Why? Why would the reformation of my favourite band frighten me? Well there are a number of reasons that make me wonder if all would be rosey in the Stone Roses garden if it happened.
There are also a number of reasons that leave my spine tingling.....lets look at both sides of the coin.
The bad
1. Ian Brown's singing
There is no denying it. Ian Brown's voice (never particularly strong and certainly helped by the backing vocals of Reni in the Roses) has gone backwards. Probably shot by years of heavy dope smoking.
Now I have seen and heard Ian Brown sing fantastically well, notably when he toured with the Complete Stone Roses as his backing band and played a string of Roses classics.
However I have also cringed at his vocals at times. Last year at Rock Ness I walked away from his set. His voice was truly awful. I was a little heart broken.
Brown also seems to try to compensate for this by continually asking the sound engineer to turn his mic up to the extent that it booms over everything else and distorts.
I can only hope that Brown has been taking singing lessons.
2. Are they only doing it for the money?
The Roses were shafted by Silvertone so they have never made the money they deserve for their debut album. However they got a fortune from Geffen for the Second Coming. There are still stories of Ian Brown walking round Manchester handing cash to the homeless.
Brown used to say they would only reform for charity. Brown's solo career has taken a dive, there is no denying that. The size of his concert venues have also dropped, understandably when his material isn't up to much, nor is his vocal performance.
Mani would do it at the drop of a hat, he would probably pay to do it.
Squire is making a living from his art, an alright one at that I would imagine considering his work is going for £5k plus for an original.
Reni has been very quiet since the Roses parted company with him. Although I did catch him at King Tuts fronting his band The Rub. They soon disappeared with Reni. I can't imagine Reni is particularly fond of Squire, but time is a healer and all that.
I don't think the Roses are only doing it for the money, they had and have too much soul and style for all that. They do have unfinished business though.
Could they do a tour and still all be friends though? There has been no love lost over the years between Squire and Brown.
3. Squire's art
Squire's artwork produced in March 2009 doesn't exactly say that he would never reform the Roses. It does however make his intentions clear - lets hope that if the Roses do reform that Squire doesn't let it end like it did at Reading in 1996 with fans walking away in tears as the group crumbled before them.
4. New material
Squire's post Roses output is pretty shit, lets be honest. That never stopped me going to see him live with The Seahorses or solo. But that was largely because I hoped to hear Roses tunes. There was one special secret show he played at Tuts when he came on looking cool as fuck and played the outro to resurrection before going into She Bangs The Drums and Waterfall. A special moment.
Brown has had his moments, notably with F.E.A.R and Be There (with Unkle). Moments worthy of the Roses.
Have they got anything special left in their lockers? I fear it would be a major letdown and if they are going to play then just play the old stuff.
The good
1. The songs
I would love to hear guitar pop nuggets like Mersey Paradise, Sally Cinnamon and She Bangs The Drums blasting out, I'd love to see Reni and Mani locked in the groove of Fools Gold, One Love and Adored. I'd love to hear Squire's guitar chiming Ten Storey Love Song and see Brown shimmy to I Am The Resurrection.
2. Inspiration
The Roses had the look, the attitude, the songs, the patter, the clothes.... a truly special and and they were responsible for guitar pop bands starting up all over the UK.
We could do with some of that now. Turn on the TV and the news is depressing, the country and the world seems pretty fucked. The Roses coming back would put smiles on faces.
And you can bet they would have a few words to say about things.
3. To leave in a good way.
Reni leaving (being sacked), Squire's mountain bike accident causing them to cancel their Glastonbury headline appearance (having their thunder stolen by Pulp), Squire quitting and Mani and Brown playing on without him......the drugs.
It ended in a mess. Could you grudge such a great band the chance to get back together again and sign off in a blaze of glory and make a lot of people happy?
CONCLUSION
When you love someone you can fear that they could hurt you, cut you deep. You also know that they could make you feel incredible.
I'll attempt to buy a ticket (possibly several if there is a tour) if they announce some shows.
I just hope they don't cut me deep.
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