Thursday, April 17, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

CDVS

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Or so other journalists would have you believe. Many a scribe, mostly from the U.K., has been delivering the critical beat-down to Richard Ashcroft for not recreating the majesty that is 1997's Urban Hymns, the much-exalted album he made with his former band, the Verve. His 2000 solo debut, Alone With Everybody, was the afterglow-tinged and logical--if over-orchestrated--conclusion of Urban Hymns' sobering up that underwhelmed some listeners because it did not possess the emotional conflict or tuneful grandeur of, say, "Bitter Sweet Symphony" or "The Drugs Don't Work."

That album's fairly similar follow-up, Human Conditions, isn't likely to cause a change of heart among the critics. That's too bad--it's a consistently rewarding and steadfastly focused album that, like Alone, further distinguishes Ashcroft's solo work from his participation in the Verve, while melodically and thematically hearkening back to his late `90s output enough to acknowledge his auteur-like artistry. You can't hear the stirring "Lord I've Been Trying" without thinking of the memorable ballads he crafted with his old band. However, the soaring British top five single "Science of Silence" bears his post-millennial voice, continuing his recent tradition of centering his songs acoustically. Harvest-era Neil Young seeps into songs like "Buy It in Bottles"; subtle traces of the blues surface there, too, as well as in the sole rave-up, "Bright Lights," and first single, "Check the Meaning."

Ashcroft isn't the only Verve vet to recently record an album. The Shining--yes, named after the novel/film--features former Verve guitarist/keyboard Simon Tong and former bassist Simon Jones, who have not forgotten their roots on their debut, True Skies. The band's sonorous riffage has its roots in the older group, evidenced in the seductive, Led Zeppelin-esque "Quicksilver," and behind the boards, as it was produced by Youth, who was at the helm for Urban Hymns.

However, most of True Skies, which Sony has delayed in releasing domestically, is unremarkable. Like most Britpop bands spun off from other previously successful bands (Hurricane #1, the Seahorses), there's one or two catchy singles, and the rest drones along. The band hasn't concentrated on the tunes or the musicianship; rather, it falls back on emphasizing vibes that evoke either lava lamps or Union Jack-draped Marshall stacks. Enough nostalgia--I'll take the more reflective Ashcroft in a heartbeat.--Mike Prevatt