Confession: I truly love this album - more so than the debut. I know that’s almost heresy in late 80s, early 90s indie circles but the Second Coming was worth the wait. Sure it’s bloated. It drags on far too long and could have done with some decent editing. It’s worth it for the mix of the funk and some of the killer riffs. It’s also a very bitter album, not surprising given what the band had been through at the time.
I listened to it again this morning for the first time in probably a decade or so. For a short period in ‘95, pre the big Britpop explosion, it was all that I listened to. I became a little obsessed by it to be honest. I’m sure there are some deep dark secrets and messages buried away within. I attached my own personal tales about what was going off in my personal life at the time around the songs. That’s a young person’s thing, right? It’s certainly not how I approach music these days.
I kind of cringed at hearing the lyrics once again this morning and how I used to interpret them. I managed to overcome my embarrassment with the sheer grandness and ambition of the project that is on offer here. The Roses became bigger than they actually were per se. It was the legend that carried this album forward. No wonder they fell apart shortly after it was released. The scale of the Second Coming toppled them. What a memory.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