Customer Reviews

Solarized

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

 

 

I bought this CD because I'm a Stone Roses nut. I didn't think it would be good. I was right, but in the wrong direction. It's GREAT!!! See, I never thought Ian Brown would be so good following the Stone Roses because his live performances with the Stone Roses, um, left a little to be desired. He seemed to be the least talented of the lads in the band; however, he's created a full-blown classic here if you ask me.

Melody, modernness, great lyrics, horns, guitars, bass, computers, emotion, mysticism...this CD has it all. It's a VERY good CD. Have no fear picking this one up Stone Roses fans and everyone else. It's a must-buy!

of Ian Brown's 4 solo albums, (5 if you count "remixes of the spheres") and i dig them all, i put solarized at the top. its an album you can put on and just let it go. all the tracks are solid, it just grooves from start to finish. although ian has taken alot of grief in the past for his voice (or lack there of) it sounds strong here and works well with the style of mucic, which includes lots of world music influences which i know mr. brown is fond of. collaborations with ex-roses guitarist Aziz Ibrahim and Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher are top notch. ian performed "keep what ya got" with his band on Conan O'Brien last night, which was fantastic! and if they roll through my neck of the woods i will definitely check them out!

Very interesting music with a voice that flows well. The arrangements are clever and are never out of bound.

Tres bon choix!

Having been a big Stone Roses fan for quite some time, I have to say I drifted away from Ian's solo stuff after his first outing (which I personally couldn't get into). I decided to check 'Solarized' out on a whim, and I am so glad I did. This is the best thing I've heard come out of the post-Roses camp. If I had to summarize it, it feels like a trimmed-down, less sprawling version of 'Second Coming'. Ian still dabbles in the synthesized beats and layered vocals, but he keps the songs short and catchy as hell this time around. What a great disc.

I never liked the Stone Roses that much... But Solarized is great. its a mixture of rock, 60s psych and interesting dance beats. Nobody else is succesfully fusing these genres these days - except occasionally the Chemical Brothers on "The Test" or something. Lots of great songs, good lyrics, cool psychedelic sounds. Some kind of 60s spirit lives on in Ian Brown despite his violent bludgeoning of a bouncer in SF a few months back - check the web for the footage, its out there!

Got into this through Paradise radio on internet. Didn't know Ian Brown but found out he was a member of "Stone roses". I gave away my Stone roses' album but I don't think I'll ever give this one.

Song "Solorized" got my attention, love the mood, the 'beu' bass and they way he's singing. I do get the rolling shoulders when I hear it. "Time is everything" makes me move my upper body a little more, I just love the horns' section. My hole body just slip into indecency when I play "One way ticket to paradise" a nice arabic electric guitar song with plenty of djambe.

I just love the way he blends music putting in mariachi, arabian sound, reggae, dance & trip hop.

I now know he was the lead singer of the Stone Roses. I happened to see his video on VH1 from his new cd Solarized. It was a freaking great song. I went out that day to buy Solarized and love it. Its one of my favorite cds. I usally listen to classic rock to hard rock and this dude's cd blew me away. I love it. Its too bad I didnt know about him before. His music is like psychedelic 60's with a modern beat. Its awesome! cheers Ty

While I certainly agree that it must surely help my assessment that I liked the Stone Roses, I think that people who at least didn't hate them should give this a listen. Like the Roses, the album builds in intensity as it progresses, but it also brings new elements, such as a well worked brass band in one track. Really excellent and varied but mostly driving rock music. Lovers of English Indie music should definitely give this one a try.

Rarely do I actually buy an album because usually I only like one or two songs and then the rest of the music shows just how little originality or actual musical understanding the artist has. Not so with this album, which I absolutely fell in love with at first listening, and it only gets better as I listen to all the layers. Just when you think you could sing along, Ian does something to change up the beat or melody, and he uses long musical passages or "white space" unexpectedly and thoughtfully in between the lyrics to drive home a deeper meaning. Really listen to "Time is My Everything" and see if you don't love it. Oh, how I love this album. This and Music of the Spheres just absolutely rock.

The Stone Roses are back! Ok not really, but Ian's new solo album is excellent and is reminiscent of the Roses' glory days. A lot of people had this misconception that Brown was the least talented of the Roses. I hope this album corrects that. The primary songwriters for "The Stone Roses", and "Second Coming", were Brown, and Squire, respectively. All due respect to John Squire, but what does that tell you? I was fortunate enough to see Brown perform live last weekend in LA, and he just blew the audience away. What stage presence! His voice sounded great to me. I've seen the footage from the Reading Festival, so i can see why his voice has gotten such a bad rap. But hearing him sing just feet away from me, i am convinced that Reading was a fluke. If you like music at all, buy this album.