Fans of The Stone Roses believe the legendary self-titled album has a better tracklist in other countries compared to its UK lineup.
A post to r/TheStoneRoses highlighted the changes to The Stone Roses, their classic 1989 release. Swapped songs on the tracklist have made all the difference to fans of the band, who are now calling the American release of the self-titled album a far superior variant to that of the UK release. One fan wrote: “Honestly the American version of the debut with Elephant Stone and Fools Gold is the superior version.” It appears some agreed with this assessment, though a bulk of nostalgic fans say one of the songs has no place on the album as it is far too long.
One fan wrote: “I get Elephant Stone, but Fools Gold? Nah, it simply sounds out of the style and goes for ten minutes after the eight minutes long I Am The Resurrection that sounds like the ending song of the album.” Another agreed, adding: “Totally agree. Love Fools Gold but it simply doesn’t fit in this album.” A third wrote: “Yep. I like Fools Gold and it seems like great value added. But I Am The Resurrection is the end.”
The American tracklisting has Elephant Stone feature as the third song on The Stone Roses, appearing between She Bangs the Drums and Waterfall. Fools Gold also marks the end of the US album edition, rather than I Am the Resurrection.
Others joked the American edition of the album was far inferior to The Stone Roses’ release in the UK. One wrote: “Another thing the Americans are wrong about.” Another wrote: “More songs about roses are always appreciated.”
A third fumed: “No. An album with two tracks tacked on to try and sell the band more to the US? A sad joke that represents everything wrong with capitalism. The UK version is what the band intended and why it is perfect.” Others agreed with this assessment and considered The Beatles as another example of how best to deal with a US album.
They wrote: “I’ll take it over The Beatles releases where they CUT songs instead. At least you can skip these if you want to hear the original album, not ideal but better than Revolver missing I’m Only Sleeping.” Another joked: “Two great songs, but not for this album. No need to paint a crown on the Mona Lisa.”
Honestly the American version of the debut with Elephant Stone and Fools Gold is the superior version
byu/NewPatron-St instoneroses
A third wrote: “It’s not really though is it? John Leckie produced the proper running order and the B-sides for the singles. Those songs were produced as a whole with a cohesive sound in mind. Peter Hook produced Elephant Stone and it’s a very different sound to the other tracks. Fools Gold had different recording sessions. From those sessions, Something’s Burning and One Love were also recorded.
“If you hear those demos you can hear that the looped beat on Fools Gold was used as a guide drum track to record One Love etc. The B-side album Turns To Stone is an essential companion CD to the first album. What I’m saying is, just because Fools Gold and Elephant Stone are good songs, doesn’t mean they fit on the first album.
“Ten Story Love Song is a decent song, you wouldn’t add that at the end of the first album and say it’s a better album because of its addition surely?”
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Fascinating stuff. My CD from ’89 had Fools Gold tacked onto the end and I’m glad it did. Their finest moment ever put to tape in my book. Great album otherwise though.