The Stone Roses “The Stone Roses” released 30 years ago today, May 2nd, 1989. I forgot I had a copy of the Stone Roses’ breakout debut album! (It’s been buried in a drawer of cassettes that hasn’t seen the light of day since the mid-90′s.) Jangly neo-psychedelic Brit pop, The Stone Roses was a slow-burning hit that eventually thrust them, and the “new” Manchester scene onto the international scene (albeit briefly, The Stone Roses disbanded in ‘96, though did reunite for a tour in 2012). One of my favorite tracks is “Waterfall” which the Roses released as one of several singles from the album; it went to #27 in the UK. They also released “Elephant Stone” (this track did not appear on the original UK The Stone Roses but is on my US cassette version), “Made of Stone,” “She Bangs the Drums” (which went to #34 in the UK), “I Wanna Be Adored” (released as a single in the US in 1990 where it went to #18 on the Modern Rock chart) and “I Am the Resurrection” which wasn’t released until 1992 in the UK where it went to #33. That final single has been called one of “The 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever” (NME) and one of the Greatest Guitar Tracks (Q).

Allmusic says about The Stone Roses: “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.”