++ALBUM++ review by David Carritt
It's fairly standard opinion that Ian Brown's new single is 'the most lamentable piece of music you're likely to hear all year' but will it's parent album redeem the monkeyman? David Carritt investigates...
Being asked to pass judgement on a perceived legend like Ian Brown is a bit like asking the average Guardian reader what they think of the Royal Family; difficult to gage much more than mild indifference, a series of non-committal grunts and passive stares all round. Sure, both are British institutions, viewed as sacred cows within society – but whilst there’s nothing strictly wrong with them, are they really still relevant? I mean, haven’t we all, sort of… moved on?
"The lowest point comes in the form of an ill-advised collaboration with Sinead O’Connor (although, in fairness, all collaborations with Sinead O’Connor are ill-advised). "
Well, in the case of Mr Brown, evidently not. The World Is Yours is a surprisingly impressive offering from the former Madchester icon, who manages to better 2004’s Solarized by actually including some tunes this time around.
Things don’t start too well. The Title track is Brown-by-numbers; a low-fi, uneffusive opener that might feel more at home on 2001’s Music Of The Spheres, indicating that our hero, lyrically at least, hasn’t come a long way in the past 6 years. No one likes change, do they?
Thankfully, things improve rapidly, as Brown packs the middle of the album with infectious, heavyweight anthems, each competing to be the next single. Thinking about it, there is a palpable feeling that Fiction (the home of Snow Patrol, remember) could be dining out on these tracks for the next year or more, thus rendering any such competition completely needless.
Hilariously-titled Eternal Flame is a stand-out moment, drawing on Brown’s obvious love of hip-hop production, whilst The Feeding Of The 5000 is a Bond-theme in waiting with its soaring orchestral beauty creating a genuine sense of drama.
The lowest point comes in the form of an ill-advised collaboration with Sinead O’Connor (although, in fairness, all collaborations with Sinead O’Connor are ill-advised). Lead single Illegal Attacks, with it’s unbelievably half-arsed lyrics and pseudo-political theme, is the most lamentable piece of music you’re likely to hear all year.
But majority rules as far as albums go, and a bad single does not a bad album make. All in all, The World Is Yours is a solid, if not staggeringly original, effort which further cements King Monkey’s status as one of the Rock Elite without him actually having to try that hard. Which, one suspects, is a true indication of Royalty.agre
++ David Carritt ++
Artrocker rating: 3
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