The Greatest

by Ian Brown

Overview

As Ian Brown is not exactly renowned for his lack of self-belief, The Greatest is an appropriately egotistical title for the first compilation from the Madchester scene's golden boy. Brown is always more consistent as a singles artist, and so this 2005 collection, which gathers 15 tracks from his patchy first four albums, is perhaps the ideal showcase for the former Stone Roses frontman's talents. Kicking off with three tracks from 1998's Unfinished Monkey Business, debut single "My Star" set the blueprint for his solo career, combining cod-mysticism, Middle Eastern instrumentation, and psychedelic indie rock with his trademark languid vocal delivery, a formula Brown clearly adheres to on the likes of the space rock of "Longsight M13" and the sole new composition, "All Ablaze." However, the Morricone-inspired Spaghetti western vibes of "Time Is My Everything," the authentic brass-fused reggae of "Lovebug" (previously only available on the U.S./Japan edition of 2004's Solarized), and the jangly Americana of "Corpses in Their Mouths," a bitter diatribe against former bandmate John Squire, proved that the self-described "monkey man" was no one-trick pony. All the singles are here (bar his lowest-charting release, "Whispers"), including the two Noel Gallagher collaborations ("Can't See Me," "Keep What Ya Got"), unexpected Top Five hit "Dolphins Were Monkeys," and his two guest spots with UNKLE ("Be There," "Reign"), but it's 2001's "F.E.A.R.," a haunting string-soaked slice of baggy hip-hop cleverly creating a series of acronyms from the title, that remains his defining moment. Brown very rarely lives up to his self-aggrandizing claims on his studio albums, but with only the lazy Hendrix pastiche "Forever and a Day" missing the target, this comprehensive retrospective finally puts his money where his mouth is. ~ Jon O'Brien

Product Details

Release Date:	12/13/2005
Label:	Polydor
UPC:	0602498728741

Tracks

1. My Star
2. Corpses in Their Mouths
3. Can't See Me
4. Be There
5. Love Like a Fountain
6. Dolphins Were Monkeys
7. Golden Gaze
8. F.E.A.R.
9. Whispers
10. Forever and a Day
11. Keep What Ya Got
12. Time Is My Everything
13. Longsight M13
14. Reign
15. Lovebug
16. All Ablaze
17. Return of the Fisherman

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ian Brown   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
UNKLE   Primary Artist
Gavin Wright   Ensemble

Technical Credits

Dave McCracken   Producer,Programming,Composer
Dave Colquhoun   Composer
Steve Fitzmaurice   Mixing
Aziz Ibrahim   Composer
Howie Weinberg   Mastering
Tim Hutton   Composer
Tim Wills   Composer,Engineer
DJ Shadow   Composer
Paulinho Da Costa   Composer
Ian Brown   Composer
James Lavelle   Arranger,Composer
Simon Wolstencroft   Composer
Antony Genn   Composer
Gary Mounfield   Composer
Francis Dunnery   Composer
Fury   Cover Design,Art Direction
Richard File   Composer
Scott Engel   Composer
Noel Gallagher   Composer
Michael Bennett   Composer
Mike Bennett   Composer
Inder Matharu   Composer
Josh Davis   Composer
Paul Da Costa   Composer
Darren Moss   Composer