The greatest
GZA | London | 01/15/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Finally, a comprehensive retrospective of the Stone Roses has been released, that encompasses their early singles, `Sally Cinnamon' and `Elephant Stone', through to `Second Coming'. Unfortunately its release seems to have got lost in the pre-Christmas rush of greatest hits albums (Nirvana, U2 etc). That the Stone Roses outshone all of these bigger selling bands will no doubt be overlooked by a generation who weren't old enough to remember how exciting 1989 felt because of them, but if you aren't familiar with the incredible music that this band produced, please buy this album - it is stunning.The idea of The Stone Roses was first formed when lead singer Ian Brown met guitar god John Squire in a Salford sandpit when the two were children. Through formative musical collaborations The Patrol (in which Brown played bass guitar) and The Angry Young Teddybears(!), the two lifelong friends eventually formed The Stone Roses (Ian Brown has explained the name thus - "Underneath the desert, the sand is blown by the wind and forms what are called desert stone roses. The name was thought up by John Squire") and a legend was born. With Brown now on vocal duties, Squire growing into the mould of a true guitar hero and Van Halen loving drummer Reni joining the two, together with the irrepressible Mani on bass, the classic four piece line up was formed in 1987.The birth of the nascent Roses coincided with the start of Madchester, when the whole of northern England, it seemed, wore flares and beanie hats and danced like gibbons. Along with fellow Mancunians Happy Mondays and Inspiral Carpets, the Roses inspired a whole generation of youngsters with their cool clothes, insouciant attitude and exhilirating music. The release of their debut long-player, `The Stone Roses', in 1989, cemented their reputation as a truly thrilling prospect, the critics recognising the fusion of influences as diverse as sixties beat pop, folk and psychedelia with something inimitably their own, and lauding them as the saviours of British guitar music. The band's live shows also began to be talked about as the stuff of legend. These were not traditional gigs - these were events which lingered long in the memory. After a protracted courtroom battle to disengage themselves from a record deal with Silvertone, inter-band politics saw rifts developing between Brown, Squire and Reni (to this day most of what went on is shrouded in mystery). `Second Coming' eventually came out in 1994, but by then the bubble had burst. Oasis had seized the zeitgeist and The Stone Roses were by now just another guitar band. After various bad decisions and misfortunes, Reni and then John Squire jumped ship, and in 1996 the band called it a day.This best of collection has virtually all of the strongest tracks from `The Stone Roses' except perhaps `Sugar Spun Sister'. It also contains most of the better tracks from their inconsistent second album, including the awesome `Breaking Into Heaven', as well as singles `Fools Gold' and `One Love'. `The Very Best Of...' is a great showcase for the the alchemic songwriting partnership of John Squire and Ian Brown. `Fools Gold', `I Wanna Be Adored' and `I am the Resurrection' still stand up as some of the best music ever produced, at once beautiful, exhilirating, arrogant and menacing - a legacy that few bands will ever match. The Stone Roses burnt briefly but brilliantly. Though bands like The Beatles, The Stones, Led Zeppellin and Radiohead have had longer careers and a greater output, none of them burnt as white hot as the Stone Roses between 1988-90. Though British music went through something of a low point between 1991 and 1994, Britpop was clearly the legacy of The Roses, and bands such as Oasis, The Charlatans, The Bluetones and The Verve owe a massive debt to messrs Squire, Brown, Mounfield and Wren. None of these bands can hold a light to the Stone Roses, however: kick off your shoes, put this album on the stereo, crank up the volume, sit back, and remind yourself how life-affirming music can be."
Ignore the hype of the other reviews
Steven Draa | Pine Mtn. Club, Ca United States | 01/31/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This record is missing some of the most important tracks. From a song-writing stand point, this fails. 3 stars because it is the roses, period. Missing are: Driving South, Tears (enough to give it 2 stars if it were any other band), Daybreak, Something's burning, How do you sleep, and many more.Comprehensive???? A resounding NO WAY!!!!!! Classic??? Nope! Good, sure.TRUST ME: Buy the debuet cd and also 'second coming' along with 'turns into stone', and that is all you need. Walk away and enjoy all that the Roses have to offer. A great band that ended far to early, but not without setting the bar high above the mundane music world.Draa"
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1