It's the morning after. Time for the reality check. We've had the euphoric homecoming gigs at Heaton Park. We've listened to fellow musicians eulogising the Roses' genius. The hyperbole has reached fever pitch with music press and stations like 6 Music reporting daily on the progress of the current tour before it finally reached home tuff this weekend.
We know the first album has taken on a near mythic status but what of it's follow up? Is it due a reassessment. Following the 5 and 1/2 year hiatus between albums THE SECOND COMING was recipient of reviews which were at best, ambivalent but frequently scathing. Due in part to the massive weight of expectation. So has it matured well, or is it still a mouldy bit of stinky blue(s) cheese?
Their first album begins with the low rumbling baseline of 'I Wanna Be Adored'. What follows it is a beautiful crafted debut album of compact, polished, guitar pop. THE SECOND COMING begins with five minutes of monkey noises, tribal drums and guitars noodling. You'd be forgiven for thinking Ant and Dec were about to pop out from behind a tree an holler "I'm a celebrity". You'll be thinking "get me out of here".
After 4'37" of jungle sound effects 'Breaking into Heaven' stutters into gear and we're off. It's a shaky start. Second track 'Driving South' would have been more confident opener, at least it's got some petrol in the tank. Reni show's off his mad drumming skills and guitar hero John Squire fires off classic Led Zep inspired guitar solos. Much more like it lads.
When 'Ten Story Love Song' kicks in you think you're on safe Stone Roses territory. Now we're cruising. It's the closest song to anything on their debut. A blissful love song with that spine tingling euphoric build reminiscent of 'Made Of Stone'. We're back on track. What's up next?
Daybreak. Oh dear. It's tortuous. A pub-band workout that should have stayed in the rehearsal rooms and out of the studio. Its the sort of cod-blues Steven Segal's been peddling of late. Sweaty, fat and horrible. Brown delivers a cringeworthy bag of lyrical cliches complete with "yeah, yeah, yeahs" and occasional "woos". His weak vocals left horribly exposed for all to see. At six turgid minutes it's not groovy, it's lumpen. A complete misfire.
Next up is the first of the two campfire acoustic tracks, the lovely 'Your Star Will Shine' and the subsequent 'Tightrope' are both terrific. 'Tightrope' providing you can have an a bit of swagger even when you're packing only acoustic guitars. However we must deduct points as 'Your Star...' was the B-side to the single Love Spreads.
We move on to 'Straight to the Man'. In which the Roses make horrible use of a twanging Jews Harp. That's right a Jew's Harp? This isn't the Blazing Saddles soundtrack guys. They may as well added a some cowbell! 'Straight to the Man' literally has no tune. Brown's vocals waver all over the place like he's trying to find the right note. To be fair he's probably singing all the right notes, just not in the right order*.
'Begging You' is up next. It thunders along nicely. Pounding looped basslines and drums. Unlike most of the album it actually sounded contemporary (for 1995). Where's as Fool's Gold was indie music inspired by house, 'Begging You' almost has an almost breakbeat feel to it. It could be a Chemical Brothers remix and there's not a blues riff in sight. Good Times.
Except the next track actually is called 'Good Times'. I think we should be the judge of that. Sadly it's more of the teeth-grindingly dull blues soloing that blighted earlier tracks. Bad Times.
Tears is another Led Zeppelin pastiche. Picked arpeggios, harmonicas and a slow build. Brown sings that he's "lost in a maze of my own making" which should be a metaphor for this album.
'Love Spreads' ends the album. It was the lead single and it's still sounds as brilliant as it did in 1994. Squire's soloing is dizzying and Browns delivery hold up well. It's a strong finish except there's a hidden track. Exciting!
Except it's not. Theres 86 four second tracks of silence separating 'Love Spreads' from the execrable 'The Foz'. Six minutes of coughing, out of tune piano plonking and squawking violins.
At 73 minutes THE SECOND COMING is a grind. By the time the last (hidden) track is over all you can feel is relief. Before I started listening this morning I hoped THE SECOND COMING it wasn't as bad as i remember. It's not the case. Despite some wonderful high it is largely a crushing disappointment. For my money it's still mostly a stinker.
*(c) Morecombe & Wise
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