City:Â Madrid, Spain
Date: 2nd August 1996
Running Time (Approx):Â 65 mins
Tracklist:
- I Wanna Be Adored
- She Bangs The Drums
- Love Spreads
- Waterfall
- Made Of Stone
- Ten Storey Love Song
- Daybreak – choice track
- Fools Gold
- I Am The Resurrection
- Breaking Into Heaven
Sound Quality:Â AÂ
Recording from Spanish FM, so sound balance and recording are great, though the basslines are a bit grunty.
Performance Quality:Â C
Daybreak is superb – Robbie Maddix’s best performance, but he cannot handle Fools Gold and IATR falls to bits, Ian having to improvise on the chorus with the notes he sings! Aziz struggles more with the earlier Roses songs, but plays well on Breaking Into Heaven.
Why should I get this bootleg?
To hear Aziz’s first gig with the Roses and compare him to Squire, and to hear Robbie Maddix’s version of Fools Gold. Another nice thing are the Spanish radio commentators who speak between songs, calling Ian “Eye-an Braun”.
Background
Aziz’s first gig, four months after John Squire’s departure was a mixed affair. There were reports of people getting up and leaving halfway through, though later at the Reading Festival press conference the Roses would deny this. The Benicassim Festival is Spain’s equivalent of Glastonbury.
Fan reviews
“The band without Squire are not bad musically as everyone makes out. Although Aziz’s guitar playing is rigid in places, he doesn’t add lots of naff fills as reported. Ian’s singing is average for the Second Coming period, no way near as bad as Reading.” – Peter Garton, England