Ok there are some bands which are reminiscent of your youth, the ones which blow your mind the first time you hear them and for me it was The Stone Roses. Unlike other Madchester bands around at the time, The Stone Roses were a band whose four members were indispensible, advocating a sort of mystical brotherhood which transcends through their music.

It’s not often that you come across a drummer like Reni, whose multi-faceted drumming vigorously pulsates like the heartbeat of the band. It’s a pretty tough job being a drummer, yet Reni has always had a knack of making it look so easy. With his adrenaline pumping beats, Reni is like a one-man band, picking up where the momentum may have dipped through those textured interludes.

As for John Squire, well he is in a class of his own. Rarely has a guitarist picked up the grooves of the 60’s and 70’s and made them into his own. Where some guitarists blatantly emulate, Squire delivers with an artful spontaneity that scribbles over jaded tones, breathing new life. He is also a guitarist, whose abstract riffs have overlapped and experimented with dancier vibes, pioneering a free-spirited frenzy likened to a shaman on heat. Notably Squire’s creativity transferred onto The Stone Roses singles, album covers and promotional posters, endorsing his artistic flair.

Then there is Mani, whose single-minded bass playing seems to be a law to itself, yet cohesively interlocks with the neo-psychedelic grooves.  With his laid-back persona, Mani as a bassist almost matches Brown with his cool swagger. Despite the showmanship of Squire’s guitars, Mani always maintains his distinctive fast-moving and dub groove bass.

Of course, not forgetting Ian Brown, who as a front man oozes charisma and is testament that you don’t have to have the best voice to captivate an audience. It’s more about attitude, a sort of unspoken alliance where we can rely on Brown to be our Hedonistic Messiah, or Mystical Robin Hood. Somehow Brown is a paradox, he’s an intriguing mix of fiery outspokenness and metaphysical musings.  As a frontman, Brown delivers the lyrics with such conviction, like he is singing from the soul but wearing tough armour. Unlike other frontmen, you always got the impression with Brown that he enjoys having a connection with his audience wanting us all to join him in one big celebratory party.

The Stone Roses have always produced an eclectic mix of lyrics which have inspired, intrigued and  bordered on the obscure . From the lovelorn to the cynical and sometimes even the sinister, The Stone Roses lyrics have always been loosely poetic, sentimental whilst maintaining a stoney veneer. Almost champions of the under-dog, The Stone Roses have always come out on top, whilst rejoicing in their combatant glory. With gems such as “You’re eyes are gazing back from every little piece of glass. You seem to smile from every place Sally Cinnamon, You are my world” (Sally Cinnamon), who wouldn’t be entranced by their music.

The Stone Roses (1989)

It was The Stone Roses’ eponymous self-titled debut studio album, released in “89” which got me hooked on the band. For a debut “The Stone Roses” was a parade of muffled psychedelia, murky garage and nonchalant folksy shuffles. It’s also an album which slowly rises and then engulfs through its oblique, layered guitars, punchy drums and slinky bass. In particular, “I Wanna be Adored” and “Waterfall” encapsulates the crunchy, sublime essence of the album, whilst “She Bangs the Drums” and “Made of Stone”, illustrates the infectious and subdued versatility. Despite the obvious “Scarborough Fair” rip off with “Elizabeth My Dear”, “The Stone Roses”, remains an original, refreshing and misty album. However, what defines this album is the textured guitars and esoteric atmospheric inserts. It’s like the album is one huge crescendo, which slowly builds up, gaining power before it hits you with the epic stand alone song “I am the Resurrection”. It’s an album which is a duality of subtle mysticism and robust hard-hitting beats.

Turns Into Stone (1992)

Although “Turns Into Stone” is an album which consists of early singles and B-sides, I think it has some of the best Stone Roses songs on there. It’s an album where Brown’s vocals resonate against Mani’s low-key bass and the cross-genre guitars of Squire. It’s also an album which uncharacteristically uses a drum machine, instead of Reni’s distinct drumming in “Fools Gold” hallmarking the changing trends in music. From the swirly reminiscing of “Elephant Stone” to the stomping “Mersey Paradise” to the dreamy “One Love” and the epic “Fools Gold”, Turns Into Stone defines a magical era of The Madchester scene, which would later influence the arrival of Brit-pop. Even with the less popular songs as “Simone” and “Somethings Burning”, The Stone Roses epitomised the archetypal, experimental Indie band, revelling in all its shimmering and back-tracking psychedelia. In particular “Something Burning” unleashes an eclectic mix of swanky xylaphones and pitter-patter drums which resound against the wah crunchy guitars and disjointed bass, whilst maintaining a cool timeless pastiche of funky, 60’s psychedelia.

