The Stone Roses Benicassim 96
£
55
$
73
Favourite Auctions
To save auctions to your favourites, please login
If you don't have an account, please register
Description
The Stone Roses Benicassim 96 Purple/Mauve 12"
Selling from personal collection. Very Limited rare record. Highlights without the annoying Spanish DJs talking all over it. Sounds great.
Cardboard cover in PVC sleeve
The Stone Roses – Live at Benicàssim 1996
By the summer of 1996, The Stone Roses were a very different proposition from the band that had conquered Spike Island and defined the Madchester era. Gone was the classic line-up, replaced by what fans affectionately call the "new-look Roses." Ian Brown and Mani remained, while Robbie Maddix stepped behind the drum kit, Aziz Ibrahim took on lead guitar duties and Nigel Ipinson's keyboards gave the songs an altogether bigger, fuller sound.
The performance at Spain's Benicàssim Festival captures this short-lived incarnation at one of its most intriguing moments, preserving a fascinating snapshot of a band trying to evolve while the cracks were becoming impossible to ignore.
If you're expecting the shimmering groove of Reni, you'll quickly discover Robbie Maddix had other ideas. Rather than attempting the impossible by copying one of Britain's greatest drummers, he drove the songs with a harder, more direct approach. It's less jazz club, more motorway service station at 90 mph—but it works surprisingly well.
Aziz Ibrahim deserves far more recognition than he often receives. His fluid, expressive lead guitar playing brings a fresh dimension to the band's live sound, while Nigel Ipinson's keyboards provide extra texture and atmosphere, particularly on the sprawling Second Coming material. Together they transformed the songs into something bigger, giving this version of the Roses a distinctive identity all of its own.
Then there's Ian Brown.
No review of a 1996 Stone Roses concert would be complete without mentioning the vocals. Brown attacks every song with absolute conviction, occasionally finding the correct key entirely by accident. The melodies sometimes wander off for a holiday, while Ian carries on regardless, blissfully unconcerned that they're no longer travelling together. Yet somehow his charisma carries the performance through. It's impossible not to admire a man with such unwavering confidence in the face of basic musical geography.
For collectors, this release documents the final chapter of a band standing at a crossroads. Within weeks, this line-up would disappear, the Stone Roses would fall apart, and these performances would become a fascinating footnote in one of British rock's greatest stories.
Is it the Stone Roses at their peak? Not even close. Is it historically fascinating? Absolutely. The Benicàssim performance captures a band held together by determination, outstanding musicianship and sheer bloody-mindedness. It's a little rough around the edges, occasionally chaotic, often brilliant and, like the Stone Roses themselves, completely impossible to ignore.
Listening to this performance is rather like watching your favourite football team field three youth players, a veteran, a gifted winger and someone's enthusiastic cousin from Sunday League. It shouldn't work. It rarely looks comfortable. But every so often, for a few glorious minutes, it reminds you exactly why this band continues to inspire collectors and fans around the world.
price rating
