WHEN the Stone Roses made their long-anticipated return in 2012 there was a certain magic in the air.

Those lucky 1,500 or so who were present at the Parr Hall will never forget what was a truly remarkable night – the spine tingles just thinking of the wait to see if you’d got a ticket, the outpouring of joy when they took to the stage, the set itself of course and then the post-show euphoria.

The band’s Heaton Park shows were also monumental with a 60s-esque peace and love-type vibe in the air.

Fast forward four years and, until the announcement of these gigs at the Etihad Stadium, not a lot had happened.

An initial blaze of glory and an incredibly-intimate documentary by Shane Meadows were followed by silence before these concerts and a duo of new singles.

The less said about the turgid All for One the better, but Beautiful Thing nicely whetted the appetite for the series of shows in a grand football arena just east of Manchester city centre.

When the gigs were announced, most fans probably assumed a new album would be out before then, but none has been forthcoming which almost leaves you scratching your head as to why we’re here.

Compared to the Parr Hall and Heaton Park gigs it feels like something missing – the same atmosphere of unity is replaced by a large contingent of idiots who couldn’t afford to go to France to fight Russian hooligans, plus the venue just feels wrong.

The band themselves also feel flat, potentially because they haven’t got the same sort of atmosphere in the crowd to feed off – Fools Gold was one of the epic jewels in the crown of the 2012 gigs but today it just seems to go on for about half an hour.

Things do improve though, with some momentum finally building around an hour in with a triple-punch of Love Spreads, Made of Stone and She Bangs the Drums.

Closing with This is the One and I Am the Resurrection, the Stone Roses just about pull it off (although a torrent of fireworks lit outside the stadium for a grand finale can’t actually be seen inside the ground) but there is undoubtedly something missing.