The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses 20th Anniversary Reissue

Silvertone Records / Sony Music

August 23, 2009, 06:06 PM

The Stone Roses mean many different things to many people. They were a band for a generation much as others that have gone before. They were THE band of their time and had an impact in the lives of those who came into contact with them. I was not of the Stone Roses generation but I am part of the next generation whose own generational heroes would not have reaped the benefits of their musical landscape if The Stone Roses hadn't sowed the seeds. It is for that reason that I became aware and enthralled by their debut masterpiece.

I recall going to my local pub with my best friend and every single time we went he would stroll up to the jukebox stick in two quid and play the album in it's entirety much to the bewilderment and annoyance of the old security guard. To us this was just bliss, mates together enjoying a drink and swaggering to a band that had long since strolled off somewhat shambolicly into the sunset. But it's this that made the Stone Roses' stand out from the scene that they had an impact on 20 years ago and that is still felt and longed for. The fact that as a 16 year-old I could stick on an album already 10 years old and totally identify with it made The Stone Roses a classic album.

We want to be the first band on the moon - Ian Brown

And so here we are 20 years on and the eponymous Stone Roses debut album is already 20 years old and looking good for it's age and, of course more importantly sounding as monumental as ever with it's new sheen still carrying that arrogance and invincibility around it's neck like a badge of honour as impactfully as ever. Going back to the album it's hard to gleam anything new from it; instead it's more likely to reinforce all those feelings you had about it the first time. I'm not going to sit here and trawl through the album track by track as there's really no need just go stick it on and let your mind do the work for you as you take a trip from the rumbling delirious-ness of 'I Wanna Be Adored' through to the truly biblical 'I Am The Resurrection' via the Stone Roses' favourite trick (going backwards) 'Don't Stop', assassination 'Elizabeth My Dear', and the track that out Beatles The Beatles '(Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister'. It's all in there and all still exactly as you remember it, in fact scratch that. It's now better than you remember it - flawless.

The Stone Roses is a seminal piece of work that mixed melancholia with psychedelia and punk rock with grooves. It took everyone's conceptions of music and how it should be played and shattered them to pieces. People wouldn't have stood for indie guitar types doing dance music till the Stone Roses' gave them 'Fools Gold' and the second disc in this collection reiterates the diversity and growth of the Stone Roses from the backwards mind-bending of 'Full Fathom Five' and 'Guernica' that are a challenge to listen to but showed the single-mindedness the band had about what they did. Everything had to be absolute excellence or it was rejected so you know your only hearing solid gold whilst also hearing an evolution that despite only lasting two years, left a lifetime of legend. Just listen to 'One Love'; it shows a progression from the likes of 'Mersey Paradise's youthful exuberance that it's hard to believe the small time-scale this all took place in. Also you'll hear a band that just grew with a gang mentality. They had the absolute perfect line-up where elements of each quarter brought out the best in the others. Despite being technically not the most gifted the Stone Roses' worked together creating a heroic communal feel to their music through their own relationship.

I've never been with a band who had so much confidence - John Leckie

Listening to the demos throws up the obvious that the quality is fairly poor and the songs are still lacking fluidity. There is still much to take from them listening to Ian Brown's almost childlike voice and taking in Mani and Reni as they look to gel possibly the greatest rhythm section together. 'I Wanna Be Adored' retains it's brooding intro, 'Bye Bye Badman' is almost mournful yet simplistic and Brown has never really sounded more soulful, 'Shoot You Down' has a tribal drum element to it that Radiohead have clearly stolen for 'There There', and with 'One Love' and 'Something's Burning' you can tell there's more polish to the band now and that they are hitting the ground running. But it's new track 'Pearl Bastard' that the fans have been hankering after and whilst it isn't quite the great lost classic that no doubt some had hoped for it's certainly a worthy addition but would clearly have only ever been b-side material. It's a slow lament with a typically understated Brown vocal singing "I couldn't see, sand in my eyes / The noise I made drowned out the tide / But no-one came I was all alone" and Mani powering it along with his all-conquering bass. Nothing new or exciting to some but to others this is classic Stone Roses.

The debut album showed that the Stone Roses had a heartfelt belief in their music and a single-minded vision to be the best. They bridged the gap between cultures and gave the public the kind of music that they not only wanted but could believe in it, could believe in the people making it as they were just like them, and could believe in the sentiment because they all suffered the same struggles. The Stone Roses' helped lift the barricades of depression and allowed everyone to stroll on with just a little more swagger than the world felt they deserved. Now 20 years on we are all still walking with that little extra swagger and on listening to this masterpiece it's easy to see why.

Tracklisting
CD 1
1. I Wanna Be Adored
2. She Bangs The Drums
3. Waterfall
4. Don't Stop
5. Bye Bye Badman
6. Elizabeth My Dear
7. (Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister
8. Made Of Stone
9. Shoot You Down
10. This Is The One
11. I Am The Resurrection

CD 2 - The Extras
1. Elephant Stone
2. Full Fathom Five
3. The Hardest Thing In The World
4. Going Down
5. Guernica
6. Mersey Paradise
7. Standing Here
8. Simone
9. Fools Gold
10. What The World Is Waiting For
11. One Love
12. Something's Burning
13. Where Angels Play

CD3 - The Lost Demos
1. I Wanna Be Adored
2. She Bangs The Drums
3. Waterfall
4. Bye Bye Badman
5. Sugar Spun Sister
6. Shoot You Down
7. This Is The One
8. I Am The Resurrection
9. Elephant Stone
10. Going Down
11. Mersey Paradise
12. Where Angels Play
13. Something's Burning
14. One Love
15. Pearl Bastard

CD 4 - Backward Tracks
1. Untitled 1
2. Untitled 2
3. Untitled 3
4. Untitled 4
5. Untitled 5

The Collector's Edition
(3CD / 3LP / DVD / 2GB USB / 1 BOOK / 6 ART PRINTS)

• A super deluxe 12" album folder, slipcased with embossing and gold foil.
• Wrapped in classic John Squire artwork throughout.
• Includes the re-mastered album, re-mastered Extras (including all AA's and B Sides) PLUS album of LOST DEMOS (including one previously unheard track, Pearl Bastard)
• 3 x 180 gsm heavyweight vinyls.
• DVD of the legendary Blackpool gig from 1989, plus 6 promo videos
• Lemon shaped USB containing all audio, previously unseen John Leckie home video footage of the recording of Fools Gold, promo videos, ringtones, wallpapers AND 5 previously unheard 'Backwards' tracks.
• 48-page bound book, crammed full of unseen photos and brand new notes from the band, John Leckie, those involved 20 years ago and high profile fans of the album telling their stories of it, including Noel Gallagher, Mark Ronson, Tim Burgess, Bobby Gillespie and many more.
• 6 x 12" John Squire single art prints of I Wanna Be Adored, She Bangs The Drums, Elephant Stone, Fools Gold, I Am The Resurrection & Made Of Stone

The Legacy Edition
(2CD / DVD)

• Re-mastered original album, The Lost Demos album + live in Blackpool DVD
• Deluxe slipcased hard-backed ecol book packaging 28-page booklet including comments from Ian Brown, Reni, Mani, John Leckie, liner notes by John Robb + previously unseen photos of the band

The Special Edition
(1CD)

• Re-mastered original album + Fool's Gold 9:53 (full length version)

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