Customer Reviews

The Greatest

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ian Brown is never one for understatement. The Greatest is a collection of the best of all of his solo albums, some of them very unavailable or rare in America. Koch has just recently released them here in new versions, after the minor success of Solarized. His solo work in the past eight years is not as great as some of the Stone Roses is very distinguished and accomplished. He has definitely developed his sound and brought in some exotic sounds. Some of his early stuff like "My Star" has those sitar sounds. Much of his music was in collaboration with Aziz Ibrahim. "Can't See Me" is a very Stone Roses type of track. It was written with Mani. There are a few UNKLE songs in collaboration with DJ Shadow like "Be There" and "Reign" which are excellent. One of my favorites is "Love Like A Fountain." Brown explains his theory of evolution on "Dolphins Were Monkeys." Another fan favorite is "F.E.A.R." The song "Forever And A Day" is one of the better hard rocking songs with Dave McCracken. It almost could be an Oasis song. No sooner said, than we have also the Noel Gallagher song "Keep What You Got." Check the video. "Longsight M13" is one of the trippy late songs that is pretty cool. "Lovebug" is a little silly. Ian Brown will be remembered for his impact on British music. If it was up to him, he would take credit for Oasis and any bands that look like him. The Stone Roses and Ian Brown managed to fuse dance music, drug culture and rock music. Ian Brown looks like a freaky guy now. But the music is overall very high quality.

The Greatest by Ian Brown is a collection of the former Stone Roses singer's singles & collaborations dating from 1997 to 2005. A treat for both his faithful followers & the uninitiated, this disc contains some of the finest pop music made in the last 10 years & is highly recommmended. Though some of the tracks are in their inferior single versions or slightly remixed, the material shines & the new tracks Reign & All Ablaze are incredible additions to Mr. Brown's catalog. From the triumphant return of debut single My Star to the dance floor filling Love Like A Fountain to the so funky it hurts Dolphins Were Monkeys & beyond this disc is a great retrospective with a few glaring admissions along the way. The unstoppable Getting High from Golden Greats is sorely missed as is the lovely Shadow Of A Saint from Music Of The Spheres. His fun & funky update cover of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean would have been a nice addition as well as Bubbles & Whispers, two of the better tracks from the very good, aforementioned Music Of The Spheres. His terrific collaborations with UNKLE are both included as is the awesome Keep What Ya Got with Noel Gallager of Oasis. For anyone interested in exploring Ian Brown's back catalog, his 4 high quality solo albums prior to this are all worth purchasing (especially the mighty Golden Greats) as he has many good album tracks worth hearing. The catalog of his former band The Stone Roses should be required listening to anyone interested in Rock & Pop music. Expectations for his next solo album are high, happy listening.

I was never a Die Hard fan of The Stone Roses neither of the Monkey King, but I was always tempted to buy a CD of him as I really love his master piece "I want to be adored" with his former band and solo songs such as "Love like a fountain". Well, I was NOT dissapointed when I got this CD: Really cool tracks, nice selections and very good collaborations (Keep what ya' got - Noel Gallagher, F.E.A.R. - UNKLE and some others great tracks inside!). I could only say that this CD worth every dollar I spent and definitely I can recommend it to any fan or casual listener.

FOR A NEWCOMER OR CASUAL FAN THIS REALLY IS AN IDEAL COMPILATION. PRETTY MUCH THE CREAM OF BROWNS CROP IS INCLUDED FROM ALL HIS SOLO ALBUMS AND COLLABORATIONS WITH UNKLE( WHICH ARE SOME OF THE TOP TRACKS. BROWN MIXES ELECTRONICA-BRITPOP-FUNK- DANCE AND POP TO MOSTLY SUCCESS. STANDOUTS INCLUDE MY STAR-GOLDEN GAZE-(THE VERY OASIS PENNED KEEP WHAT YOU GOT( CO WRITTEN WITH NOEL) PLUS THE TWO UNKLE NODS OF BE THERE AND REIGN(BOTH FANTASTIC.) THIS CD IS ALL YOU REALLY NEED- NONE OF HIS SOLO RECORDS STRUCK ME AS GREAT-ALWAYS A FEW REALLY GOOD SONGS AND THEN SOUNDALIKE FILLER. MUSICALLY THERE ARE HEAVY DRUM LOOPS-SOME SQUELCHING ELECTRONIC NOISE( THE NEW SINGLE ALL ABLAZE IS GOOD BUT HAS AN ANNOYING 303 SOUNDING PATTERN THAT HAS BEEN USED TOO MUCH BEFORE ON HIS OTHER TUNES. LOTS OF PYSCHEDILIC AND EASTERN STYLE GUITARS-SOME ACOUSTIC AND HORNS FILL OUT THE VARIED STYLES THAT WEAVE THROUGHOUT THE SONGS. THE EARLY 90'S MANCHESTER BAGGY DRUG VIBE CLINGS ON TO BROWN LIKE AN OLD FRIEND. THE ARRANGMENTS ARE VERY INTERESTING AT TIMES- AND KEEP A SIMPLICITY THAT IS OFTEN HARD TO PULL OFF. BUT SOME SONGS HAVE THE SAME DRUM TEMPOS AND PATTERNS TO THE POINT OF SOUNDING TOO MUCH THE SAME. BROWN'S VOICE NEVER FALTERS AND IS ONE OF THE REASONS MOST OF THE MATERIAL WORKS.

AT 15 SONGS- THIS IS ALL THE SOLO WORK FROM THE FORMER STONE ROSES SINGER YOULL REALLY EVER NEED( UNLESS YOURE A DIEHARD FAN.)

Just missing 'Getting High' from the setlist.
As the title says, Mr. Brown is THE GREATEST. Period.

Very impressive. Makes me want to get some of the regular cds to add to this fine collection. If you like Stone Roses - get this one too.

Without the inclusion of 'Getting High', I would only give it 4 stars, but the new 'All Ablaze' single bumps it back up. I think "Spheres" is his best work, but this compilation should pique anyone's interest enough to buy all of his work. So go buy it. Now.

This compilation of Ian Brown singles is a must for any fan of the Stone Roses or UK music in general. Taken mostly from his three studio albums, The Greatest also features a couple new tracks, most notably 'All Ablaze'. For those that haven't purchsed Brown's post-Roses albums, this album makes for a good primer.

I was never a Die Hard fan of The Stone Roses neither of the Monkey King, but I was always tempted to buy a CD of him as I really love his master piece "I want to be adored" with his former band and solo songs such as "Love like a fountain". Well, I was NOT dissapointed when I got this CD: Really cool tracks, nice selections and very good collaborations (Keep what ya' got - Noel Gallagher, F.E.A.R. - UNKLE and some others great tracks inside!). I could only say that this CD worth every dollar I spent and definitely I can recommend it to any fan or casual listener.