Customer Reviews

Turns Into Stone

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Another reviewer mentions buy "the complete stone roses" cd collection instead of buying this cd "turns into stone" WHY? Turns to Stones is a better choice for fans of Stone Roses, or for ANYONE considering buying or to experience REAL Stones Roses. To me this should have been an official cd release, because it has my favorite songs.

The other cd "the complete SRoses" does contain 21 tracks, but and I say but doesn't compare. (I have both)

NOTE see "the complete Stone Roses" cd for below references

Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,(skip6)and 7 are the only rare songs on the Complete Stones Roses cd. Songs made early in their career. They are demo like and only for DIE HARD fans who have to have them, or those who love the PEEL SESSIONS ...bland and hard to listen to personaly!!. Except 7, Full Fathom Five which is a song in reverse.

TRACKS 6,9,11,14,15,16 (and maybe 18 deepending on version) can be found on the bands standout release from 1989(track 6 can be found on Turns to Stones, the 1989 versions are fare better) Also Track 16 "I am the resurection" is longer and sounds WAY better on the 1989 version(trk 11) at 8 min. IN FACT all these song sound higher pitched,tremble.

Tracks 6,8,10,12,13,17,18,19,20,21 on (the complete..) can be found on "Turns into Stone" too. BUT... BUT that doesn't mean all things are equal! In fact the best songs are shorter and do not capture the essence of original S.Roses songs as they should be heard.

Fools Gold is longer on "Turns to Stone" at 9.53 (compared at 4.15)One love is 7.45(3.40) and Something Burning is 7.50 (3.37).
The shorter songs leave me unsatified, cheated, and longer for more and not capturing the entire experience. (it would be like cutting the Doors song "the end" in half, you can use any example)

"Turns into Stones" has an extra track 7 called "SIMONE" not found on the Complete Roses. An etheral track that fits with the album.

In the end BUY the 1989 cd, and then buy TURNs into Stones, the only downfall would be having "Elephant stone" and "Fools gold" on both cds. In fact the only downfall on the cd is hearing Elephant stone on Truns to Stone, a bad early version.

Thanks to Pete (below, from Canada) for his dead-on comparison of Turns to Stone and Complete Stone Roses. The very fact that 4 of the best Stone Roses songs are cut in half on the Complete Stone Roses, renders that CD almost worthless. The most awesome parts of the songs (arguably) are the parts they cut on The Complete Stone Roses. Yes, Sally Cinnamon is on there, but it's still not worth the cut in Fool's Gold, One Love, I Am The Resurrection, and Something's Burning.

I apologize to the reviewer who recommends The Complete Stone Roses over this CD, but he's doing a disservice recommending that CD. Of course, us fans shouldn't quibble amongst each other, it's the stupid record companies that have hacked their music into so many incomplete versions and compilations.

Contrary, however, to Pete, I think the mix of Elephant Stone on this CD is pretty darn good! It doesn't quite have the pounding rhythm effect of the "The Stone Roses" version, it is an interesting and enjoyable mix to my ears.

I echo most other's recommendations in saying to buy "The Stone Roses", then Turns to Stone, then, if you love them like the rest of us, get "Second Coming" which is an above average and really enjoyable CD, but can't quite reach the heights of "The Stone Roses".

Long live the Stone Roses.

The Stone Roses burst onto the U.K. indie scene during 1989, with their landmark debut "The Stone Roses", and their blend of dreamy & confident indie Rock, and summertime 60's styled jangle-pop pushed it to top of alot of critics end of year lists. And although the second album "Second Coming" failed to scale the heady heights of the first album, it had it's moments....which begs the question, "Why do you need this??". Well, it's a brilliantly compiled 'Best of', with various excellent B-side track added for inclusion, as well as Singles, that made up the bands brief output. What is fantastic about this album, is that unlike other compilations such as "The Complete Stone Roses", this release doesn't attempt to cram in as much material as possible by 'Editing' down tracks, such as "Fools Gold" which had virtually half its 9:55 running time loobed off. "Elephant Stone" only gets a minor cut, missing around 2 mins in the edited version. "Listen Now" manages to have 4 mins missing on the lesser compilation, and "Something Burning" also manages to lose just over 4 minutes of its 7:51 running time.

