He's doing it for us. And that, in an age of self-indulgent angst-peddlers and psuedo-entertainers with dollar signs in their eyes, is something special.
For all his questionable theorizing and flawed honesty, the man who wandered the streets of Manchester handing out £100,000 of The Stone Roses' Geffen advance still possesses a generous musical spirit. And Golden Greats is a fundamentally unselfish record, as simply enjoyable as a day off or a light beer buzz. Think Motown, think the Stereo MCs, think how lucky you are that you don't have to listen to anything pretentious or "difficult" today.
Golden Greats, from its cheery K-Tel title down into its relaxed funk/rock/acid grooves, is a welcoming record. It's Ian Brown shaking your hand, sharing a spliff, putting on his favorite records, and singing along. As such, it's not exactly a grower, and probably won't stand repeated plays as well as his more musically adept former band's records have. But its charms are plenty - Aziz Ibrahim's catchy riffing, Brown's way with a lyrical turn, the effortless funk the man seems to bring to everything - and its sincerity is obvious. Ian Brown wants to entertain, but there's no cash-in here; as always, his music is populist in the best sense. All are welcome.
There are a couple of truly inspired moments of dance-rock fusion - singles "Love Like a Fountain," "Dolphins Were Monkeys" and "Golden Gaze" - and a couple of duff moments where anything-goes sounds like less of a sound policy (the grind of "First World" is two minutes too long; the orchestral intro to "Dolphins Were Monkeys" doesn't fit; Ibrahim should never, ever, solo). In defense of Brown's much-maligned voice, he rarely overextends himself, and has a knack for writing in clever meters and finding melody lines that suit him. In that sense, he's an excellent singer. Yeah, he's a crapshoot live, but hey, this is a studio album. Don't nit-pick.
Really, Golden Greats makes any significant criticism feel churlish. We should be thankful that Ian Brown is still making records like this, because records like this make life a little bit better.
If you like Ian Brown, check out:
Happy Mondays Pills 'n' Thrills & Bellyaches
King Biscuit Time No Style
Cornershop When I Was Born for the 7th Time
The Stereo MCs Connected
The Stone Roses The Stone Roses
The Beastie Boys Paul's Boutique
