Ian Brown
Ripples
Release Date: Feb 1, 2019
Genre(s): Pop/Rock
Record label: Universal
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Album Review: Ripples by Ian Brown
Mediocre, Based on 5 Critics
Based on rating 2.5
It may not feel like it, but Ian Brown has been away from the album format for some time. If you remove the Stone Roses revival from the calendar, and those two tracks that promised more new material but petered out, Ripples is his first new work for nearly 10 years. That's a long time even for an artist like Ian Brown, and looking at his last statement My Way, his sixth album as a solo artist, it is not too much to expect comparable emotional depth and creative edge this time around.
Based on rating 4/10
Ian Brown's career trajectory has been one of fighting back. Back in 1998 when the embers of The Stone Roses' car-crash disbandment were still smouldering, expectations for his solo career were set staggeringly low for a lead singer who transfixed, captivated and inspired millions during the band's zenith. Against these unlikely odds, his debut solo album Unfinished Monkey Business was a ramshackle and fascinating triumph - bristling with ideas and glistening with confidence.
Opinion: Excellent
T he Stone Roses' singer's first solo album for a decade is in some ways reminiscent of his first, 1998's Unfinished Monkey Business. After the Roses had imploded, Brown turned in a defiantly lo-fi set of songs that edged out of that group's long shadow. Now that, 21 years on, the Roses have possibly wilted once again - "Don't be sad it's over, be happy that it happened", Brown said at their last gig, two years ago - and once again the 55-year-old has turned in an idiosyncratic set of songs laden with his personal stamp.
Opinion: Fairly Good
F or whatever reason - money, pressure, the list goes on - the recent Stone Roses reunion failed to produce an album. So Ian Brown took matters into his own hands - literally. Ripples, his seventh solo outing, finds the Roses' erstwhile singer playing many of the instruments on these 10 tracks, producing the album and directing the videos; his sons feature in his band.
Opinion: Average
When The Police reformed in 2007, Sting wryly noted he was "monetising the asset for one last time". Of all the bands rushing to monetise their assets over the last decade, none have done so on a greater wave of goodwill than the Stone Roses. This was the reunion everyone was willing to happen. In the years since their acrimonious split, their popularity had grown exponentially, elevating them to near mythical status.
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