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
important was how they welcomed
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,
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
Mani
always imply
rhythms without overtly going into the disco. On
"She Bangs the Drums"
"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.
was a two-fold revolution -- it brought
music to an audience that was previously obsessed with droning guitars, while it revived the concept of classic
songwriting, and the repercussions of its achievement could be heard throughout the '90s, even if
could never achieve this level of achievement again. [
Stone Roses
was re-released on LP in the U.K. in 2014.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine