Saturday, October 15, 2016

Stone Roses - Second Coming - 1994

Having gotten into the Stone Roses too late to appreciate their debut and rise to fame, I eagerly anticipated their release of Second Coming.  We all know that Second Coming was a long time coming, so by the time this hit the shelves, the craze was through the roof.  I prepared myself to me amazed....

Meh.

I thought my dreams had come true while I listened to Breaking Into Heaven for the first time.  And, by all rights, it's a spectacular song, one of their best.  But, as the album progressed, I began to wonder why I had even gotten so excited.  Yes, the songs are better than a lot of other songs by a lot of other artists, and this album still ranks up there in one of the best Brit Rock albums.  But, I would probably put it in the 120s or 130s in ranking.  I expected way more than I got.

Yes, I still collected all the singles and all the b-sides, and I know this album inside and out.  But, when I think of the best of the Stone Roses, hardly anything comes from this album.  Sorry, guys.

But, if you are a Ian Brown/Stone Roses completist, you have to have it.  I even have those shitty albums by John Squire, too....

5 comments:

  1. Should be "How Do You Sleep", not "Hou". :) And I think track 90 was called "The Foz"?

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  2. This is why Photoshop needs spell check. Curses Curses.

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  3. I was so disappointed in this when it came out. I loved their first album so much -- pretty much every track on it was absolutely amazing -- but this one just felt like a letdown.

    Though to be honest, my favorite SR track wasn't on either album - that would be "Sally Cinnamon." Far and away their best song, at least for me!

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  4. It's one of the most underrated albums ever, IMO, it would have to be in my top 5 albums of all time (I'm 47, btw). Debut album wouldn't rank top 100. It's what ISN'T on that album - Fool's Gold, One Love, Sally, So Young, Tell Me, hell, even Elephant Stone isn't on it.

    You're right about John Squire's singing - he can't, unlike say, Bernard Butler. Marshall's House has great guitar, but when he opens his mouth - Oh dear.

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  5. Gonna download it and give it another shot.... this has always been an album I feel nothing but disappointment towards. I reckon there are about 3 great songs, 2 good songs and a WHOOOLE lot of filler on it. Oddly, 2 of the b-sides (from 10 Story Love Song - "Moses" and "Ride On") are quite class and could easily have replaced some of the wankier stuff that made the cut.
    I recall hating the 2 b-sides on the "Love Spreads" 12-inch single that I sold it in a hurry. Of course, these days I wish I had held onto it, sure I only got a dollar or two in trade-value back then...

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