Second Coming (1994)

Whilst “The Second Coming” revives and resurrects the Stone Roses’ career, it is delivered via a more exotic and animated soundscape. With songs such as “Breaking into Heaven”, “Good Times” and “How Do you Sleep”, you are invited to peep into the deep depths and heartfelt emotions of Brown. It’s an album which invigorates with the dehydrating dancy, “Begging You” and excites with the guitar-laden and cool swagger of “Love Spreads”. Such an opener immediately restores faith and showcases a more varied soundscape, notably the loose pianos and Zepplin-esque, crunchy guitars. It’s also an album which dabbles with folksy, tribal brotherhood, with the raw and sentimental “Star Will Shine” providing a smoothing stop-gap between the colossal of 60’s and 70’s infused guitars. In a similar vein, “Ten Story Love Song” is like an outtake from a camp-side jamming session, whose melancholy is played down by the soaring and angular guitars. Overall as an album, “The Second Coming” doesn’t disappoint and instead is a progressive and diverse album.

Garage Flower (1996)

“Garage Flower” is an album which was recorded in “85”, but not released until after The Stone Roses split in “96”. It’s an album which highlights the rudimentary talent of the band, reaffirming that as a band The Stone Roses have since progressed from this gritty, scratchy album. With a scattered mix of sounds, “Garage Flower” is a quintessential “demo album”, which planted the Roses’ seeds. With songs such as the infectious “Here It Comes”, the screechy “So Young” and the blarey, hazy “Tradjic Roundabout”, “Garage Flower” is fuelled by the swirly burning adrenaline of angsty youth. It’s also an album whose charm lies in its organic simplicity, experimenting with post-punk along the way. In particular the earlier raw, tinny cuts of “I Wanna Be Adored” and “This is the One” highlight the merging garage psychedelia, which would later become embedded in The Stone Roses’ psyche.

Fools Gold

“Fools Gold” is not only an epic song, but it’s a song whose unequivocal lyrics galvanise against the kaleidoscopic backdrop. Always a band which perpetrated an intangible mysticism, “Fools Gold” is a song where Brown’s nonchalant vocals are epitomised in the lyrics: “Down, down, down, down, da down, down, down”. It’s Brown personified, a guy who as a front man doesn’t have to stretch his vocals to command the audience. With subtle biblical references such as “hills for fifteen days”, “Fools Gold” run parallels with being lost in the wilderness. It’s also a song which makes a fleeting reference to “Marquis De Sade”, suggesting moral dilemmas or self-destruction. Musically “Fools Gold” advocates a soul manifesting psychedelia, where Reni’s, prominent drums awaken the song with formidable force whilst multi-tasking with the shamanistic pulsating bongos. This enhances the tribal brotherhood appeal of the Roses, where a “contradictory conflict” and a “telepathic oneness” could also be represented by the lyric: “Sometimes you have to try and get along dear. I know the truth and I know what you’re thinking!” Nevertheless, with “Fools Gold”, you get a sense that Brown and his tribe have taken a pilgrimage to a trippy promised land, where the faint guitar swings back and forth like an indecisive compass. Significantly it’s when the crunchy Wah guitars emerge that “Fools Gold” becomes enlivened, soaring to euphoric heights. It’s the sheer seduction of Squires’ riffs that spin and rotate like Catherine Wheels, making you feel that you are dancing in a psychedelic paradise. However, like the title suggests, “Fools Gold” may be deceptive as behind the ecstasy lies an arcane darkness illustrated through the brooding bass, which drones against the lyrics: “I’m seeing you sinking. I’m standing alone…”

Breaking into Heaven

“Breaking into Heaven” is yet again a Roses song veiled in religious imagery where the lyrics are very open to interpretation. Whether it’s about the rejection of religion and creating your own heaven on earth or not “Breaking into Heaven” is an electrifying opener for a long awaited second studio album. If you have ever wondered what happens to something that has been regenerating, growing in the dark and coming back twice as powerful then listen closely to “Breaking into Heaven”. You see it’s not just the remarkable musicianship of this song which defines it, but the intricate inserts which take you along a mystical realm. With its opening elongated, relaying guitars, “Breaking into Heaven” is a song which slowly awakes with vast intensity. It’s like Brown is having an epiphany moment that is captured on film or a premonition manifesting in front of our eyes. After a five year drought, the water is flowing again. A futuristic, muffled “…Ahhhh gonna break into heaven”, is flashing with esoteric significance. Reni’s tribal drums pump the brotherhood blood, interconnecting with the thunderbolt sky. The elongated guitars vaporize against the purple sky, whilst the exotic creatures all huddle together in anticipation. The wild birds sense the awakening and the rattlesnakes shed their skin ready for the rebirth, or the Second Coming…

