Ian Brown’s massively influential work with the Stone Roses inevitably renders his solo efforts – typically released to mixed critical reception – a little superfluous to the man’s icon status; he was a legend long before 1998’s Unfinished Monkey Business marked the start of his solo career, the Roses’ anthems having already safely ensured the man would never pay for a drink in Manchester again.
So it’s pleasing to listen to his sixth full-length and find the 46 year-old still relevant and on fighting form. First single ‘Stellify’ – originally penned for Rihanna, claims Brown – gets things going and establishes the vibe of the songs to follow: basic key-heavy production with Brown’s trademark simple/clever lyricism delivered with swaggering panache.
Barring a lazy cover of Zager and Evans’ sixties hit ‘In the year 2525’, there aren’t many duds on this outing, and tracks like ‘Crowning of the poor’, with its hip-hop beat, or the 80s-pop drama of ‘Vanity Kills’ provide ample high points. Lyrically, Brown is on form as ever, the chorus to ‘Own Brain’ deserves a special mention for its clever daftness: ‘I’ve got my own brain, an anagram of my own name’.
Look at today’s big indie bands and Brown’s influence is apparent to some degree on most all of them; in a climate his past work has helped create, it’s no surprise that My Way sounds current; released under a pseudonym this record might have been lauded as the arrival of a promising new talent. As it is, it’s a comfortingly assured effort from a past master who can still, pushing 50, hold his own.
