Ian Brown Albums (5)
'The World Is Yours'
Release Date 9/24/2007
Tracks 11
Label Universal/Polydor
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What The Critics Say
The brash young face of the Stone Roses in 1987 would hardly seem to have mellowed into the workmanlike star vocalist of 2007, but Ian Brown (rather) quietly matured into a dependable record-maker, with occasional spots of brilliance in his discography. His second and third records are post-Brit-pop masterpieces, and he's never made a disappointing record. The World Is Yours actually does have its disappointing moments, but it also has some high points, too. Case in point: it features the best band Brown has ever accumulated -- ex-Pistols Steve Jones on guitar and Paul Cook on drums, plus Happy Mondays' Paul Ryder on bass -- but they appear on only two tracks. Those two, "Sister Rose" and "Me and You Forever," are incredible. Only an all-star team like this could have produced a sound that's as loose as a great rock & roll band (we're talking Faces or Rolling Stones here) but also as tight as an in-the-pocket backing band has to be. The rest of the album has strings featured prominently on every track, plus heavy reverb on the guitars and echo on the drums, creating a rigidly technical sound that's half dub-reggae and half hip-hop circa 2006 channeling soul circa 1972. This proves to be the work of Buffalo hip-hop producer Emile (aka Emile Haynie), who has worked on single tracks by C-Rayz Walz, Ghostface Killah, Cormega, Big Noyd, and others. Aside from the intrigue of Brown's choice of producer, the results leave much to be desired. Emile isn't satisfied to craft simple, hard-hitting rap productions, he seems to want to exercise a classical itch and make sweeping Gorecki-type orchestrations that miss their mark. (One great exception is "Eternal Flame.") Brown's lyrics aren't stellar either -- the opener trots out a series of clichés ("You can only find the gold by digging in the dirt/ If you're gonna play with fire, then you're gonna get burnt/You can never reach the heights and avoid the hurt yeah/The world is yours"). The second track adds some crude philosophy, with "Just as life is for living, so love is for giving/Life's no simple situation/There's the added complication, that the reason we're here nobody knows/In all creation." Brown can be brilliant or blindingly obvious, all depending on the quality of his productions, since his vocals and delivery rarely waver. He can tell us that dolphins were monkeys and sound great, or he can decry war, the plight of street children in Rio de Janeiro (as he does here) and sound pedestrian. He sounds most engaged, and writes his best lyrics, on the anti-war "Illegal Attacks" (with Sinéad O'Connor). ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
On his fourth solo album, Ian Brown marches on as confidently as ever, mixing mystical aural textures with massively addictive melodies. Album opener "Longsight M13" is as catchy as any song in Brown's back catalog and continues the spacy vibes of his previous full-length effort, Music of the Spheres. "Time Is My Everything" blends Stone Roses ephemera with dusty Spanish horns straight out of an Ennio Morricone spaghetti Western film score, while a goth guitar backdrop on "Destiny or Circumstance" warps the mind like nothing since the Sisters of Mercy. There is sometimes a sense, as on the title track, that Brown has gone a little too far into the stratosphere, if not wacky Kula Shaker territory, but the album's strident catchiness and Brown's wispy, wired voice are grounding forces strong enough to drown out any sense of tackiness. For every step into Middle Eastern exoticism, there's also a step to the dancefloor or a turn to early-'80s electro, such as "Kiss Ya Lips (No I.D.)" or the sprightly, wired background keyboards on "Longsight M13." Stone Roses fans who haven't tracked Brown's musical progress after that band's breakup will find much to love on Solarized, another mini-masterpiece that perfectly balances mood and melody. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Music Guide
'Music of the Spheres'
Release Date 10/1/2001
Tracks 10
Label Polydor
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What The Critics Say
Before Music of the Spheres was released, Ian Brown touted it as a return for him to the peak form of his former band, the Stone Roses. As things go in the U.K., many members of the British music press jumped on the comments and appropriated Brown's views as their own. Realistically, Music of the Spheres is a strong, mature album, befitted with lush, exhilarating production that easily fits alongside Unfinished Monkey Business and Golden Greats, but it doesn't introduce anything revolutionary or match the excellence of The Stone Roses. The only thing that seems new for Brown on Music of the Spheres is that a number of the songs sound like minimalist tone poem explorations and that he sings in Spanish on "El Mundo Pequeno." One example of the minimalism is "Hear No See No," where Brown accompanies spare electronic notes with whispers of the title lyrics. But the album is at its strongest when he reaches for the inspired hooks and choruses that are his bread and butter. "F.E.A.R." is particularly compelling, with its lush string sounds and Brown's insanely catchy repetition of the letters that make up the song's title. "Stardust" and "Shadow of a Saint" are the album's other standouts, where Brown concocts frazzled poetry like, "I'm made from stardust/The same DNA as stardust," and intones about the "wings of an angel." Less bombastic than Golden Greats and more focused than Unfinished Monkey Business, Music of the Spheres is brimming with charm and accomplished, polished songcraft. There's no reason for Brown to abandon this style of music, and there's also no reason that he should feel the need to match the glories of The Stone Roses. Ian Brown's solo discography includes nothing but vibrant, organic albums. Each is worth exploring nearly as much as those of his former band. Considering the undeniably genius of the Stone Roses, that's extremely high praise. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Whatever its flaws, Ian Brown's debut album, Unfinished Monkey Business, suggested that he was the true visionary behind the Stone Roses, providing the wild mercurial ideas that were grounded by John Squire's classicist song structures. Its sequel, Golden Greats, confirms that notion. Less song-oriented than its predecessor and overflowing with neo-psychedelic sonic textures and dance beats, Golden Greats floats between dazzling peaks and unformed, unrealized ideas that are nonetheless quite intriguing. Some may miss the clear hooks that characterized the Stone Roses (and even parts of Unfinished Monkey Business), but Brown sounds revitalized here and the result is a fresh, frequently exciting record. True, it can get a little indulgent and it's not quite cutting edge (no matter how much he wishes it were), but that doesn't distract from its very real virtues. At its best, the album boasts wonderfully, subtly crafted productions brimming with neat textures (the organ riff, Mellotron, and sampled strings on "Set My Baby Free" are a perfect example) that are intriguing on first listen and grow richer with repeated listens. Like its predecessor, Golden Greats meanders a bit too much and it places a little too much emphasis on surface, but when the surface sparkles like this, it's hard to complain too loudly. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Unfinished Monkey Business'
Release Date 1/1/1998
Tracks 12
Label Polydor
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
It's skunky, lo-fi, and filled with an almost myth-destroying Dadaism that one starts to wonder if there ever was a sole vital force in the Stone Roses. Ian Brown's befuddled first effort quickly altered his reputation from one of swaggering genius into indie's embittered Charles Foster Kane. "Can't See Me" and "What Happened to Ya" -- unemotional, flattened versions of "Fool's Gold" -- are never taken past the sludge rock stage, but one would still have to own a heart of fossilized bone to deny the real anger and vulnerability in cajoled slow numbers like "Corpses." Worst in its bedroom riffs, best when it goes quiet and Brown croons to the patter of the drum machine, this is what it sounds like when a musician isn't sure if he's just getting started or if he's already utterly, irredeemably defeated. ~ Dean Carlson, All Music Guide
