticipated new releases of the 90s.

Meantime, the reissue scores (0) as an exploitative marketing concept (pass the hat for Sivlertone's £1 million-plus legal losses) and (10) for the songs.

Mary Anne Hobbs
From NME 21/09/1991