Ian Brown - 'The World Is Yours' (Polydor) Released 24/09/07

Richard Aschcroft once said “The Drugs Don’t Work” and having kicked the cannabis to record his new album ‘The World Is Yours’ Ian Brown seems to be listening to the words of The Verve man. King Monkey’s fifth studio LP is a collection of politically and emotionally charged songs that at times appear ostentatious rather than enthralling. Bands will often take that plunge into the realms of orchestral movements by getting a string player to add all sorts of nonsense in a desperate plea to sound ‘different’ on their third album. Well not quite his third album, and over twenty years into his career, Brown has taken the idea a wee bit too far. Every track contains a violin stoke here or a booming cello wondering there and it does give the album personality although it’s very easy to get half way through and think "has the first track even finished yet?"

The attack on political issues is also taken that little too far. Stepping into the Bono mentality, Brown asks to be saved from "Imbeciles who think they rule the world" on ‘Save Us’ and lead single ‘Illegal Attacks’ – which features Sinead O’ Connor – is along the blunt unimaginative exclaims of Boy George saying "War is stupid and people are stupid" and falls into a dangerous medicine of tiresome declarations. Brown yells: “Soldiers, soldiers come home”, and rants of the problems with Iraq, oil drums and commercial crusades. Obviously the sentiments are there and it’s nice to know Brown cares and wants to voice his issues, but rather then taint the musical genius that he is respected for, put it in a letter to Mr. Brown. One saving grace for the track is that the orchestra doesn’t feel out of place as a commanding bellowing beat follows the song through to O’Connor’s isolated vocal ending.

Lyrically there are moments of Brown’s genius, wit and romanticism and there are also those slower moments of contrived dreariness. ‘Street Children’ and ‘On Track’ provide fine poetic indulgence. “If you don’t give you don’t get/Didn’t you get that yet.” While the unfortunate flashes of unimaginative writing in ‘Goodbye To The Broken’ spoil the sentiments. “We had it all and threw it all away/I don’t know why you couldn’t stay/Yesterday.” ‘The Feeding Of The 5000’ provides too many examples where electronic beats fight for supremacy over the strings and create a conflict as great as Brown’s musings.

A whole host of friends from Brown’s contact book have popped up to help out the former Stone Roses man. Steve Jones and Paul Cook of The Sex Pistols lend their former punk charms to ‘Sister Rose’ and ‘Me And You Forever’, even though at times it’s difficult to realise they are there the influence is delicately enthralling. Bass guitar lines are also provided by former Smiths man Andy Rouke and Happy Mondays’ Paul Ryder.

Drifting into the realms of a score for a film and dark with intent and delivery the album isn’t terrible and Browns charm certainly cascades through. Who knows, if we were back in the heyday of Madchester and Brown turned to Mani to say he was going clean and wanted the band to do the same maybe 'Second Coming' would have been followed by a third and a fourth, then again…