Rocktrospectiva: The Pastoral "Keys To The World" Turns 20

Released on 23 January 2006 "Keys To The World" was the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Richard Ashcroft.  The album spawned four singles "Break The Night With Colour", "Music Is Power", "Words Just Get In The Way"& "Why Not Nothing".  

After a lengthy hiatus, Ashcroft returned with his third album. The album contained songs written over six years showcasing Ashcroft's sneeringly cocksure voice in fine, mature form. He was undoubtedly right in his assumption that he was the template for swaggering Northern vocalists. Yet the anthemic quality of many of the tracks left the listener thinking about of another northern testosterone-filled crooner.

The tracks "Sweet Brother Malcolm" and "World Keeps Turning" hint at depth, but it's too cliché-ridden to attain classic status. Then it was the Verve-lite and merely the best track on the set, "Music Is Power", which was built around a Curtis Mayfield sample) - it's full of sound and fury, but not really saying much.

Ashcroft first two solo records were nice but weren't at the peak the artist wanted to delivered back them, so again with this new album, the artist dared to again with a huge amount and variety of arrangements to gave every track a precise touch focus on classic tunes. The album opened with "Why Not Nothing" a relaxed rock piece that led to the fantastic "Music Is Power" next was "Words Just Get In The Way" introducing the listerner with certain wind and strings arrangementes to create one of the finest melodies of the set, "Break The Night With Color" was the first single and again an uplifting tune with certain usual elements used in the past two albumes.

The second part of the album is less enthusiast "Simple Song", "Cry 'Til The Morning" & "Sweet Brother Malcolm" are fine but in the depth you felt you're listening to an album by Simon & Garfunkel, "Why Do Lovers?" sounded like an nice ballad, and then "World Keeps Turning" and the bonus track "75 Degrees" the first with a certain optimistic and shimmering vibes while the second more experimental never found its way. 

The album was a decent and lucid work by Ashcroft, a good one for the die hard fans but in the end it was just another filler record with some nice tracks, this was like the proof that the brilliant Ashcroft one of the most relevant artists in the 90's has nothing more to offer even thought others considered the record as his best solo effort with puncjy melodies and insightful lyrics, strong vocals and a presence that proved the artist was finally hit the stride. 

 

Keys To The World Track List:

 

1. Why Not Nothing?

2. Music Is Power

3. Break The Night With Colour

4. Words Just Get In The Way

5. Keys To The World

6. Sweet Brother Malcolm

7. Cry Til The Morning

8. Why Do Lovers?

9. Simple Song

10. World Keeps Turning