Hello Squire

There was a link somewhere recently to a short film of John Squire at the Tate, talking about abstract watercolour paintings, and then John painting (which he does full time now). It was diverting enough and I ended up clicking onto youtube to see what else there was, which ended up reminding me of his solo career. John Squire gets most of the bad press of the former Stone Roses. He gets the blame for the demise of the band. Ian Brown's continuing solo success ensures his public profile is high and he rarely misses a chance to slag the guitarist off. The Seahorses were underwhelming. And then there's the solo albums.

John released Time Changes Everything in 2002 and the press were lukewarm at best. The main issue was John's decision to sing and if you look on youtube it's more or less the only thing people can think to post in the comment boxes. The thing is, some of the songs on the album were really strong. Trad perhaps, post Britpop maybe, but the songs were there, the playing was good and there were some interesting instruments and arrangements in parts, including a snakecharmer's pipe. The topics of the songs showed awareness of the past (I Miss You was seen as an olive branch to Ian, 15 Days the story of The Roses set to song). But people couldn't get past the voice, charitably described by some as 'Dylanesque'. This is the title track, Time Changes Everything, probably the best off the album. The guitar work in the last minute and a half is lovely, the tune is strong, it's got a whistfulness and ruefulness that appeals to me, and the singing's fine. Not great, but fine. I like John Squire- he always seemed like the most thoughtful of The Roses, he had a deadpan wit, he had the best hair, and boy, could he play guitar.


04 Time Changes Everything.wma