Johnny Squire... and my secret confession.

darthed1981

Hi All,

A bit of chat in the Noel G on TPS made me think of the indie rock legend that is John Squire and his career.

My dirty secret is... I enjoy the Seahorses album more than the Stone Roses debut...

Don't get me wrong, the place in the canon of SR compared to Do It Yourself is unquestionable, but something about the way JS lets himself go on the Seahorses album makes it something of a lost masterpiece for me.

Of course he did two solo albums as well I'm guilty of listening to but never really devoting much time to.

What think ye all to the great man?

The Seahorses...

Roses masterpiece...

and of course, showing what can be done with just the Am pentatonic...

RocknRollDave

Each to their own, but for me the album that he really lets go on is The Second Coming.


To use the word ‘masterpiece’ in the context of the Seahorses album, though? Absolutely not. One of the biggest anticlimaxes in Indie history, more like.

darthed1981

RocknRollDave said:

Each to their own, but for me the album that he really lets go on is The Second Coming.


To use the word ‘masterpiece’ in the context of the Seahorses album, though? Absolutely not. One of the biggest anticlimaxes in Indie history, more like.

I agree there is some great stuff on the Second Coming.

I disagree with your second statement

munckee

Nothing will ever match the stone roses first album for me, I was 14 when it came out, a mate of mine got it on vinyl the day it first turned up in our local record shop and assured us it would be great, a group of us sat in silence and played it through numerous times it was the first band I was a real fan of.

That being said I know JS doesn't think the guitar sounds good enough, he didn't like the pickups I think and he was slightly out of tune (according to him) on I am the resurrection which remains probably my favourite piece of guitar playing ever (possibly along with Tunnel of Love by dire straits).

I saw the seahorses in Portsmouth and he was messing about playing the riff to waterfall between songs and the crowd went nuts, the rest of the band didn't look very amused and I suspected they wouldn't be together long.

darthed1981

munckee said:

Nothing will ever match the stone roses first album for me, I was 14 when it came out, a mate of mine got it on vinyl the day it first turned up in our local record shop and assured us it would be great, a group of us sat in silence and played it through numerous times it was the first band I was a real fan of.

That being said I know JS doesn't think the guitar sounds good enough, he didn't like the pickups I think and he was slightly out of tune (according to him) on I am the resurrection which remains probably my favourite piece of guitar playing ever (possibly along with Tunnel of Love by dire straits).

I saw the seahorses in Portsmouth and he was messing about playing the riff to waterfall between songs and the crowd went nuts, the rest of the band didn't look very amused and I suspected they wouldn't be together long.

That album for me is WTS(MG) by Oasis.  There are sort of a handful of songs that sort of together turned me on to rock music in 1996 and I fell down the rabbit hole from there!

ZenOvertone

I thought JS went full on Jimmy Page mode live with the Seahorses, showing the kind of things he listened to learning to play - great band.

the_jaffa

I’m quite a JS fan but for me it all peaked with the first Roses album. I admire the playing on the Second Coming and like some of the riffs on the Seahorses album but neither of them really grab me like the first album. The Seahorses in particular turned into too much of a wankfest really. 

The first SR album for me has the perfect balance of intricate but subtle. The songs are just more interesting to me. Live at that time was perfect too. The guitar sound all started to go a bit wrong for me when he swapped to the Mesa Boogie amps. I can’t really explain how but I definitely prefer the Fender Twin days. 

darthed1981

Don't get me wrong, the first SR album is a masterpiece.

Anyone else struggle to sing along to "Made of Stone" blaring out in the car though?

oh_pollo

darthed1981 said:

Don't get me wrong, the first SR album is a masterpiece.

Anyone else struggle to sing along to "Made of Stone" blaring out in the car though?

To be fair Ian Brown also struggles to sing it.

darthed1981

oh_pollo said:

darthed1981 said:

Don't get me wrong, the first SR album is a masterpiece.

Anyone else struggle to sing along to "Made of Stone" blaring out in the car though?

To be fair Ian Brown also struggles to sing it.

I meant more the stuff about crashing,burning,frying and melting... but... yeah...

Philly_Q

I was going to post "Squier, not Squire".

Force of habit.



Still, that Billy Squier eh?  Whatever happened to him?

darthed1981

Philly_Q said:

I was going to post "Squier, not Squire".

Force of habit.



Still, that Billy Squier eh?  Whatever happened to him?

He's still alive!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Squier

darthed1981

Philly_Q said:

I was going to post "Squier, not Squire".

John Squier, a lot like John Squire but cheaper to buy his rig...

lustycourtier

The second coming is the best stone roses record, but I love johns solo records best. Time changes everything is just wonderful. He also stood in my hand once, and said sorry mid song 

darthed1981

lustycourtier said:

He also stood in my hand once, and said sorry mid song 

Is John tiny, or do you have really big hands?

Redlester

Love is the Law is some of the best ‘bite your lip and go for it’ playing in British rock. 

JS had a lovely flow to his playing earlier, but by the mid-90s it had got a lot more edgy- 

Yes, one of the greats. 

guitartango

They are both good albums, But for me you can't top Waterfall or be adored. I love Squires playing , so underrated.

Sleepyscholar

guitartango said:

They are both good albums, But for me you can't top Waterfall or be adored. I love Squires playing , so underrated.

Who's it underrated by? I don't remember ever seeing anyone diss his playing.

GoFish

He Hates Horses?

darthed1981

Sleepyscholar said:

guitartango said:

They are both good albums, But for me you can't top Waterfall or be adored. I love Squires playing , so underrated.

Who's it underrated by? I don't remember ever seeing anyone diss his playing.

Ian Brown probably has a few negative things to say about him...

I genuinely feel sorry for long-term Roses fans, you go from the masterpiece first album, OK Brown can't fucking sing, but you had those songs and JS on stage, plus no flies at all on Mani and Reni.

You can take or leave everything since (though I know a lot of good stuff on SC and I love the Seahorses, Brown has done a few good solo tracks)...

But live Squire has basically retired, and Brown now does Karaoke... if you have been a fan for 35 years you deserve better.

mrkb

The first album was the weaker one, it’s Second Coming that’s the masterpiece.