ARTiST: Ian Brown
TiTLE: The World Is Yours
LABEL: Fiction Records
GENRE: Rock
TiME: 96:17 min
SiZE:128,10 MB
BiTRATE: VBRkbps
RiP DATE: Sep-21-2007
RELEASE DATE: Sep-24-2007
WEBSiTE: n/a

Track List:

    CD1

01. The World Is Yours                         04:31
02. On Track                                   04:21
03. Sister Rose                                03:52
04. Save Us                                    04:58
05. Eternal Flame                              04:17
06. The Feeding Of The 5000                    03:58
07. Street Children                            03:52
08. Some Folks Are Hollow                      03:49
09. Goodbye To The Broken                      03:53
10. Me And You Forever                         04:11
11. Illegal Attacks (Feat. Sinead O'connor)    05:28
12. The World Is Yours (Reprise)               01:24

    CD2

01. The World Is Yours (Orchestral Mix)        03:07
02. On Track (Orchestral Mix)                  04:21
03. Sister Rose (Orchestral Mix)               03:54
04. Save Us (Orchestral Mix)                   04:16
05. Eternal Flame (Orchestral Mix)             04:20
06. The Feeding Of The 5000 (Orchestral Mix)   03:59
07. Street Children (Orchestral Mix)           03:52
08. Some Folks Are Hollow (Orchestral Mix)     03:34
09. Goodbye To The Broken (Orchestral Mix)     03:52
10. Me And You Forever (Orchestral Mix)        04:06
11. Illegal Attacks (Feat. Sinead O'connor)    05:15
    (Orchestral Mix)
12. The World Is Yours (Reprise)               03:07
    (Orchestral Mix)

Release Notes:

A decade into his post-Roses career, Ian Brown has
recruited a heavyweight coalition of the willing for
his fifth studio album. Sinead O?Connor, fellow Manc
legends Andy Rourke and Paul Ryder, plus ex-Pistols
Steve Cook and Paul Jones all make guest
appearances. Manchester?s answer to Bob Marley even
invited Paul McCartney to join his rock-god love-in,
but it seems the former Beatle declined. Doh! Some
people.

Less impressive, alas, are the lyrical platitudes
and flat-footed arrangements which pepper 'The World
Is Yours'. After flirting with electro beats, cosmic
funk and millennial reggae on previous albums, Brown
settles for a fairly conservative mix of choppy
guitars and programmed strings here. Strident
midtempo rockers dominate, but melodic grace and
lyrical epiphanies are in short supply.

Brown has always aspired to sage-like profundity and
quasi-Biblical import, but generally filtered
through an intoxicating fog of stoner mysticism.
Here he pushes the Yoda-like proclamations to the
point of banal self-parody: one law for the rich and
another for the poor, you get what you give,
homeless kids just need love - and so on, 'ad
infinitum'.

On the apocalyptic ?Save Us? he admonishes ?those
whose eyes are closed to the plight of the African
child?. On ?Illegal Attacks?, he and Sinead condemn
the ?commercial crusades? in Iraq and Afghanistan
with images of weeping mothers. Worthy and sincere
sentiments, no doubt, but so baldly expressed they
could be Phil Collins lyrics.

Fortunately, for all his Christ-like posturing,
Brown remains better at menace and malevolence than
messianic empathy. On ?Sister Rose?, with feverish
funk-rock backing from Cook and Jones, he summons a
vengeful feminist goddess. On ?Some Folks Are
Hollow?, he skewers church hypocrisy with
exhilarating spite. Likewise ?Goodbye To The
Broken?, where he emphatically severs ties with an
ex-lover (or possibly former band mate?) over lush,
weeping strings. More memorable for famous guests
than fine tunes, 'The World Is Yours' does not
diminish Brown?s reputation, but it lacks the
exotic, adventurous reach of his best
work. Hobbled by half-realised potential, Britrock?s
would-be saviour remains a rough beast, slouching
towards Bethlehem to be born.