The Stone Roses song based on a reversed riff by The Beatles
Alongside Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses initiated the so-called Madchester movement in the 1980s. Of course, all roads lead back to New Order and their hand in founding the legendary Haçienda club, but from their “loose fit” garb to rave scene sensibilities, the Roses and the Mondays undeniably set the tone for the 1990s’ Britpop era.
The Stone Roses formed in 1983 and traversed the decade with a series of name changes and lineup shuffles before settling with Ian Brown on vocals, John Squire on guitar and Mani and Reni on bass and drums, respectively.
It wasn’t until May 1989, however, that the group released their eponymous debut album. While The Stone Roses wasn’t an immediate success, by the early ’90s, following a fruitful touring campaign, it received its due, both commercially and critically.
Crucially, the album gave Oasis a pair of shoes to fill as the decade progressed. Noel Gallagher famously said of The Stone Roses: “Without that band, there would not have been an Oasis”.
Oasis were also heavily inspired by The Beatles. Of course, every Tom, Dick and Harry is a fan of the Fab Four, but the Gallagher brothers were so outspoken in their obsession that they caused a Beatlemania redux in the ’90s.
Ostensibly, The Stone Roses were also rather fond of the Merseyside rockers. ‘I Am the Resurrection’, the towering closing track from the Roses’ debut album, was inadvertently inspired by George Harrison’s Revolver contribution, ‘Taxman’.
According to Reni, The Stone Roses’ drummer, Mani used to play McCartney’s bass riff from the song backwards and stumbled upon something rather special. “Mani would play the riff backwards during sound-checks, and we played along over the top for a laugh,” Reni told Clash in 2012. “Finally, we said, ‘Let’s do this joke song properly and see what happens.'”
Listen to The Stone Roses’ ‘I Am the Resurrection’ below.
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