Reviewed - The Stone Roses / Amy MacDonald / Bobby Womack (From Burnley and Pendle Citizen)

Reviewed - The Stone Roses / Amy MacDonald / Bobby Womack

4:42pm Thursday 21st June 2012 in Leisure By Daniel Orr, Reporter

Reviewed - The Stone Roses / Amy MacDonald / Bobby Womack

THE STONE ROSES - The Very Best Of / AMY MACDONALD - Life In A Beautiful Light / BOBBY WOMACK - The Bravest Man In The Universe

FOLLOWING the shock reformation of seminal Manchester band The Stone Roses, their old record label has re-released this collection for what feels like the hundredth time.

But it’s impossible to complain about that when music is as good as this - Reni, Mani, John Squire and Ian Brown brought some of the most beautiful guitar pop to the world from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s.

From the seismic I Wanna Be Adored through to the groove-laden Fools Gold and final track I Am The Resurrection, this is pure gold.

AMY MACDONALD - Life In A Beautiful Light

TALENTED Scottish songstress continues where she left off with her third album in five years.

The woman behind such hits as This Is The Life, Mr Rock ‘n’ Roll and Don’t Tell Me That It’s Over returns with similarly breezy acoustic-based pop who counts Travis and The Killers among her chief influences.

Standout track The Furthest Star is truly lovely, with its lyrics of regret and hope coupled with an insistent rhythm, and there’s plenty more to enjoy here.

BOBBY WOMACK - The Bravest Man In The Universe

LEGENDARY Bobby Womack has managed to fuse soul, dub, blues and electronica on his superb new album.

The dub bassline and programmed drum rhythms of Please Forgive My Heart prove Womack keeps a keen eye on the current music scene, while the heart-wrenching Deep River wouldn’t sound out of place on a Robert Johnson record.

And the icing on the cake is a guest appearance from Lana Del Rey on Dayglo Reflection which bounces along with Portishead-esque ease.

It’s well worth a listen, and many will be surprised by the gems they unearth here.