Stone Roses, The

I can't believe I haven't already posted a comment here.

Opinion may well be divided on which of the two is their best album - Rich C is uncommited, the rest of the world agrees, its their first. The first album is much more experimental than the second, and the first isn't really experimental at all. They weren't an experimental band. They were very much a derivative band. Having said that, they were phenomenal. They very much defined an era - the culmination of 80s British indie, with its nod to 60s rock, pop, psychedelia and funk and 70s punk and post-punk and the embracing of techno, house and rave. What a time. British music hasn't moved on at all from that era of techno and indie. Its been rip off and shite ever since.

Their first album, unoriginal as it is, is the greatest pop/rock/whatever album ever released. 11 songs, all of them superb. A 100% return. I doubt any other album has that return.

If the Happy Mondays bought an element of the Rolling Stones back to Manchester then the Stone Roses had an element of The Beatles in them. Formed in the late 1980s The Stone roses defined a generation, before all that Madchester crap by Oasis that was to follow the Roses were genuinely a gifted set of muscians. The house inspired beats of Reni to the Jimmy Page, Hendrix-esque guitar of John Squire made for some memorable tracks ....elephant stone, fools gold, she bangs the drums, waterfall to name a few, add to this the sharp bass of Mani and the swagger of Ian Brown all together made for one of the greatest bands of all time.
Opinions may be divided as to which is their best album, certainly Second Coming was something alot more experimental and different compared to their previous work, alot of tracks of this album have that kind of sing along around the camp fire feel to them, but they are still well written and delivered. Disbanded in the late 1990s the Roses were never to reform, not even for the 20th anniversary, Brown has other commitments and Squire has continued his artwork, [it was his Jackson Pollock designs which featured on the front covers of the singles & albums if you didnt know].