Love Spreads

Band: The Stone Roses
Album: Second Coming
Year: 1994
Label: Geffen
Status: Still going

Love Spreads was the first release from Second Coming, the Stone Roses’ long-awaited second album. It’s famed for its virtuoso John Squire power guitar: from the distinctive opening notes to the solos, the guitar can barely be controlled, like it wants to bust out. Bends stretch the sounds out, sounds you can ride. It’s not all his show though: the whole band come together in something timeless and perfect. There’s pace. A journey. Believe, and see the light.

Love Spreads is about Jesus as a black woman. About female strength, female power to save, about love and forgiveness. Their previous single had been I Am The Resurrection, also about the depiction of Jesus. Second Coming indeed. The album’s opening track is Breaking Into Heaven. A statement of intent? Or because we all dream of meeting the dead again, those we’ve lost, as referenced in How Do You Sleep? Is it all just about having a second chance?

The album was recorded after a year in and out of studios in Wales. John Squire designed the cover – cherubs from a bridge in Newport, South Wales. Cherubs are angels, and the beings are mentioned in a few Stone Roses songs (for example the happy clappy track 8). You don’t have to look far to see where the Stone Roses got their symbolism at that time.

The album also has 60s influences. Ten Storey Love Song is reminiscent of The Byrds. The Stone Roses knew their history, then built on it. The whole album is a bake of influences. Stone Roses = SR. SR flour is self-raising. Jesus again?

The original home footage UK video 

(with Ian Brown’s best monkey-boy jumping) 

is far better than the unconvincing US version.

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Extract from page 289 of 2000 Tunes: A History of Manchester Music by M. H. Rees; used with permission. Read the whole series (25 extracts) here; or my summary post. Readers might be interested in my forthcoming novel about a man obsessed with Manchester music - confusingly, it is also called 2000 Tunes!