Although seemingly a moot point to those that only have a passing interest in the bands music, and will mention that the lesser compilations actually contain more tracks....this is only really of concern for those that truly embraced / enjoy the bands music, and the fact that alot of this revolved around "John Squires" beautiful, melodic gutiar hooks, you'll largely miss the exceptional extented playing on the edited versions, which was a substain part of their 60's Jangle-pop appeal, and not forgetting that full versions were how the band intented them to be (not cut down versions, with huge chunks of instrumental sections missing). And its only when you compare the two versions, you realise just how much your missing.

But not forgetting that this best of, also comprimises of B-Sides / Singles, which have listened to these tracks several times, easily confirms that their debut album wasn't a fluke. Tracks such as "Where Angels Play", "One Love", "What the world is waiting for", "Mersey Paradise", "Going Down", "The Hardest thing in the World", or the backwards spinning fun of "Simone", all brim with that exbuerantly confident swagger that coupled with their catchy neo-psychedelia, was a defing trait of the band. And although the B-Sides themselves probably won't take pride and place over your orginal favourites, there is a great deal to enjoy here, and digest if (like me) you only know the band through their debut album.

Somewhat bizzarely (or not, depending on your stance) their appears to be nothing from their second album ("Second Coming") contained here....but arguably most consider that album to be the band least focused and confused work, and which probably explains their exclusion. Something I am very happy about, is the sound levels on this record sound noticably louder than the debut album, which I found, I had to crank the volume up, to clearly hear, what was going on...(or is it just me??). But before you all start trading in your Stone Roses albums for this compliation, it's important to bear in mind that ultimitely, this release isn't supposed to replace your debut album, it's supposed to sit alongside it (and seeing as it purely focuses on B-Sides, and U.K. Singles....you'll miss most of the best known tracks), instead it's complements the debut perfectly and will please fans no end with its superb compiling and sequencing. This is Probably not suited to those that just want one disk of the bands work, on one tidy disk (for that refer to "The Very Best of the Stone Roses"), but the more committed fan, will absolutely want to add this alongside their other Stone Roses albums.

Perhaps no British rock band was as deservedly beloved as the Stone Roses, a band whose complex brand of rock shot them to meteoric fame (which ultimately wrecked the band). "Turns into Stone" is something fans will adore -- various B-sides and unedited tracks, some of which never were released before in the US.

The albums opens with a panoramic mix of "Elephant Stone," laced with warm riffs and a thunderous percussion finale. "Fools Gold" gets the full treatment in a ten-minute cut of funky guitar rock, while "Where Angels Play" is an enchantingly soft-edged pop song. The remainder is mostly the gritty, mildly psychedelic rockers, before ending with the eerie experimental "Something Burning."

In truth, "Turns into Stone" is one of THE most underrated albums it has been my pleasure to hear. Even their B-sides are rich, enticing and beautifully performed -- In a nutshell, this patchwork of B-sides is better than the majority of rock albums out there.

Quite a few of the songs wouldn't seem out of place in the debut album -- and that is saying something. It drags a little in the middle, with songs like the ponderous "What the World Is Waiting For." It's too ordinary an indie-rock track for the Stone Roses. However, it's outweighed by the dancy "Fools Gold" and shimmering "Simone," and several others. "Turns into Stone" is dancier in places than their debut, while retaining their driven guitar-rock sound.

Ian Brown's perpetually downbeat vocals are in excellent form here. "You can't see the wolf in the trees," he murmurs ominously in the last song. John Squire's guitar riffs range from the soft undercurrents of "Something Burning" to the bright riffs of "The Hardest Thing in the World," and drummer Reni outdid himself with stuff like "Elephant Stone's" grand finale.

It lacks the cohesion of their debut album -- how COULD a collection of B-sides have cohesion anyway? -- but "Turns into Stone" is a must-have, whether for fans or newcomers. Powerful, magical and magnificent.

To own all the essential Stone Roses material you need to purchase two cd`s , their classic debut ( which speaks for itself ) and this great compilation which rounds up all the best unedited versions of their sublime Silvertone singles and b sides that didn`t appear on their debut .

There are plenty of highlights including a blistering ten minute funk workout of " Fools Gold ", a bizarre instrumental of feedback and loops " Simone " which wouldn`t have sounded out of place on the Apocalypse Now soundtrack , the melodic majesty of " Going Down " or the eight minute smouldering finale of " Somethings Burning " , all uncompromising tunes that turned British youth culture on its head in the late eighties - early nineties . ESSENTIAL !

