Stone Roses – Second Coming

It’s an urban myth that the Stone Roses peaked with their first album, 1989’s Stone Roses. This may be controversial but, to me, their eponymous debut reads more like an early singles collection than an album proper. Yes, those singles were astounding, groundbreaking, excellent, but the capabilities of each Roses individual is pushed to the limit in a positive way on Second Coming.

If you don’t know the story by now, then you never will. Unless you read on, of course. The Stone Roses almost split countless times after the release of their first album, with the rift between singer Ian Brown and guitarist John Squire never properly healed to this day. It took five and a half years for their second album, the aptly titled Second Coming, to materialise. A combination of drugs and different directions were dragging Brown and Squire apart, but their parting shot was nothing short than magical.

Second Coming was obviously going to be the band’s “difficult second album”, especially with the deserved adulation heaped upon the band after their baggy anthem-filled debut. Their experimentation with the blues feel, headed by Squire, was panned by critics, who were disappointed with the new sounds and the glaring contrast between the first album and this. There are no “sore-thumb” tracks that stand out begging to be a single; this is a fluid album, delicate, intricate and subtle.

Opener Breaking Into Heaven is Brown’s manifesto: “I’m gonna break right into heaven/I can’t wait anymore… I have a dream/I’ve seen the light”. The extensive jamming and improvisation that we heard a glimpse of on Stone Roses’ lengthy epic I Am The Resurrection is played out with less inhibition on Second Coming. It is minutes before the song proper begins, segued cleanly into after a load of disconcerting monkey noises (something of a pun on Brown’s nickname, King Monkey).

With the first track acting as a veritable introduction to the album, we start again at track two with the rolling bassy riffs of Driving South. Sounding like Jimi Hendrix’s exuberant blues blended carefully with Johnny Marr’s pop sensibility, Squire takes to the helm on this track; it soon becomes apparent to the listener that this is most definitely Squire’s album.

The heartfelt indie ballad Ten Storey Love Song is next, with Brown’s crooning pairing with drummer Reni’s angelic harmonies. This folds gently into pounding funk-out Daybreak, with bassist Mani’s lines underpinning the song’s groovy exterior. That Beatlesy feel runs all through Your Star Will Shine, a quiet and slow affair – less gutsy and rousing than Ten Storey Love Song but similarly heartfelt.

Track six, Straight To The Man, follows Daybreak’s lead but is more chilled-out and has an aura of ’stoned’ about it. Begging You is so indie-dance; bands like The Music have been well-informed by tracks like this. Brown’s soft laments are layered across stuttering, psychedelic guitar riffs and speedy drumming. The bluesy-folk of Tightrope continues the erratic switching between fast and slow on the album’s tracklisting. Tightrope has a live feel to it, with voices painted onto a strummed guitar and simple percussion. This is The Roses stripped bare and hiding behind nothing.

Up-tempo Good Times is one of the stand-out tracks from Second Coming; it starts with a slow blues tune over drums and bass, before Squire’s standard Roses riff comes in and takes the song to full speed. It reminds me most of early single Made Of Stone with its stature and effect, combined with Squire’s guitar noodling. The heart-rending Tears is possibly a nod to the impending “second split” that bthe band would soon face: “I’ve seen the future in the tracks of your tears”.

How Do You Sleep continues the album’s trend of chilled out balladeering, the song’s negative subject matter juxtaposed with a major key melody, topped off with a grated Parmesan guitar solo. Love Spreads is the perfect end to this excellent album, its garage-rock blues riffs stolen straight from Detroit.

The extended jamming at the end just shows a band at its best – experimenting with styles and pushing the boundaries of the four-piece rock group. Though to some this album marks the demise of one of Britain’s favourite groups, I see it as The Stone Roses at their very best.