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

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	Excellent

Advantages:	Poptastic
Disadvantages:	The forgotten album of the last 20 years

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Bam it's in your face. They inspired the great Oasis. They gave the late 80s and early 90s a lot to shout about. They were The Stone Roses.

I Wanna Be Adored - Dum dum dum dum dum, a bassy intro just rips straight through your chest and from nowhere just comes this beautiful, chiming guitar. Then it breaks out of it's shell and the drums and guitar take off providing a dark and mysterious tone to the song. Ian Brown chirps that he doesn't have to sell his soul because it's already in him. That lyric always confuses me but nonetheless it still makes you want to marry the song. The song just centres around rhythmic drumming, catchy bass lines and several fantastic guitar riffs. If only every album could have an opener like this. 10/10.

She Bangs The Drums - Have you seen or have you heard? This song really is one for the summer or one for whenever you just ever feel like you are top of the world. It is such a feel good tune it is unbelievable. Not only that the guitar (once again!) is inch perfect and Brown's vocal timing is near perfect. It is a brilliant song but not the best on the album! 9/10.

Elephant Stone - A strange name but it just carries on in the form of SBTD, a catchy pop hit with more inspiring guitar riffs. Chime after chime on the guitar and it makes you feel like you have died and gone to heaven. Haven't got much else to say about it except that everyone should own this song. 9/10.

Waterfall - What a fantastic tune, if you were to wake up to one song, this would be it. Just starts off brilliantly. For once the lyrics are simple, to the point and they work stupendously. Their are (perhaps) a couple of more sinister lyrics. Mani (bassist) and Reni (drummer) work so brilliantly in tandem, both of their instruments complimenting the other and it just takes over the fabulous guitar playing from John Squire. The instrumental to end the song is just sheer greatness. A song for summer, a song for everyone. 10/10.

Don't Stop - It is basically Waterfall but reversed and new lyrics added over the top. It is a psychedelic sorta tune, if a cynic was to pick any form of hole in the album it would be with this song - some may label it pointless. I label it genius. 8/10

Bye Bye Badman - Another one for the summer, one of the lesser known tracks from the album and it shuffles along very nicely. The guitar sounding almost heavenly. The drumming once again sounding top notch. For nearly any other band it would be killer but compared to the other songs so far, it is actually a filler but still, what a tune. 8.5/10.

Elizabeth My Dear - 56 seconds short. A snipe at the Queen. Has clear hallmarks of Second Coming. A very good song that gets the point across. The royalty is bobbins. 8/10.

(Song for my) Sugar Spun Sister - Brown mumbles through the verses but the chorus he is clear. I think this is a bit of a urine extraction - "Every member of parliament trips on glue..." I still like the song, it is yet another one for just laying by the sea/pool/pond/puddle in your garden and just relaxing to. 8/10

Made of Stone - This really is a sign of things to come for Second Coming. A sinister song that gives you the impression that anyone living life in a gutter will be picked up by this song. A melodic chorus and a haunting guitar solo. This song isn't just a killer, it is a serial murderer. 10/10.

Shoot You Down - The song fades in with a drum loop, the bass enters and the guitar chimes. It is a much more lighter version I Wanna Be Adored. It is a song that could send you to sleep as Brown's vocals are ALMOST angelic! And everything just seems to be turned down a notch, as if these four cheeky chaps are up after their bedtime, sneaking into a garage and performing a great pop song. Exactly what they have done. 9/10.

This Is The One - This song is a five minute link to the grand finalé in my opinion. It bobbles along nicely enough. Most bands would have accepted this as a dream come true for an album finisher. The song almost seems effortless, as if they have written lyrics and then just started jamming, then Brown just comes in with vocals from nowhere. His vocals are so calmer than other songs, like Shoot You Down. He is either uninterested or really cool here because he just goes through this like a routine. About halfway through the song picks up and starts getting more rocky. Reni provides beautiful backing vocals (as he has done in most songs in this album). 8/10.

Fools Gold - Nearly 10 minutes. Nearly 10 minutes of genius. A real psychedelic tune again here, Squire comes into his own with the riffs and solos here. The little known Hendrix in my opinion. Words can't describe how this song lasts 9 minutes 54 seconds, it feels like a 4 minute standard song but Squire's amazing guitar playing just carries you all the way through. The drum loop just keeps your head nodding. The bass gets your foot tapping. The singing and lyrics get you mouthing along. It is everything that you would want for a change of music taste. 10/10.

I Am The Resurrection - And I am the light. This transcends the album here. It is the perfect album finisher. The greatest f*ck off song ever known to man. "I am the resurrection and I am the light, I could never bring myself to hate you as I'd like..." Fantastic chorus, really should be on any greatest hits compilation for songs lasting over 8 minutes. How this song isn't known to the world today is beyond me. 10/10.

This is a must buy for any true music fan, the guitar licks, the drum loops, the bass intros, the harmonic voice and last and certainly not least, the abstract but still brilliant lyrics. If you see this in any shop for less than £10 then you have got yourself a great deal. If I could give the album 11/10 then I would but I'll have to settle with giving it 10/10.

B-U-Y. T-H-I-S. A-L-B-U-M.