Ian Brown: My Way
Ian Brown: My Way
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Monday, 28, Sep 2009 05:43
Fiction, out now.
In a nutshell...
Charmingly predictable Manc pub wisdom
What's it all about?
Sixth solo album from the former frontman of the Stone Roses, it includes the recent hit single Stellify, and comes almost two years to the day after his last long player, The World Is Yours.
Who's it by?
Hard to believe, but Ian Brown's solo career is now over ten years old. The bulk of the 12 tracks on My Way were co-written with long time collaborator Dave McCracken at Battery Studios, where Brown and the Stone Roses recorded their seminal debut 20 years before
As an example.
"Your actions more than sisterly/The future is a mystery... I got my own brain/An anagram of my own name." - Own Brain
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Presented with the 'Godlike Genius' award at the 2006 NME awards, Brown has always been heralded far more for his work with the Stone Roses than his solo career. The seminal status of that band casts a long shadow and it is unlikely that his latest offering will propel Brown much further than the affections of his already devoted fanbase.
What the others say
"Highlights and lowlights alike, you listen to it struggling to think of anyone else who would do this. And perhaps that's the secret of the most mysterious continuing success story in rock." - Alexis Petridis, Guardian
So is it any good?
Ten years into his solo career and Ian Brown is arguably not much further on from where he started. Neither widely viewed as an elder statesman, such as Paul Weller, nor a still vital boundary pusher, it can often be tempting to see his solo work as a holding pattern, occasionally producing another slightly swaggering Madchester-esque album, only truly essential to keep the most diehard Stone Roses fans ticking over.
This is harsh, but partially true, as borne out by his latest offering. The obvious, half-inched album title and half-arsed cover (Ian Brown poses in trademark tracksuit) immediately suggest laziness and complacency. But upon listening to My Way you realise that maybe Ian Brown is realising his limitations, and turning them into strengths. His honest, straight-up approach and resolute refusal of anything approaching pretentiousness actually make My Way a refreshing, consistently enjoyable listen.
Opening track and lead-off single Stellify is an instant success, building a compulsive, nagging melody on top of simple, effective piano stabs and slowly building horn chants. Lyrical nonsense, it is nevertheless one of Brown's best singles yet, not quite F.E.A.R. - but not far off.
Other stand-out moments are often the simplest. The honest balladry of Always Remember Me is affecting in its directness, perfectly framed by hazy cod-psychedelic wall of sound production. Vanity Kills is nothing he hasn't done before - all vague forebodings and ominous synths - but incanted with a conviction that makes it sound fresh.
Brown is ever reliant on the variety of sympathetic backing music brought by his sidemen and My Way is no exception - from the jokey Black Grape like swagger of Just Like You to the mariachi horns on In The Year 2525 and the tabla-funk of Marathon Man. However, by the second half of the album this cannot distract from the fact that Brown runs out of melodic ideas and his lyrics become unforgivably bad.
For The Glory tries to be self-referential (name-checking She Bangs The Drums and the Roses) but comes off like a sixteen-year-old who has just heard the Beatles' Glass Onion for the first time and thought they could have a go at that clever-clever stuff. Own Brain is borderline moronic stoner wisdom and Laugh Now is so cliché ridden it can hardly be considered a new composition.
Nevertheless, My Way is one of Brown's best solo efforts. It doesn't dazzle but it does charm and contains enough stand-out moments to deserve a listen outside that diehard Stone Roses fanbase.
6/10
Steve Braund