The fact is, in America at least, not many people know of the seminal U.K. band, the late, great Verve. (Even worse, some get the Verve confused with the American middle of the road pop/rock group the Verve Pipe.) Fewer people are aware that Richard Ashcroft, the Verve’s former frontman, is still making music. All we ignorant yanks know is that the song Bittersweet Symphony is a great one.
Keys To The World is Ashcroft’s third solo album since the Verve broke up almost a decade ago. Like his previous solo work, Human Conditions, Keys To The World isn’t a particularly psychedelic rock record like much of the Verve’s catalog of songs. Rather, Keys To The World builds on the classicist and melodic structure of songs like Bittersweet Symphony and the tragically underrated, but equally great The Drugs Don’t Work. What we have here are ten songs (plus one bonus track) that show of Ashcroft’s two greatest assets: his gift for crafting beautiful melodies and his emotive voice. This isn’t to say, however, that anything on this album matches the two aforementioned classics.
Occasionally criticized for being TOO emotive, especially on his two prior solo albums, age has seemingly tempered Ashcroft’s delivery on his new album. Why Not Nothing?, the album’s opener, is a very rock ‘n’ roll song, and Ashcroft’s voice contains just a hint of a Liam Gallagher-esque sneer. Only four minutes long, the track sets the tone for the rest of the album. By comparison, the opening track to Human Conditions was a lengthy eight minutes. Just as Check The Meaning, the Human Conditions opener, set a tone of excess which ultimately bogged down that album, Why Not Nothing? strips away the bombast and gets back to the roots of what makes Ashcroft’s music so effective.
As the second track, Music Is Power, begins, we are greeted with some funky guitar work and floating strings. It’s a very upbeat and uplifting soulful experience. And Ashcroft is one of the very few singers who can sing the lines “Music is power / Let it flow through your mind / You’re just like a flower / In the deep sunshine” and still walk away with some of your respect, thanks to the catchiness of the tune. Make no mistake- this album is full of broad sweeping statements like that. It’s music for the people, and if the lyrics are overtly universal, it’s purposeful.
Of course, what would Ashcroft’s music be without the slow, heart-wrenching ballads? Words Just Get In The Way, Sweet Brother Malcolm, and the particularly rousing Why Do Lovers? do the job just nicely. Each of them could probably be any young singer/songwriter’s flagship single. Here, they sit comfortably next to other strong album cuts.
Perhaps the most intriguing song is the title track itself. Built around a looped R&B female vocal sample, it’s got a haunting, almost hypnotic melody. It’s produced very well and it’s certainly the freshest-sounding song on the album.
If Keys To The World has any weaknesses, it’s simply that as good as most of these songs are, there are hardly any moments that leave me flabbergasted in awe. The first time I ever heard The Drugs Don’t Work, I thought, Wow- this is a beautiful song. And when I finally realized that the song wasn’t just another rock song about drugs- and that it was about a son’s love for his weakened father- I was moved in a way that very few songs have ever touched me. There’s absolutely nothing like that moment on Keys To The World. But if, on the off chance I were to ever hear one of these songs while driving in a car, I’d probably start bellowing along. With the windows closed, of course.
"Keys To The World" is on sale January 24, 0006 from Parlophone.
