Stone Roses - "Made Of Stone (director: Shane Meadows)” DVD

Doc on foppy Madchester fools

Manchester’s Stone Roses were partially responsible for one of the worst late 80s/early 90s music trends...the foppy, baggy-trousered “Madchester” scene that sadly tried to meld acid house club music with slackerly psychedelic rock. These guys inspired some even more insipid acts (anybody remember the atrocious Inspiral Carpets?), and even the notoriously  pompous Gallagher boys took the Roses’ self-congratulatory praises themselves all too seriously, and all the way to the bank with their vastly overrated Oasis. Any band who heralds themselves as "the best band in the world" or “better than the Beatles” deserves a swift kick in the nads, right?

The Stone Roses, however, despite becoming a huge (and hyped) act with the release of their 1st self-titled LP in 1989, could never quite rise above, with label and personal squabbling taking a fatal toll on the group as soon as fame and fortune raised their greedy heads.

This documentary traces an ill-fated 2012 reunion that brought the members together for some high profile gigs, only to see attitudes tear up the band again. Fans (anybody out there?) will be enlightened by this well done doc, but others unconvinced of the brilliance of the Stone Roses (me) will want to steer clear.

MVD Visual

Stone Roses site

Happy Mondays - "Hallelujah It's The Happy Mondays" CD/DVD

In their late 80s/early 90s heyday, Manchester's Happy Mondays were the leading distillers of funky, dance-edged, drug-fuelled club rock music. Mainman Shaun Ryder was notorious for being well off his rocker, and an ardent student of heroin, booze, and pills -- enough to make him (and his band of fellow partiers) tabloid fodder numerous times. The band seemed to implode as much due to their well-noted excesses as from the music scene changing (remember this was the pre-Nirvana era).

This extravagant double-disc set was recorded in 2004, at a reunion show in Barcelona, and presents all the band's hits and favorites. We get soulful, loose, laid-back (and even fittingly sloppy) versions of "Kinky Afro", "Step On", "Hallelujah", "WFL (Wrote For Luck)","24 Hour Party People", and more. Shaun Ryder is as unhinged, off-key, and slackerly as ever. Nonetheless, the sound is solid and well-mixed, so fans will definitely be pleased. The DVD I can't comment on, as my promotional copy of the DVD had a hole bored through it! (Secret Records UK)

Happy Mondays Online