Golden Greats

Ian Brown

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 25, 2000)
• Original Release Date: April 25, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Interscope Records
• ASIN: B00004STP9
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #86,912 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The Stone Roses were one of rock & roll's brilliant failures. Even more so than Guns N' Roses, the Stones Roses allowed controversy to override the mission. It took them six years to release two albums. The first helped define Manchester's psychedelic rock scene, while the second proved they'd ingested the classic-rock library well enough to regurgitate it at will. As the cheeky lead singer, Ian Brown exudes overreaching self-confidence and an inability to feel silly in any pose. Golden Greats benefits from this. "Love Like a Fountain" is what you'd expect: a droning, psychedelic dance-floor hybrid of mesmerizing beats and lazy, ethereal blasts of melody. "Free My Way," however, is the sound of an acid casualty spouting trippy insights. "So Many Soldiers" could be his tribute to Julian Cope. Years have passed, but the music hasn't changed much. Brown knows that washes of shrieking keyboards create alternate universes, but people's attention tends to wander if you don't marry it to a danceable groove. --Rob O'Connor

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars mediocre victory, April 28, 2000

By	"eclectic42" (london, uk) - See all my reviews

Although Ian Brown does have one of the most unique, enduring, and pleasant voices, the new material leaves room for much improvement. Realizing that most of the material was formulated from his recent bout with a prison sentence, it does provide a more intimate window into Ian's life. Perhaps I yearn for a more traditional Rose sound. Not being much of a techno fan, I was a bit disappointed with the persistence to have the mechanical beats be the foundation of most of the tunes. However, I think that the album is worth listening to, if anything, for his alluring voice and personal lyrics.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars good as gold, April 28, 2000

By	Emma Zaratian (seattle) - See all my reviews

I was first introduced to this album's existence a month before it was released. I was at a Charlatan's show and they were passing out Ian Brown cassette singles at the end. One strange morning I popped in the "love is like a fountain" single and from there on played it continuously in my car, much to my fellow passengers' chagrin. The album is pretty brilliant in a rough and sexy way. Ian's voice croons salaciously through the majority of the keyboard-laden tracks. And pretty ditties crash into loud and punching pop chords burning in the remains of those Stone Rose cinders. If you've been looking for limey-golden brilliance to beam through and engulf you...take it. It's here.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Stone Roses are dead, get used to it., May 14, 2000

By	J. Eichorn "Dillettente" (Oakland, California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Yes, I still long for the days when I could expect something new from the Roses, but those days are gone. Heck, The Seahorses are dead too. This album is a triumph as far as I'm concerned, though. Sure, not all of it is "gold" (the lyrics in "Love Like a Fountain" are embarrassingly simple), and there is a touch too much drone here and there, but I see this as good jumping off point for more good things ("Set My Baby Free" has an incredibly catchy groove). This is NOT a Stone Roses album (although I can hear where Squire could fit in here and there), it's an Ian Brown album, and that's not a bad thing. There are good grooves, there is posturing, and there is stuff that sticks with you for the whole day. Mr. Brown has created stuff that I look forward to hearing over and over. I suspect Stone Roses fans will like it if they remember the Roses are no more. Take it for what it is, a very decent album from the former lead singer of a fantastic group.