THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

253-The Stone Roses-Fools Gold.

1989-Number 8 single. It re-entered the chart in 1995, reaching Number 25, and after being remixed in 1999, it once again charted at Number 25.

Best Bit-At 4.04. I can’t help feeling that if Ian Brown had stood closer to the microphone we would have heard him a little clearer.

The Stone Roses (see also best songs 979) were formed in Manchester, England, in 1983, and remained active until 1996, they re-united in 2011, and parted ways again in 2017. In total there have been 12 official members of the group at differing times, with the classic line up consisting of Ian Brown, (lead vocals) John Squire, (guitar) Gary Mounfield, (bass) and Alan Wren (drums.) The Stone Roses have released just two studio Albums, ‘The Stone Roses’ in 1989, and ‘Second Coming’ in 1994, They have also issued 15 singles between 1985-2016, with only their debut release ‘So Young’ failing to make the UK top 40.The Stone Roses are one of Pop Music’s most critically acclaimed acts. Their mix of Rock, Funk, and Psychedelic Rock was the inspiration for many bands of the early 1990’s including fellow Manchester band Oasis (see also best songs 1006-758 and 15.) Noel Gallagher has said, ‘When I heard ‘Sally Cinnamon’ for the first time, I knew what my destiny was,’ while his brother Liam has stated that they were the first band he saw live, and that seeing them perform influenced him to become a singer.

The Stone Roses were one of the pioneering groups of the ‘Madchester’ (see also best songs 580) movement in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. Their self titled debut Album which was recorded between June 1988 to February 1989, and released in May 1989 was a slow burner, that grew more and more popular alongside the band’s high profile concert performances. The Albums critical standing has also improved significantly in later years, with ‘The Stone Roses’ now considered to be one of the greatest Albums of all time, and it has now sold in excess of four million copies worldwide. In December 1989 Ian Brown was not backward in coming forward when saying, ‘We’re the most important group in the world, because we’ve got the best songs, and we haven’t even begun to show our potential yet.’ In 1990 The Stone Roses wanted to leave their record label ‘Silvertone,’ because they were unhappy in the way they were being promoted, this led to years of battles in court, and a delay of over four and a half years until the release of their follow up Album ‘Second Coming,’ in December 1994, on their new record label ‘Geffen.’

‘Fools Gold’ was the fourth of seven singles that have been issued from The Stone Roses self titled debut studio Album, from May 1989, the song was co-written by Ian Brown and John Squires, with the production being by John Leckie (see also best songs 979.) ‘Fools Gold’ was initially planned as the ‘B’ side to ‘What the World Is Waiting For,’ but after their record label ‘Silvertone’ suggested ‘Fools Gold’ for the ‘A’side, the band and the record label compromised, and both tracks were issued as a double ‘A’ sided single. ‘Fools Gold’ is built around a loop from the 1971 ‘Funk’ track ‘Hot Pants (I’m Coming’) by Bobby Byrd (1934-2007) (see also best songs 561.) John Squire had first heard that song on a compilation Album he had picked up in a Manchester record store, and the drum pattern on the intro to that song forms the basis for the drumming that is heard all the way through ‘Fools Gold.’ John Squire has mistakenly said that the sample he used was from the 1970 song ‘Funky Drummer’ by James Brown, (1933-2006) (see also best songs 880-349-270 and 88) both those tracks appeared on the compilation Album Squires had listened to. John Squires has recalled, ‘We were signing copies of our single, ‘She Bangs The Drums,’ in a Manchester record shop called Eastern Bloc. The owner said we could pick a couple of albums as a thank you and I picked out a breakbeats album because I liked the cover and I wanted to see what it was all about. That’s where I heard the ‘Funky Drummer’ loop that we built ‘Fools Gold’ around.’ John Squire has also said, ‘The construction of that single was completely different to anything we’d written before. It wasn’t something that was knocked out and arranged on an acoustic guitar, then taken into rehearsals and kicked around with a drummer and a bassist. I just put it on a portastudio and started playing guitar over it. The main riff was partly inspired by Johnny Cash’s Rockabilly plucking sound, that muted guitar sound you get when you just play on the bass strings.’ ‘Fools Gold’ also samples the bassline from a 1988 song called ‘Know How,’ by the English Rapper ‘Young MC.’

‘Fools Gold’ is a song about greed, with the lyrics written by Ian Brown, who had got inspiration having seen the 1948 Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957) film ‘The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.’ In the film friends go up a mountain in search of gold, and after being successful their greed gets the better of them, and they turn on each other, Brown has said,’That’s how it felt once the Roses started getting successful. Suddenly everyone was after their piece of gold.”

‘These boots were made for walking,The Marquis de Sade don’t wear no boots like these. Gold’s just around the corner, breakdown’s coming up ’round the bend.