Second Coming (The Stone Roses album)

Second Coming is the second and final studio album by English rock band the Stone Roses, released through Geffen Records on 5 December 1994 in the UK.[1] It was recorded at Forge Studios in Oswestry, Shropshire and Rockfield Studios near Monmouth, Wales between 1992 and 1994. It went platinum in the UK, sold over 1 million copies worldwide and was dedicated to Philip Hall, the band's publicist, who died of cancer in 1993.

Second Coming
Studio album by
the Stone Roses
Released5 December 1994 (1994-12-05)[1]
Recorded1992–1994
Genre
Length78:38
LabelGeffen
Producer
  • Simon Dawson
  • Paul Schroeder
The Stone Roses chronology
Turns Into Stone
(1992)		 Second Coming
(1994)		 The Complete Stone Roses
(1995)
Singles from Second Coming
  1. "Love Spreads"
    Released: 21 November 1994
  2. "Ten Storey Love Song"
    Released: 27 February 1995
  3. "Begging You"
    Released: 30 October 1995

Background

The second album by the Manchester four-piece, it suffered greatly at the time from the sheer weight of expectation generated by both the 5½ year gap between it and the band's eponymous debut, and the band's withdrawal from the live arena for 4½ of those years. There had been speculation in the British press that the high expectations from their debut record had left the band "paralyzed with self-doubt" according to LA Times pop music critic Robert Hilburn.[3] In addition, the Stone Roses made their return to a changed musical environment, having to compete with a new generation of Britpop bands. The album reached number 4 in the UK Album Chart.[4]

Three singles ("Love Spreads", "Ten Storey Love Song", and "Begging You") from the album were released in the UK.

Artwork

The album cover, created by Squire, features a dark, fabric-like collage of photographs, artwork, text and symbols. Most notable is a stone cherub, taken from a photograph of those found on the Newport Town Bridge, smoking a cigarette. The original photograph was later used for the "Love Spreads" single, and also featured in the CD itself in monochrome. The liner notes feature black and white photographs of the band members as children.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[6]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[7]
The Guardian[8]
Los Angeles Times[9]
NME6/10[10]
Q[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]
Select4/5[13]
Spin6/10[14]

Second Coming was released to generally mixed reviews in the UK and US.[3] Rolling Stone awarded the record two out of five stars, calling its songs "tuneless retropsychedelic grooves bloated to six-plus minutes in length."[3] The Los Angeles Times were more positive, however, praising John Squire's "inspired guitar work" and concluding that "while the album's impact is undercut by some tunes that seem little more than fragments, the standouts offer a soulful earnestness as they speak of the search for salvation and comfort amid the tension and uncertainty of contemporary life."[9]

Select ranked the album at number twelve in its end-of-year list of the 50 best albums of 1995.[15]

Track listing

All tracks are written by John Squire, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Breaking into Heaven" 11:21
2."Driving South" 5:09
3."Ten Storey Love Song" 4:29
4."Daybreak"Ian Brown, Gary Mounfield, Squire, Alan Wren6:33
5."Your Star Will Shine" 2:59
6."Straight to the Man"Brown3:15
7."Begging You"Squire, Brown4:56
8."Tightrope" 4:27
9."Good Times" 5:40
10."Tears" 6:50
11."How Do You Sleep" 4:59
12."Love Spreads" 5:46
90."The Foz" (hidden track)Brown, Mounfield, Squire, Wren6:26

Personnel

The Stone Roses

  • Ian Brown – lead vocals, harmonica, recording of running water on "Breaking into Heaven"
  • John Squire – electric and acoustic guitars, vocals on "Tightrope", backing vocals on "How Do You Sleep", recording of jets on "Begging You", collage
  • Mani – bass guitar
  • Reni – drums, backing vocals, vocals on "Tightrope", recording of running water on "Breaking into Heaven"

Technical personnel

  • Simon Dawson – keyboards, Jew's harp on "Straight to the Man", castanets, Wurlitzer electric piano on "Straight to the Man" and "Tears", acoustic piano on "How Do You Sleep" and "Love Spreads"; production, engineering on tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 12
  • Paul Schroeder – production on tracks 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, engineering on tracks 1, 2, 6, 9
  • John Leckie – partly responsible for recording on tracks 3, 7, 11, recording on "Breaking into Heaven" intro
  • Mark Tolle – initial recording on tracks 4, 8, 10
  • Al "Bongo" Shaw – initial recording on tracks 4, 8, 10
  • Nick Brine – assistant engineering; tambourine on "Love Spreads"

Charts
Chart performance for Second Coming
Chart (1994–1995) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] 17
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17] 35
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[18] 24
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[19] 61
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] 57
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[21] 38
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 26
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 35
UK Albums (OCC)[4] 4
US Billboard 200[24] 47

References
  1. Johnson, Johnny (February 1995). "Coming Out". Vox. pp. 14–19. Archived from the original (print) on 12 March 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  2. Trendell, Andrew (8 April 2014). "Britpop is 20: ten 1994 albums that started it all". Gigwise. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  3. Hilburn, Robert (5 February 1995). "POP MUSIC : The Roses Bloom Again". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015.
  4. "Official Charts - The Stone Roses". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  5. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Second Coming – The Stone Roses". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  6. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Stone Roses". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  7. Jackson, Devon (20 January 1995). "Second Coming". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  8. Sullivan, Caroline (9 December 1994). "CD of the week: Stone Roses (You've waited five years, but is it any good?)". The Guardian.
  9. Hilburn, Robert (15 January 1995). "The Bloom Is Back on Stone Roses". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  10. Harris, John (12 October 1994). "The Stone Roses – Second Coming". NME. Archived from the original on 11 March 2000. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  11. Kelly, Danny (February 1995). "The Stone Roses: Second Coming". Q. No. 101.
  12. Wolk, Douglas (2004). "The Stone Roses". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 785. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  13. Hall, Matt (February 1995). "The Led and How to Swing It". Select. No. 56. pp. 80–81. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  14. Bernstein, Jonathan (March 1995). "The Stone Roses: Second Coming". Spin. Vol. 10, no. 12. pp. 94–95. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  15. "50 Albums of the Year". Select. No. 67. January 1996. pp. 78–79. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  16. "Australiancharts.com – The Stone Roses – Second Coming". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  17. "Austriancharts.at – The Stone Roses – Second Coming" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  18. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 7782". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  19. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Stone Roses – Second Coming" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  20. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Stone Roses – Second Coming" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  21. "Charts.nz – The Stone Roses – Second Coming". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  22. "Swedishcharts.com – The Stone Roses – Second Coming". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  23. "Swisscharts.com – The Stone Roses – Second Coming". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  24. "The Stone Roses Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
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