New Order - End of an Era

New Order-Technique (1988)
New Order- Fine Time (1988) Single

1988's Technique was New Order's post-acid house masterpiece of British pop. Technique presents New Order doing what they'd done best for close to a decade — writing brilliant left-field pop songs and consistently blurring the line between electronic dance and alternative pop. From the driving singles "Fine Time," "Run," and "Round & Round," it would appear that Technique was the band's most dance-slanted record yet, though rockier album tracks like "Love Less" and "All the Way" reveal the band having it both ways.



New Order - Republic(1993)

New order - Regret(1993) Single

Pulling back slightly from the raw, dance-oriented Technique, New Order took a break for four years and then crafted another slice of prime guitar pop. In keeping with previous work, Republic simply borrows elements of contemporary innovations in club music to frame a set of effortlessly enjoyable alternative pop songs. As on Technique, the singles ("World," "Spooky") are the most danceable on the record, while lyrical concerns are among the most direct of the group's career, including "Ruined in a Day" and "Times Change," sure signs of the demise of Factory Records.

Both Albums Lots and Lots of
Razormaid Collection
New Order - The Best Of
New Order - Singles
New Order - International: Best of New Order
New Order - 12" by 12" and Best Remixes

Va - Bez's Madchester Anthems

Tracklist (but links are dead)
Working Download Link

Stone Roses - Fools Gold

Fools Gold" became the band's biggest commercial hit at the time. It was their first single to reach the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart and stayed in the Top 75 for 14 weeks.The dance-oriented song showcased the rhythm section of Mani on bass and Reni on percussion. John Squire also shone on guitar with its various wah-wah pedal effects. Finally, Ian Brown sang the vocals in a unique whispered delivery. He would also perform with this technique for the track "Something's Burning". The bassline was "inspired" by "Know How" by Young MC, which is a sample from the Shaft theme song, performed by Isaac Hayes. The lyrics reference Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" and the Marquis de Sade.The drum track, though played by Reni, was recorded as he played in time to an unknown 70s funk loop at the insistence of John, angering the drummer at the apparent lack of belief in his talent. This was later said to have contributed to Reni leaving the band.Despite its overwhelming success, the band did not intend to release "Fools Gold" as an A-side. Promo kits originally contained "What the World Is Waiting For" as the A-side, with "Fools Gold" on the B-side. When the press began raving about the song's funky bassline, the band was confused since "What the World Is Waiting For" was a simple guitar based track. The Roses realized the press was referring to "Fools Gold" and they promptly released the songs as a double A-side.The band's manager of the time, Gareth Evans, was also adamant upon first hearing the song that it was far superior to the intended A-side and should be released as a double A-side.After Reni left the band in 1995, "Fools Gold" was essentially retired from the live set, since replacement Robbie Maddix could not emulate Reni's complex drumming loops.

Primal Scream - Screamadelica

There's no underestimating the importance of Screamadelica, the record that brought acid house, techno, and rave culture crashing into the British mainstream — an impact that rivaled that of Nirvana's Nevermind, the other 1991 release that changed rock. Prior to Screamadelica, Primal Scream were Stonesy classic rock revivalists with a penchant for Detroit rock. They retained those fascinations on Screamadelica — one listen to the Jimmy Miller-produced, Stephen Stills-rip "Movin' on Up" proves that — but they burst everything wide open here, turning rock inside out by marrying it to a gleeful rainbow of modern dance textures. This is such a brilliant, gutsy innovative record, so unlike anything the Scream did before, that it's little wonder that there's been much debate behind who is actually responsible for its grooves, especially since Andrew Weatherall is credited with production with eight of the tracks, and it's clearly in line with his work. Even if Primal Scream took credit for Weatherall's endeavors, that doesn't erase the fact that they shepherded this album, providing the ideas and impetus for this dubtastic, elastic, psychedelic exercise in deep house and neo-psychedelic. Like any dance music, this is tied to its era to a certain extent, but it transcends it due to its fierce imagination and how it doubles back on rock history, making the past present and vice versa. It was such a monumental step forward that Primal Scream stumbled before regaining their footing, but by that point, the innovations of Screamadelica had been absorbed by everyone from the underground to mainstream. There's little chance that this record will be as revolutionary to first-time listeners, but after its initial spin, the genius in its construction will become apparent — and it's that attention to detail that makes Screamadelica an album that transcends its time and influence.

Happy Mondays

Along with the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays were the leaders of the late-'80s/early-'90s dance club-influenced Manchester scene, experiencing a brief moment in the spotlight before collapsing in 1992. While the Stone Roses were based in '60s pop, adding only a slight hint of dance music, Happy Mondays immersed themselves in the club and rave culture, eventually becoming the most recognizable band of that drug-fueled scene. The Mondays' music relied heavily on the sound and rhythm of house music, spiked with '70s soul licks and swirling '60s psychedelia. It was bright, colorful music that had fractured melodies that never quite gelled into cohesive songs.
.

Unwittingly or not, Happy Mondays personified the ugly side of rave culture. They were thugs, purely and simply — they brought out the latent violence that lay beneath the surface of any drug culture, even one as seemingly beatific as England's late-'80s/early-'90s rave scene. Under the leadership of vocalist Shaun Ryder, the group sounded and acted like thugs, especially in comparison with their peace-loving peers, the Stone Roses. Ryder's lyrics were twisted and surrealistic, loaded with bizarre pop culture references, drug slang, and menacing sexuality. Appropriately, their music was as convoluted. Happy Mondays were one of the first rock bands to integrate hip-hop techniques into their music. They didn't sample, but they borrowed melodies and lyrics and, in the process, committed rock blasphemy. For a band that celebrated their vulgarity and excessiveness, Happy Mondays appropriately were undone by their addictions, but they left behind a surprisingly influential legacy, apparent in everyone from dance bands like the Chemical Brothers to rock & rollers like Oasis.