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Review |
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Ian Brown has returned this September past with
his sixth solo album My Way. Brown has stated that
this albums inspiration has come from the late Michael
Jackson’s ‘Thriller’. He’s
confirmed that the record was his ‘blueprint’.
That “Every time we wrote a song we didn’t
think was strong enough, we scrapped it”
Personally I struggle to see the similarities.
First and foremost, straight play through has
shown how little direction there is to the album.
Initial song and current single ‘Stellify’
can only compliment further the eclectic direction
of the album. Heavy laden piano and a mid tempo
thud breaks us into My Way gently. Half way through
the track unloads a rather superfluous trumpet
solo, which meanders off into the audio obscurity
only to return further built up towards the finale
of the track.
The lack of live instruments compared to his
previous outings makes it even clearer how little
attention Brown’s voice is able to demand.
Although unquestionably a solid singer and vivacious
front man, the lure of the effects and electronics
of the studio don’t seem to complement or
enhance his voice in any way. Second Track ‘Crowning
of the Poor’ is just another testament to
this. With a back beat slow and yet more trumpets
pumping away, it gives the track more a feel of
a boxer’s entrance music than a subsequent
track.
On a more positive note, there are some moments
which are more of what you’d expect from
the Stone Roses mastermind. Beautifully melodic
track ‘Always Remember Me’ and drum
and bass laden ‘By All Means necessary’
particularly standout as more structured numbers.
You can hear the supporting instruments providing
a more concise platform for his vocals to be delivered
upon. It’s within these songs that allow
you to appreciate and understand the accents and
talent which have allowed him to flourish in his
career. However, it’s frustrating that he
refused to carry this direction throughout the
album. You could say he’s looking to grow
and evolve as all decent musicians should strive
to do, yet the album as a whole lacks direction
at all. It’s strongest genre contender being
electronic-pop which unfortunately serves for
not much but mediocrity.
The album comes to it’s conclusion with
track ‘So High’- a happy go lucky
swansong to bring his sixth solo project to a
close. Laden further with more synthesized voice
effects and yet more tame vocal pitch, the song
fails to evoke any sort of emotional response,
which left me hanging to see if this was actually
the end after the instrumental fadeout.
All in all, this entire album just upholds the
opinion I’ve had of popular Brit-pop culture
for the last decade. Out of the remnants of their
previous triumphs, comes another solo artist who
has been drained of the soul that the children
of the 90’s have bestowed upon him in the
first place. A very mediocre album, which has
only been warped further by the inclusion of studio’s
wicked technological corruptions.
An album I was glad to hear the end of.
1/5
Review by Phil Davies
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| Band
Members |
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| Track
Listing |
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1. Stellify
2. Crowning Of The Poor
3. Just Like You
4. In The Year 2525
5. Always Remember Me
6. Vanity Kills
7. For The Glory
8. Marathon Man
9. Own Brain
10. Laugh Now
11. By All Means Necessary
12. So High |
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| Band
Related Links |
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| Review
Score Code |
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- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
-
What Was That? |
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