Although “Breaking into Heaven” swaggers with a ruthless bravado it’s the unfolding guitars that submerge you into an intoxicating trance-like state. Despite the obvious comparisons to Zeppelin, Squire manages to pick up that 70’s psychedelia from a great height and turn it into a celestial event. Rather than hitting you with crunchy fuzz tones, Squire releases a trail of spiralling strums, giving us a hint of what’s to come. As the crackling tension is mounting it’s the charging bass of Mani and Squire’s spinning guitars that catapult Brown back into the spotlight. Never has there been a grander entrance since Superman on that meteorite back in “78”. Once Brown’s presence surfaces, the elements unify and it’s through the predominate skill of Squire that “Breaking into Heaven” morphs into a multi-faceted guitar masterpiece. With its alternating strumming, “Breaking Into Heaven” showcases The Stone Roses more textured sound, moving away from Squires signature garage guitars. Ingenuously Brown’s mellow vocals convey an authority that restores all faith in their mission. In juxtaposition with Brown’s vocals, it’s the duality of Squires’s Wah and swirly strumming that captivates against a vivified soundscape. With all its psychedelic preening, Squire reminds us what we’ve been missing, indulging in some flashy backtracking along the way. With lyrics such as: “I’m gonna break right into heaven. I can’t wait anymore” and “Heaven’s gates won’t hold me, I’ll saw those suckers down” you know for sure that The Stones Roses are back and nothing is gonna get in their way. Unlike the Brit-pop songs which were prevalent at the time, “Breaking Into Heaven” criss-crosses with a fluidity that makes each guitar interlude a virtuoso showpiece in its own right. With an awe-inspiring out-tro, “Breaking Into Heaven” undergoes a series of guitar transfigurations, which zig-zags, curves and high-kicks with sheer gusto, enabling them to breakthrough those utopian iron gates…

One Love:

“One Love” is a song which touches upon the universal law of love and indirectly gives insight to the compassionate Brown. With its opening lyrics: “Anytime you want me, anytime at all. Anytime you need me, all you gotta do is call”, Brown conveys an unconditional love, likened to new-age ethics. It appears to be a love song, unravelling a tale of being captivated by a siren, encapsulated in the lyric: “Show me your vision your wild apparition, and sink to the depths of your soul”. With metaphorical references to a Dolphin, here is a song which outlines Brown’s perceptive, sensitive demeanor: “I’m no dog I’m a dolphin. I just don’t live in the sea”. It’s an infectious number, whose guitar riffs oscillate like phosphene waves before swirling against the bouncy bass. It’s also a song whose whirly riffs of Squire morph into more tinny tones, delving deep into murkier depths. Like tidal waves, Squire’s guitar riffs crash and burn against Mani’s contrary bass, synchronising with Brown’s nonchalant vocals. It’s during the metamorphosing interlude, that the guitars rummage and wrestle against Reni’s dribbling drums. It’s also a place where Squire’s guitars shriek and spin like a psychedelic submarine rotating through a fluorescent vortex. Through its scraping rifts, “One Love” conveys a darkness which sounds like a vessel corroding under pressure. It’s a dynamic insert, which illustrates the subtle obscurity of The Stone Roses. Through its compressing intonations and palpitating drums, “One Love’ flickers like a strobe light, making you feel like you are travelling through a hallucinogenic underworld.

I am the Resurrection

“I am the Resurrection” is a voluminous song, whose opening drums stomp in and out of Mani’s nomadic bass, echoing the lyric: “Down down, you bring me down… I hear you knocking at my door and I can’t sleep at night…” It’s a song which sees Brown bulldoze his demons, flipping his mild hysteria to new euphoric heights with the lyrics: “I am the resurrection and I am the light. I couldn’t ever bring myself to hate you as I’d like”. Whether Brown is delusional or not, it’s a convincing testament which acts as a catalyst for Squire’s trailblazing riffs. Whereas Brown sings through a gallant megaphone, Squire breaks loose with his medley of hedonistic grooves. If there was ever a Roses song which took on a quasi-jazz self indulgence, then I think this would be it. It’s one of those songs which takes you in its zone, unleashing a cross-genre of guitar riffs. While Reni provides the assiduous beats of the song, Squire provides the nuts and bolts. It’s once Brown’s vocals are abandoned that “I am the Resurrection” marks it’s revival with a baton of racing guitars which rev, waver and scrape between the tenebrous undertows. It’s a celebratory frenzy, whose nostalgic groovy and crunchy guitars intensify through the muffled, haunting chants, which lurk in the nebulous corners of the song. Through the wayward guitars, “I am the Resurrection” contorts with a sinewy soundscape stomping and stalling with its staccato strokes. It’s when the song jangles with Who-esque tinny acoustics, that “I am the Resurrection” rises like a sedated sunset, embracing a more halcyon horizon.
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