Ian Brown – The Greatest (2xLP)

Ian Brown's The Greatest pulls together the first substantial overview of his solo work, arriving in 2005 after four studio albums and at a moment when his profile was high from major festival headline slots and a sold-out tour. Rather than a token catalogue sweep, it maps how Brown turned the post-Stone Roses years into a distinct solo identity: baggy grooves, psychedelic indie rock, electronic textures and the laid-back vocal style that ties even the most different tracks together.

Across 17 tracks, the set reaches back to early solo touchstones like "My Star" and "Corpses in Their Mouths," then moves through key singles including "Dolphins Were Monkeys" and "F.E.A.R.," the latter often singled out as the defining moment of Brown's solo catalogue. It also folds in two UNKLE collaborations, "Be There" and "Reign," which broaden the picture by showing how comfortably Brown's voice fit darker, more skeletal production outside his own albums.

Just as useful, The Greatest does not present Brown as a one-note artist. The selection highlights the shift from the Middle Eastern and psychedelic colouring of the debut-era material to the spaghetti-western feel of "Time Is My Everything," the reggae lift of "Lovebug," and the jangling, guitar-led pull of later singles. The 2004 Noel Gallagher collaboration "Keep What Ya Got" adds another important thread, making this less a victory lap than a concise guide to how Ian Brown's solo records built their own world.

Features

• 2xLP

Reviews

• this comprehensive retrospective finally puts his money where his mouth is. - AllMusic.com