If anyone can make the Gallagher brothers seem relatively modest, it’s Richard Ashcroft.
Indeed, whether informing us that he’s come to save the music industry or likening himself to Jesus, there is something genuinely disturbing about how far the lanky singer songwriter has disappeared up his own rectum since his old band the Verve went up in flames.
Delusional ain’t the word – especially when you take into account his piss poor solo output, all bloated, mid tempo rock that aims for the clouds and beyond but crashes to the earth harder than Icarus.
Still, Ashcroft has his believers. His third solo album, Keys to the World, was only held off the top spot by the Arctic Monkeys fad earlier this year and has since gone platinum.
A double A side, this is the fourth single from the album and serves as a nice promo for his UK tour which is currently taking in arenas.
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We say:
Opting for a more grounded approach, ‘Ol Big ‘Ead keeps his messianic complex firmly in check this time round.
‘Why Not Nothing?’ is an old school horn inflected rock stomp reminiscent of Velvet Underground era Lou Reed and the Rolling Stones at their most, err, stoned, while the Mick and Keith influence is also apparent on ‘Sweet Brother Malcolm’, a sombre ballad in which a stylish string section avoids the overblown production values that have often plagued Ashcroft’s solo material.
And while neither song stands up to his Verve work, lacking both the anthemic swagger of ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ and the melodic finesse of, say, ‘History’, this two track package is a far sight better than anything else he’s unleashed on the public in the last few years.
Like this? Try these:
The Velvet Underground – I’m Waiting For the Man
The Rolling Stones – As Tears Go By
RELEASED
Out Now
LABEL
Parlophone
POSTED...
Sat 2 Dec 2006 at 1:34pm
