The Stones Roses – The Stone Roses
At the heart of the ‘Madchester’ scene, which fused together pop, psychedelic rock and dance music, this landmark album was born. The Stone Roses produced one of the finest debuts in music history, featuring ‘I Wanna Be Adored’ and ‘I Am The Resurrection’. Sadly they couldn’t replicate the magic but this album would go on to spark the Britpop movement and revitalise rock music in the UK… “I Am The Resurrection’ indeed!
Oasis – (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?
Although their debut ‘Definitely Maybe’ receives a lot of praise, Morning Glory is undoubtedly their finest work. It is quite simply hit after hit: ‘Roll With It’, ‘Wonderwall’, ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’, ‘She’s Electric’ etc. Each with a bigger chorus than the last, simply irresistible to sing along to. Shockingly the album was harshly reviewed by critics when it was first released, but it has since become the definitive British album of the 90s.
Blur – Parklife
After disappointing sales for their previous album, ‘Modern Life Is Rubbish’, Blur hit back with ‘Parklife’. It put them at the heart of the Britpop movement and started a bitter rivalry with Oasis. Whilst many of the prominent Britpop bands originated from the North of England, Blur were the voice of the South and imparticular the Voice of London. In fact the album itself was originally going to be called ‘London’!
Pulp – Different Class
Jarvis Cocker, as well as being one of the most charismatic frontmen of the 90s, was the most successful lyricist of the Cool Britannia movement. The other bands wrote sing along anthems that were somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Jarvis did this as well as (if not better than) his contemporaries but also simultaneously talked about real topics like the class divide and worries about the future on the hits ‘Common People’ and ‘Disco 2000’.
Ocean Colour Scene – Moseley Shoals
Thanks to constant plugging from TFI Friday, ‘Moseley Shoals’ became OCS’s most successful album which contained their most successful singles. It followed the Britpop ideal of emulating the best that British music had to offer. ‘The Riverboat Song’ was influenced by Led Zeppelin’s ‘Four Sticks’ and the lyrics to ‘The Day We Caught The Train’ were influenced by The Who’s classic concept album ‘Quadrophenia’.
