Das Review

All reviews by Felley unless otherwise stated...

The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses (Silvertone)

1989

Tracklist

1. I Wanna Be Adored
2. She Bangs The Drums
3. Waterfall
4. Don't Stop
5. Bye Bye Badman
6. Elizabeth My Dear
7 (Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister
8. Made Of Stone
9. Shoot You Down
10. This Is The One
11. I Am The Resurrection

If I was asked to sum up this album in one word, it would be "Amazing". It truly is that.

From the eerie, industrius charm of the way "I Wanna Be Adored" snakes into the atmosphere to the harder, faster blasts of the way "I Am The Resurrection" climbs into the stratosphere, this album is pure genius.

But theres more to it than the first and last songs. She Bangs The Drums is the perfect guitar pop song, rocking and so full of energy, yet beautiful at the same time. Waterfall follows suit capturing guitar sound not heard since the late 1960's. But then a bit of a wild card, Don't Stop serves as the anithesis to Waterfall, infact it is the song in reverse, with forward vocals and drumming. Pretty psychedelic you may think, but although it has charm, a bit disappointing to alot of fans. Bye Bye Badman is a song that John Squire and Ian Brown wrote about the French student riots in Paris in 1967-68 and the image of a lemon and French flag on the album cover, is derived from this. Apparently, the French rioters sucked on lemons in order to counter the effects of the CS gas used against them. Although the imagery promoted by the song is dark to an extent, the song (like so many others by The Roses) manages to encapsulate the charming uplift of pop melodies with (this time) almost country-like guitar playing. Elizabeth My Dear is arguably a filler, a rework of Simon & Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair" where Mr. Brown has changed the lyrics so they have a distinct anti-Monarch feel.

Personally it is at this point where the album changes, Elizabeth My Dear acting as an interlude, and the next 3 tracks being a build up to the penultimate This Is The One and the ultimate I Am The Resurrection. (Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister is the next track and once again The Roses prove that they have yet more charm up their sleeve. But it leads into perhaps the only song with a real down note attached to it, Made Of Stone charts the death of someone in a car accident (sometimes argued to be the Queen) as observed by Ian Brown from his flat in south Manchester. However the next track, Shoot You Down, is the opposite. It is relaxed, almost having a Hawaiian or at least tropical feel to it, makes you think of lying back on a beach on a Carribean island and watching the sun set, pure class. This Is The One is simply the most uplifting song ever written. Even after hearing it a million times, it makes the hairs on my neck stand on end...wonderful how it spirals up and up with the final climax being the way the drum beat to Resurrection comes in. I Am The Resurrection is the one you've waited for, a wolf in what originally is sheep's clothing, or to use a better analogy, a masterpiece disguised as just another beautiful Stone Roses song. I could talk for hours about this perfect ending to an album that has defined so much to me musically, but I will leave you to make your own decision, it is perfect, 8 minutes and 15 seconds of awe-inspiring class.

11/10 - Simply the greatest album ever.

The Music - The Music (Hut)

2002

Tracklist

1. The Dance
2. Take The Long Road And Walk It
3. Human
4. The Truth Is No Words
5. Float
6. Turn Out The Light
7. The People
8. Getaway
9. Disco
10. Too High

Declared by Noel Gallagher as "The best unsigned band in Britain" in 2000, The Music were quick to get a record deal and start releasing material.

This, their debut album, The Music, is what I can only describe as Psychedelic-Dance-Acid-Rock. The Led Zeppelin influences are wide open for all to see on some of these punching hard rock riffs, but there is an element of contemporary fusion which bring this band right up to date.

The album opens with The Dance, which that contemporary fusion of rock and electronic music which I mentioned, to create something which (as far as i'm concerned) is totally new. The next track Take The Long Road... is an instant classic. Catchy yet alternative, it got my attention and got me into the band. Human is much more mellow. An acid-rock vibe with slow melty guitar licks floating in the background, a thing of beauty. The Truth Is No Words is the real rocking song and upon its release saw lots of airplay. It will be the track that people remember The Music by until they produce something more catchy and rocking. (And I have faith, especially if the next track, Float, is anything to go by) This track is my favorite of the album, it typifies the Music's fusion of hard rock, pounding drum beats and ability to create a crescendo like no other band. Float is a five-minute-wonder-ride which gradually builds up into what I can only describe as a wall of white noise created by distortion and electronics, genius. Turn Out The Light is the second more laid back song on the album and possibly has the best guitar work. A great riff and some great vocals make a great song. The People was the first of The Musics releases of this debut album and was my favorite song they played live when I saw them, it really works, great stuff. The next track Getaway is slated by quite a few for being too repetitive and not really getting anywhere, I couldn't disagree more. The song gradually builds up, I find it really uplifting and another great reason to buy the album. The penultimate track Disco is probably my second favorite because I simply love the blatent energy that goes into all the instruments during that song, and a great catchy riff too. Listen to Disco to catch frontamn Robert Harvey climaxing on the vocals himself during the rocking crescendo of this song.

