Next month see's the re-issue of Richard Ashcroft's first three solo albums, Alone With Everybody, Human Conditions and Keys To The World, on 180gm vinyl.
Originally issued on Hut Records in June 2000, Alone With Everybody was eagerly anticipated, as it was Ashcroft's first recordings since the demise of the group he founded and led, The Verve. The re-issue replicates the 2000 UK first pressing and is available on audiophile 180g double vinyl in gatefold sleeve.
Opening the album with its string overture, "Song For The Lovers" signalled Ashcroft's intent immediately. Intensely melodic, anthemic, it picked up exactly where The Verve's 1997 multi-platinum album Urban Hymns left off. Lifted as a single, it reached No 3 in the UK and spent most of the summer on the charts.
Recorded at Olympic Studios and Metropolis in London, big, bold and frequently beautiful, Alone With Everybody raced to No 1 in early July; it played to all of Ashcroft's strengths, memorable hooks, catchy choruses, beats subtly influenced by dance music; the brass-blazing bold hoedown of "Money To Burn" was the album's second single; other highlights include the ballad "Slow Was My Heart", the upbeat joy of "C'Mon People (We're Making It Now)" and the reflective, string-enrobed "You On My Mind In My Sleep".
Originally issued on Hut Records in October 2002, Human Conditions built on the success of Alone With Everybody, retaining the new fans he had gained with that record. The re-issue replicates the 2002 UK first pressing and is available on audiophile 180g double vinyl in gatefold sleeve.
"It's a beautiful world," sings Ashcroft on opening track and lead single "Check The Meaning". Its eight-minutes seem a culmination of all of Ashcroft's work to date – a haunting guitar figure, swelling strings, and subtle orchestration back a lyric that catalogues the battle of love over evil, ending with Ashcroft assuring the listener "It's gonna be alright." It is a powerful beginning to a powerful album. "Buy It In Bottles" maintains the introspection of "The Drugs Don't Work", a mood that can be also found on "Running Away" and "Lord I've Been Trying"; while "Bright Lights" and "Paradise" bring the anthemic rock.
When Brian Wilson guests on one of your albums, it suggests a certain status has been attained; Richard Ashcroft demonstrated that he could hold his own in such company; both are songwriters of the human condition, and the song Wilson appears on "Nature Is The Law", closes Human Conditions in stellar fashion.
Originally issued on Parlophone in January 2006, Keys To The World was Ashcroft's first release in four years, coming soon after he had guested with Coldplay at Live 8. Released at the height of CD's popularity, Keys To The World is available on vinyl for the first time and is pressed on audiophile 180g vinyl in gatefold sleeve.
Chris Martin introduced Ashcroft singing "Bitter Sweet Symphony" at Live 8 saying it was "probably the best song ever written, and here's the best singer in the world." Keys To The World was a very welcome return, reaching No 2 in the UK charts and being certified Platinum.
The album certainly has a spring in its step – "Why Not Nothing" blasts the album off, with strings and saxes over a northern soul beat. With its sample of Walter Jackson's "It's All Over", "Music Is Power" is one of Ashcroft's best songs – another where he celebrates the command that popular music has had over him. The catchy, incessant "Break The Night With Colour" – the album's first single – placed him back in the UK Top 10; with it vocal samples and ominous string bed, the title track is powerful, topped with a passionate vocal. "Sweet Brother Malcolm" is one of Ashcroft's most poignant numbers, inspired by the flowers and tributes that amass on suburban lampposts after a tragic occurrence.
