The Stone Roses

The Stone Roses - What The World Is Waiting For

The Stone Roses - What The World Is Waiting For

01. what the world is waiting for
02. fool's gold
03. she bangs the drums (12'' mix)
04. elephant stone (12'' mix)
05. guernica
06. going down

(1989 silvertone)

download what the world is waiting for

The Wendys

The Wendys - Gobbledygook (Factory, 1991)

If timing is truly everything, then the Wendys had the misfortune of releasing their debut album shortly before the collapse of their record label, U.K. indie powerhouse Factory. Comprised of John Renton (vocals), Ian White (guitar), Johnny MacArthur (drums), and Arthur Renton (bass), the Wendys rode on a wave of critical acclaim -- and the usual hype from Factory's Tony Wilson -- when they emerged from Edinburgh, Scotland, in the early '90s. As the hysteria created by the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays began to dwindle, the Wendys were voted into "next big thing" status. Superstar producer Ian Broudie produced the group's 1991 debut, Gobbledygook, and while it was lauded by critics, the LP was overlooked by the public. When Factory hit the skids, it dragged the band with them; as grunge took command of the airwaves, there was no room for the Wendys' Madchester-inspired guitar pop. In 1999, Starshaped released the band's long-awaited second album, Sixfootwingspan. [From allmusic]

The Wendys - Gobbledygook (1991)
Madchester / Guitar Pop / Britpop

Northside

Northside - Chicken Rhythms (Factory, 1991)

Northside was a minor-league player in the Madchester field of all-stars. Formed in Manchester, England, in 1989 by Warren Dermody (vocals), Michael Upton (guitar), Cliff Ogier (bass), and Paul Walsh (drums), Northside had the backing of the indomitable U.K. indie Factory Records, but musically the band wasn't as ambitious as its peers the Stone Roses and the Happy Mondays. In fact, the British press accused the group of simply jumping on the Madchester bandwagon, borrowing the shuffling guitars and club beats of the Roses and the Mondays without contributing anything new or different.

In 1990, they recorded a pair of singles, Shall We Take a Trip and My Rising Star, that capitalized on the popularity of the Madchester sound. Shall We Take a Trip was banned by U.K. radio stations for its drug references, but it landed at number 50 on the English charts. Timmy Walsh also replaced Upton that year. In July 1990, the group signed with Geffen Records in the U.S., and My Rising Star leapt to number 32 on the British charts in October. On June 17, 1991, Northside released its debut album, Chicken Rhythms, produced by Ian Broudie of Care and the Lightning Seeds; the LP quickly penetrated the Top 20. The single Take 5 was one of the last British pop songs to perform well on American modern rock stations before the format's grunge takeover of the early '90s.

It was also the closest they ever came to having a hit in the U.S. In 1993, the band toured with Revenge and searched for a new label after Factory fell apart. Northside underwent several lineup changes for the next few years as the group tried to write material for a second album. The band broke up in December 1996 after a final performance at the Hacienda in Manchester, England. [From allmusic]

Northside - Chicken Rhythms (1991)
Dance Rock / Madchester / Britpop

The Stone Roses

The Stone Roses - She Bangs The Drums 12"

Genre: Britpop / Madchester
Based in...: Manchester, England
Label: Silvertone Records
Year: 1989
My Rate: 10/10

A1 She Bangs The Drums
A2 Mersey Paradise
B Standing Here

Download here!

The Divine Comedy

The Divine Comedy - Casanova

Genre: Indie Pop / Chamber Pop / Britpop
Based in...: UK
Label: Setanta
Year: 1996
My Rate: 9/10
MySpace

Review from AMG:

Turning back to a slightly more straightforward rock/pop format turned out to be advantageous for Neil Hannon; Casanova turned into a smash hit in the U.K., while the singles "Something for the Weekend" (at once soaring, cheeky, leering, and truly weird, with lyrics detailing a guy led astray by his lover and attacked by her secret thug companions) and "Becoming More Like Alfie" (a sly '60s acoustic pop number with solid percussion, sampling the Michael Caine movie in question and reflecting on how all the wrong people in life seem to get the girls) became Top Ten charters. Recruiting the equivalent of a full orchestra didn't hurt either, fleshing out the classical/art rock/pop Divine Comedy fusion to even more expansive ranges than before, while drummer Darren Allison and Hannon continued overseeing and co-producing everything, again demonstrating their careful collective ear for the proceedings.

Hannon's lyrical music fires on all cylinders as well, from the cockeyed vision of romance in "The Frog Princess" (with more than one low-key French reference in both lyrics and sweeping music) to the wickedly funny and elegant "Songs of Love," detailing how boys and girls seem to be in heat everywhere while all the songwriters are stuck alone writing the title objects in question. In the meantime, there are great one-off moments scattered throughout Casanova. For instance, Hannon's impersonation of a modern dandy as fortune teller at the start of "Middle-Class Heroes" is to die for. He also does one of the best Barry White takeoffs yet recorded in the mid-song break of "Charge," packed with Tennyson references and army commands amid swirling strings and an increasingly loud beat.

After topping that off with "Theme from Casanova," a slightly tongue-in-cheek number detailing all the basic credits and inspiration for the album, the result is a massive project that hits the jackpot with smiles all around.

Download here!