Track ten, Too High is a great end to the album combining the more mellow side with a great solo at the end which although wonderfully simplistic, sounds awesome

The Music are set to blast off and become one of experimental Rock's finest legends, buy their album if you dont have it.

9/10 - Great, but not the same class as The Beatles.

Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine (Epic)

1992

Tracklist

1. Bombtrack
2. Killing In The Name
3. Take The Power Back
4. Settle For Nothing
5. Bullet In The Head
6. Know Your Enemy
7. Wake Up
8. Fistful Of Steel
9. Township Rebeliion
10. Freedom

Rage. Against. The. Machine. These four words are bound to induce a reaction in any self respecting rock fan. Those who saw them live automatically climb the social ladder a rung or two. Those who missed the opportunity look on with envious disgust or sometimes awe. This band shaped the music scene of the late nineties with THE original rap-rock album.
Coming after 91s grunge defining Nevermind and making playing a guitar down by you knees and staring at your feet so last year, Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine was a wake up call for the rock scene. People stopped chain smoking and writing about wanting to die and started dancing again, bringing down the establishment like in the 70s and realising that there were more important things that needed doing in the world than felling sorry for themselves. Forget people saying Korn are the daddies of nu-metal, if anyone taught Linkin Park and Papa Roach how to rock and rap, it was the four men who gave birth to this album.
Opening with a funky bass solo from the uber-cool Timmy C, and quickly moving onto the punching riff of Bombtracks chorus, right from the start, it is obvious that this album is something special. Despite the riff being as chunky as f**k, it still maintains a certain rhythm that can be danced to AND moshed to simultaneously. The lyrics tell you what this band mean, the establishment, the man, is going down with cries of BURN! BURN! Yes your gonna burn!. The accessibility of this band mean that they could truly be considered revolutionary in bringing a new way of thinking to the rock massive.
Throughout this album, chunky riffs act as a punch bag to Zack de la Rochas lyrical onslaught: the students eyes dont perceive the lies bouncing off every f**king wall, is whispered sinisterly over a staccato riff before Take the Power Back (Track 3) does exactly what it says on the tin. His lyrics are insightful, thought-provoking and tight and his rapping technique is far superior to that of many of todays nu-metal rappers. Even when rapping quietly on the fourth track Settle for Nothing, his almost whispered words of political wisdom leave the same imprints in your mind as his tortured screams of , If we dont take action now, well settle for nothing later only highlighting the way this man has with words.
Dont think in any way this album is trying to achieve something it cant. It set out to wake up people, and did exactly that. Killing in the Name lowers the intellect a bit, but ups the influence ten fold. One of the most danceable riffs in metal history is ripped out over the war cry of F**K YOU I WONT DO WHAT YOU TELL ME! and the explosive cocktail is still igniting dance floors all over into a sense of together against the enemy mosh pitting and general mayhem.
This album could achieve its classic status on the basis of its excellent songwriting alone, but the icing on the cake come from the bizarre, inspired, amazing guitar techniques used by Tom Morello. A Harvard political history graduate, Tom decided as an early guitar player that he was going to push his instrument further than any six-stringer before. As a result the array of squeaks and wails that are released from his guitar and six (yes, six!) pedal rig is incredible. In songs such as Bullet in the Head and Township rebellion he manages to create the sound of a DJ scratching. It really does have to be heard to be believed. So much so, in fact, that there is one simple sentence in the inlay that incites more awe than any of Zacks lyrics: All sounds created by vocals, bass, drums, and guitar.
In my opinion, Tom Morellos guitar playing indicates perfectly why you should buy this album: technically, this is a solid album that would be well worth a look any day of the week. However, there is something in Zacks words, Toms guitar, Timmys Bass and Brad(Wilk)s drums that make this band stand head and shoulders above the crowd. If you have somehow managed to miss this album over the past decade, I urge, no INSIST that you go out and but this album now. You will not regret it.

10/10

Mike Ellis