Richard Ashcroft – Keys To The World

Originally issued on Parlophone in January 2006, Keys To The World was Ashcroft’s first release in four years, coming soon after he had guested with Coldplay at Live 8 – Released at the height of CD’s popularity, Keys To The World is available on vinyl for the first time and is pressed on audiophile 180g vinyl in gatefold sleeve.

Chris Martin introduced Ashcroft singing “Bitter Sweet Symphony” at Live 8 saying it was “probably the best song ever written, and here’s the best singer in the world.” Keys To The World was a very welcome return, reaching No 2 in the UK charts and being certified Platinum.

The album certainly has a spring in its step “Why Not Nothing” blasts the album off, with strings and saxes over a northern soul beat. With its sample of Walter Jackson’s “It’s All Over”, “Music Is Power” is one of Ashcroft’s best songs another where he celebrates the command that popular music has had over him. The catchy, incessant “Break The Night With Colour” the album’s first single placed him back in the UK Top 10; with it vocal samples and ominous string bed, the title track is powerful, topped with a passionate vocal. “Sweet Brother Malcolm” is one of Ashcroft’s most poignant numbers, inspired by the flowers and tributes that amass on suburban lampposts after a tragic occurrence.

Format – LP