I was introduced to the Roses by my cousin on a 15 hour bus ride from Detroit to Southern Ohio, and it was a pretty great headphone moment. Listening to Waterfall and Elephant Stone while watching the sun set over the Ohio countryside. I remember it like it was a Wes Anderson Movie.
At that time, I hadn’t really listened to any of the mid-to-late Eighties English bands (not even The Cure) and I remember being taken aback by the noisiness of all that reverb and how they could sound so vintage and new at the same time. I repaid the favor to my cousin by introducing him to the Violent Femmes, specifically Add it Up. Natch.
The Stone Roses have a gold mine of great tracks but I am going with I Am The Resurrection because it’s rhythm seemed to be the most relational to the Love & Rockets track. I particularly love the grooviness of the bass lines throughout and the hugeness of the drums and guitar.
Plus I am a sucker for long songs (especially as they appear early in a track line up, Wilco’s Spiders (Kidsmoke) I am looking at you). I also love the fake ending at the 5:26 minute mark. That could have easily been the end of the song. But they said “hell no, there is still more awesome left in this track, let’s get it out”. I can only imagine what this would have been like to see live.
r. smigielski
Filed under: Vol 02, Mixtape, NEIMT, Stone Roses
