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Richard Ashcroft: Keys to the World

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"Why Not Nothing?" from Richard Ashcroft's "Keys to the World"

I was a 14-year-old in 1995 when I first heard the Verve’s A Northern Soul. A decade later, twice the body weight and half the intellect, here am I once again floored by the power of that late band’s leader. Keys to the World is the man called “Mad Richard’s” third solo effort and consists of 10 songs that, in a perfect world, would all be #1 singles. Keys opens with one of the album’s three perfect gems, “Why Not Nothing.” It’s Ashcroft’s most lyrically/musically angry solo cut to date, with a perfect blend of foot-stompin’ bass and snare, distorted guitars, layered vocals and a scathing lyrical attack on religion: “You don’t deny it, it’s abuse of the cross, let’s get some of God-squad in the dark where they belong.” The title track is one of the few songs you’re ever likely to hear that actually makes you want to brawl, boff and bang on the old six-string all in one swoop and could easily have been a standout tune on any Verve record. From the somber tales of “Sweet Brother Malcolm” to the I’ll-never-get-this-chorus-out-of-my-head number “Words Just Get in the Way,” Ashcroft takes us on a ride. The album’s finest moment is “Simple Song,” and it makes you genuinely wish the producer had looped the chorus a million times over. Instead what you get is a taut 4:02 of near perfection. It’s a song that breaks the skin and goes deep in the conscious of anyone who has ever done something worthy of regret. Ashcroft recently has been supporting Coldplay, and there is little doubt in my mind that that band has had their work cut out for them following Ashcroft and these songs performed live. If you look at him as some sort of Dylan for this jilted generation, then this may well be his Blood on the Tracks. Remember that guy taking that arrogant stroll down a crowded street in the “Bittersweet Symphony” video? Well, it’s the same guy and the same street, only this time he’s bulldozing everyone and everything over.