Music of the Spheres

by Ian Brown

Overview

Before Music of the Spheres was released, Ian Brown touted it as a return for him to the peak form of his former band, the Stone Roses. As things go in the U.K., many members of the British music press jumped on the comments and appropriated Brown's views as their own. Realistically, Music of the Spheres is a strong, mature album, befitted with lush, exhilarating production that easily fits alongside Unfinished Monkey Business and Golden Greats, but it doesn't introduce anything revolutionary or match the excellence of The Stone Roses. The only thing that seems new for Brown on Music of the Spheres is that a number of the songs sound like minimalist tone poem explorations and that he sings in Spanish on "El Mundo Pequeno." One example of the minimalism is "Hear No See No," where Brown accompanies spare electronic notes with whispers of the title lyrics. But the album is at its strongest when he reaches for the inspired hooks and choruses that are his bread and butter. "F.E.A.R." is particularly compelling, with its lush string sounds and Brown's insanely catchy repetition of the letters that make up the song's title. "Stardust" and "Shadow of a Saint" are the album's other standouts, where Brown concocts frazzled poetry like, "I'm made from stardust/The same DNA as stardust," and intones about the "wings of an angel." Less bombastic than Golden Greats and more focused than Unfinished Monkey Business, Music of the Spheres is brimming with charm and accomplished, polished songcraft. There's no reason for Brown to abandon this style of music, and there's also no reason that he should feel the need to match the glories of The Stone Roses. Ian Brown's solo discography includes nothing but vibrant, organic albums. Each is worth exploring nearly as much as those of his former band. Considering the undeniably genius of the Stone Roses, that's extremely high praise. ~ Tim DiGravina

Product Details

Release Date:	12/23/2002
Label:	Polydor
UPC:	0731458912620

Tracks

1. F.E.A.R
2. Stardust
3. The Gravy Train
4. Bubbles
5. Hear No See No
6. Northern Lights
7. Whispers
8. El Mundo Pequeno
9. Forever and a Day
10. Shadow of a Saint

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ian Brown   Primary Artist,Vocals
Arthur Brown   Primary Artist
Francis Dunnery   Guest Artist,Bass,Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Boguslav Kostecki   Strings
David Daniels   Strings
Jackie Shave   Strings
Matt Pegg   Bass
Tim Wills   Guitar
Emlyn Singleton   Strings
Mary Scully   Strings
Dan Liebermann   Vocals (Background)
Philippa Ibbotson   Strings
Dermot Crehan   Strings
Inda Goldfinger   Percussion
Roger Chase   Strings
Tony Pleeth   Strings
Paddy Lannigan   Strings
Miffy Hirsch   Strings
Mark Sayfritz   Keyboards
Helen Hathorn   Strings
Perry Montague-Mason   Strings
Peter Lale   Strings
Martin Loveday   Vacuum Cleaner
Rita Manning   Strings
Everton Nelson   Strings
Patrick Kiernan   Strings
Maciej Rakowski   Strings
David Woodcock   Strings
Katie Wilkinson Khoroshunin   Strings
Philip Dukes   Strings
Bill Hawkes   Strings
Mark Berrow   Strings
Bruce White   Strings
Frank Schaefer   Strings
Dave McCracken   Bass,Guitar,Keyboards

Technical Credits

Steve Fitzmaurice   Photography,Mixing
Aziz Ibrahim   Composer
Howie Weinberg   Mastering
Tim Wills   Composer,Engineer
Tim Willis   Composer
Steve Price   Engineer
Mark Sayfritz   Composer,Programming
Tom Jenkins   Assistant Engineer
Michael White   Photo Assistance
Ian Brown   Composer
Dan Bierton   Composer
Andy Green   Assistant Engineer
Euphemia Dunnery   Assistant Engineer
Greg Hatwell   Composer
Francis Dunnery   Composer
Cathy Thompson   String Arrangements
Damon Iddins   Mixing,Engineer,Assistant
Dave McCracken   Composer,Producer,Programming
Dave Colquhoun   Composer