Ian Brown
Golden Greats (Interscope)
by Tim Den
I’m going to try my hardest not to say what every other review has already said about Ian Brown. Yes, he was the singer of The Stone Roses. Yes, his former band revolutionized the British music scene in the late ’80s/early ’90s. Yes, The Stone Roses were the last of the great swagger, British “acid house” bands that mattered (and fathers of such late-comers as Oasis, The Charlatans UK, etc.). And no, Ian Brown takes no shit from a flight stewardess: He went to prison to prove it. The man is unique; a visionary who stands by his contradicting philosophies that in turn make him such an idealist and a confident individual. Part angry punk, part love preacher, part cultural icon… where can he go next? Well, after the semi-flop of his first solo record, Unfinished Monkey Business (as well as the turbulent last few years of the ’90s, when he made a mess of The Stone Roses’ demise and his own personal life), it seemed getting a little respect would be a step in the right direction. With Golden Greats, Brown succeeds. There is barely a hint of his past band on this electronica-fueled, daring new album.
(www.interscope.com)