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Ian Brown’s return comes 6 weeks after the re-mastered version of the first Roses album, influential in it’s release the timing is deliberate as Brown. Working again with long-time collaborator Dave McCracken, ‘My Way’ was recorded at the very Battered Studios where the magic began two decades ago. The social commentary of 2007’s ‘The World is Yours’ has been replaced with a reflective autobiographical context, making ‘My Way’ Brown’s most personal record to date.
Renowned for starting big (My Star, Getting’ High and F.E.A.R. were all album openers), Brown sets the pace with latest single ‘Stellify.’ Originally written for Rihanna, staccato rhythms collide head-on with a pounding bassline and euphoric brass to invoke chest-beating elation.
The beauty of this album is that it combines the variety of a pick’n’mix with the cohesion of a Connect4 champion. ‘Crowning of the Poor’ is a brooding, moody number with an epic melody that wouldn’t be out of place on a Nas album whereas the cover of Zager and Evans’ ‘In The Year 2525’ is an upbeat Mexican number that sees the welcome return of the mariachi trumpet.
‘Marathon Man’ has been written to play live, My Way’s ‘Golden Gaze,’ the self-belief and swagger of old return over stripped down electronics. If to fail is your fate / And to succeed is destiny / Keep your eyes up on the prize / All join hands with me. ‘By All Means’ has Brown on top of his pulpit once more, searching for mercy for someone who has done him wrong, the whole thing over soaring soundscapes making the resultant sound huge.
Littered with references to his old band, ‘Always Remember Me’ sees a regretful Brown sing over a deep echo-drenched sound, a deliberate look back at the mid-80s indie underground. The message is clear to his old band mate. “Those were the days when we had it all / And these are the times I’ve got so much more.”
This is very mature album by an intelligent artist. Thought-provoking lyrics, provide the gloss on a balanced display of power, emotion, reflection and self belief. This is the Ian Brown way. The Roses may be dead but the King reigns supreme!
