# The Stone Roses — Fools Gold

The Stone Roses’s Fools Gold (1989) appears on 3 of our lists — Madchester, The Waxonia Desk — Both Rooms, and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred, highest at No. 1 in Madchester. Every verdict, in full.

- **Released:** 1989
- **Label:** Silvertone
- **On:** Madchester, The Waxonia Desk — Both Rooms, and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred
- **Updated:** 2026-08-29
- **Artist:** [The Stone Roses](https://waxonia.com/artist/the-stone-roses/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/the-stone-roses--fools-gold/

## What 3 lists say

### No. 1 in [Madchester](https://waxonia.com/genre/madchester/)

A funk break lifted off a Bobby Byrd record, a wah-wah guitar and nine minutes of nobody hurrying. An indie band's biggest single is essentially a groove with some singing on it, and the country followed.

### Picked by [The Waxonia Desk — Both Rooms](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-both-rooms/)

An indie band's biggest single is a groove with some singing over it. The exact point the two rooms merged, and they stayed merged for about three years before the doors went back up.

### Picked by [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/)

An indie band's biggest single is a groove with some singing on it, and a whole country followed them across the floor. The hinge record of British music.

## Analysis

6 sections, the first drop of 3 at 0:44, 17% of the way in.

- **Tempo:** 112.3 BPM — holds throughout
- **Key:** A minor
- **Dynamic range:** 5.6 dB — moderate range, typical of a modern master
- **Length:** 4:15

- `0:00` A · **intro**, instrumental — opens the record below its own average energy — playing: drums, bass
- `0:37` A · **steady** (bar 18), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: drums, bass
- `1:20` A · **steady** (bar 38), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: drums, bass, other
- `1:56` B · **peak** (bar 55), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, other
- `2:21` C · **breakdown** (bar 67), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: drums, bass, other
- `3:25` D · **steady** (bar 96), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: drums, bass

**Drops** at 0:44 (bar 21), 1:56 (bar 55), 3:29 (bar 98). A drop is a moment, not a stretch.

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/The%20Stone%20Roses%20Fools%20Gold) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=NSD11dnphg0)

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