20th Century Records: The Stone Roses


ARTIST: The Stone Roses

ALBUM: The Stone Roses

YEAR: 1989

GENRE: Alt-Rock, Alt-Dance, Alt-Rave


AllMusic Review

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Since the Stone Roses were the nominal leaders of Britain's "Madchester" scene— an indie rock phenomenon that fused guitar pop with drug-fueled rave and dance culture— it's rather ironic that their eponymous debut only hints at dance music. What made the Stone Roses important was how they welcomed dance and pop together, treating them as if they were the same beast. Equally important was the Roses' cool, detached arrogance, which was personified by Ian Brown's nonchalant vocals. Brown's effortless malevolence is brought to life with songs that equal both his sentiments and his voice— "I Wanna Be Adored," with its creeping bassline and waves of cool guitar hooks, doesn't demand adoration, it just expects it. Similarly, Brown can claim "I Am the Resurrection" and lie back, as if there were no room for debate. But the key to The Stone Roses is John Squire's layers of simple, exceedingly catchy hooks and how the rhythm section of Reni and Mani always imply dance rhythms without overtly going into the disco. On "She Bangs the Drums" and "Elephant Stone," the hooks wind into the rhythm inseparably— the '60s hooks and the rolling beats manage to convey the colorful, neo-psychedelic world of acid house. Squire's riffs are bright and catchy, recalling the British Invasion while suggesting the future with their phased, echoey effects. The Stone Roses was a two-fold revolution— it brought dance music to an audience that was previously obsessed with droning guitars, while it revived the concept of classic pop songwriting, and the repercussions of its achievement could be heard throughout the '90s, even if the Stone Roses could never achieve this level of achievement again.


John Heins

John is the co-founder of CraftHaüs Design and the BrüFrou: craft beer & culinary pairing events. When he's not helping businesses with marketing strategy & design execution, he enjoys photography & slinging around some semi-coherent words to share his culinary experiences in Boulder, CO & beyond.

http://www.CraftHa.us
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20th Century Records: Somethin' Else

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21st Century Records: Live Wide Open