If one good thing has come out of the several Silvertone cash-in releases over the past 10 years, it is the following: My appreciation and affection for Turns Into Stone has only increased during this time.

The songs are brilliant from top to bottom, just like the debut album. Where Angels Play is the best Roses song of all time, and incredibly the version on Turns Into Stone was a rejected take, the plan was to record it later for a 2nd LP (well, no need to go into the sordid details). Simone is a magnificent backwards take, as beautiful as Where Angels Play. The full length Fools Gold and One Love make the brilliance of the Roses most apparent - icy cool vocalist backed by a genius of a drummer, basslines straight from heaven and a guitarist with more licks than a lesbian porn flick. Mersey Paradise and Standing Here, b-sides that put 99.9% of a-sides to shame.

This is the LP that makes me most wonder what could have been. Combine the songs on Turns Into Stone with the debut and you have a clutch of gems that rival the best ofs of everyone, the Beatles, the Stones, the Smiths, Suede, you name 'em. A must have this one is.

Just in case you had missed all the singles and b-sides that didn't appear on the Stone Roses' debut album, this album compiles those songs on this neat CD.

You get Fools Gold, One Love, Elephant Stone, Mersey Paradise, What the world is waiting for, Standing here etc etc etc etc.

Buy this album, along with the debut album (The Stone Roses) and appreciate what a truly great and inspirational band the Stone Roses were.

The Stone Roses' "Turns Into Stone" includes an alternative take of "Elephant Stone" (interesting, but not as good as the one on the band's monumental debut), the full version of "Fool's Gold" (same as the one heard on the version of the debut that is commonly available), b-sides, and songs written before and after their first album. Except for "Simone" (one of their trademark backwards songs), all of this is available on "The Complete Stone Roses" (together with more alternative takes), though, as pointed out in previous reviews, some of the songs are truncated on "Complete" in order to fit 21 songs in. So, the question of the day is whether it's worth it to get "Turns into Stone."

Before we answer that query, I want to talk about the album itself. It's in some of these early tracks that we hear the band's biggest influences. On the one hand, there's no question that they borrowed from some of the more poppy, dare I say bubblegum bands of the mid-sixties, such as Herman's Hermits and Gerry and the Pacemakers. On the other hand, one clearly hears the influence of mid-sixties psychedelia such as the Byrds and Jefferson Airplane. Of course, The Roses' first album expanded on these sounds and gave birth to the late 80s Brit-pop movement (i.e Blur, Oasis, Happy Mondays), and had great influence (together with My Bloody Valentine) over the "shoegazer" sound (i.e. Catherine Wheel, Ride, Slowdive).

I really like all of the Herman's Hermits type songs, especially "Mersey Paradise" (which I wish had a spot on the first album, together with "Sally Cinnamon"). "Something's Burning" reminds me alot of a mellower version of "Fool's Gold," whereas ""One Love" comes dangerously close to self-parody.

The answer to the question posed above is it depends on how big a Stone Roses fan you are. To die-hard fans, listening to shortened version of "One Love" and "Something's Burning," seems inadequate and almost cruel in that the rocking instrumental part of the songs, basically showcasing John Squire (and perhaps Reni too), are edited out. For the rest, "The Complete Stone Roses" supplies enough to supplement the Roses' two primary studio recordings, making this album somewhat superfluous.

As far as I'm concerned, Turns Into Stone ranks up there with The Stone Roses. With such beautiful gems as "Going Down", "Mersey Paradise", "Where Angels Play", and "What the World is Waiting For", the dream state this album transports you to is beyond words...

This cd is an essential complement to the Stone Roses great first album since it contains everything else that matters from their brief period with Silvertone. I say essential because all these singles and b-sides are true gems in their own right. The infectious jangle pop of Mersey Paradise, the Hendrix' fuelled Standing Here, the spacey Where Angels Play, the monster-groove of Fools Gold, these are not simple left-overs. Only the backward-track Simone would be better left off - they did it right with Don't Stop on their debut album, but this one is pointless. Something's Burning is not that good either. All in all we are left with nine excellent songs that are well worth your money.

Assuming you own their first album, this compilation beats any other because it sticks to the essential. It doesn't repeat album tracks and the big songs Fools Gold and One Love are presented in their full length, as they should.