Stone Roses, The - Stone Roses (The) > Reviews > Roses Conquer All

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money

Advantages:	too many, it's amazing
Disadvantages:	if you don't like madchester stuff

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This debut album from the Stone Roses is without doubt one of the classics. It has raw talent, killer harmonies and heartbreaking melody. The Stone Roses consist of John Squire on guitar who is the true driving force behind the band. His guitar playing is exceptional and whether it be chords or solos he's equally amazing. He is backed up by Reni on the drums, the warm and inviting vocals of Ian Brown and Gary Mounfield (Mani) on Bass. They all play together excellently especially considering it was their first album together.

All eleven songs on the album are classics (expect maybe 'don't stop') so I might as well talk about them all.

-------------------------
Track by Track
-------------------------

1. I Wanna be Adored

'I Wanna Be Adored' has a very quiet first minute and a half before John Squire's guitar comes on the scene. The lyrics here really set the fascination for the rest of the album - 'I wanna be adored.. you adore me'.

2. She Bangs the Drums

This features superb rhythm work from Mani and Reni beginning with a wonderful bass run from Mani before the rest of the band come in. The lyric is again full of attitude and confidence espeically in the line 'Kiss me where the sun don't shine, the past was yours, but the future's mine' and are delivered in distinctive manner that gave Ian Brown one of the most distinctive voices of his generation and the era of nineties northern bands to sing in their own accents.

3. Waterfall

John Squire's riff on 'waterfall' is one of the most memorable of recent years, and the lyrics, all about a girl running away from home, are some of the Roses best. Its hypnotic groove is bolstered by the classiest of vocals by Ian Brown. This track is just beautiful.

4. Don't Stop

'Don't Stop' is an experiment based around reversing the tape of the previous song 'Waterfall' which as far as I'm concerned is the weakest track on the album.

5. Bye Bye Badman

This track is a light, breezy tune, with 'citrus sucking sunshine' providing one of the albums finest images. The teasing vocals are over this track so that each new time you hear them they sound refreshing and new.

6. Elizabeth My Dear

This is basically the old folk standard 'Scarborough Fair' dressed up in anti-royalist clothes. It features just John Squire on acoustic guitar accompanying Ian Brown's infectious vocals. The mumbling from the vocalist only serves to infuse the song with more malice.

7. (Song for My) Sugar Spun Sister

The music on this is truly great with yet another winning melody. The real anti-establishment lyric that gets me on this is 'Until the sky turns green, and the grass is several shades of blue, every Member of Parliament trips on glue'. Also a classic is 'yeah yeah yeah the candy floss girl, the sticky fingered boy'.

8. Made of Stone

This track is far darker than others on the album and has some great phased guitar sounds on it.

9. Shoot You Down

The rhythm section of the band is subdued and quiet in this one as in 'Made of Stone'. The whispering vocal 'I'd love to do it and you know you've always had it coming' gets me everytime.

10. This Is The One

This track returns the album to a little bit more life. The drums and guitar occasionally crash momentarily through the quiet backing and vocal early on. The song takes off though when Ian Brown announces 'This is the one.'. The track builds from this.

11. I Am The Resurrection

Well what can I say about this. It's an absolute classic, spanning 8:12 and a great way to finish off a truly great album. It has great rythmn, guitar playing, drumming and vocals. Not much beats this.

-------------------------

There is a distinct 60's feel to a lot of the record and anyone who likes jangly guitar rock will love it. It is an essential purchase for any music lover. You will notice that in the majority of 'Greatest Albums of All Time' polls that this record is usually the only release from the last 15 years that will make it into the top ten. It's a real shame the Stone Roses didn't get the credit they deserved as they earned it from these 11 tracks at least.