Star-crossed and sullen artiste Richard Ashcroft, the one who constantly trips over his own feet on the way to stardom, has at last come up with the kind of album his fans all knew he could make. Its sad-sack title notwithstanding, Alone With Everybody is the best album Ashcroft has been a part of since the Verve's great, blustery Northern Soul album back in 1995. Though it was a pity to see that talented but misguided band split after Urban Hymns, watching (and hearing) Ashcroft's spirit rise up from the ashes so quickly and so triumphantly adds an important and heartwarming chapter to the embattled songwriter's life.
Combining the genteel, orchestral aesthetics of the acclaimed Urban Hymns with a smooth, even more soulful sensibility, Alone With Everybody is more instantly memorable than any of Ashcroft's past work. Just about every tune here deserves mention--from the rich, opening "A Song For The Lovers" and the swooning, '70s pop-country "Brave New World," to the pushy/catchy piano gem "C'mon People (We're Making It Now)" and the delightful "I Get My Beat."
Avoiding another awkward "band" situation (he has been labeled difficult to work with), Ashcroft employed a rotating batch of musical accompaniment, which was, apparently, at his service. This enabled the temperamental songwriter to pursue directly the sounds he heard in his head. Those sounds--expansive, even majestic--portray Ashcroft as an even better writer than he had already proven himself to be.
It may be an overachievement, but who cares? Alone With Everybody is a major breakthrough, and one of the very best records of the year.
All recordings courtesy of Virgin Records. All songs written by R. Ashcroft; courtesy of EMI Music Publishing, Ltd. (PRS), administered by EMI Virgin Music, Inc. (ASCAP).
