Richard Ashcroft
Alone With Everybody

Arrogant, dark, defiant, presumptuous, crazy, and depressed. This was Richard Ashcroft, (leader of the Verve) in the '90s, constantly teetering between the deepest abysses touched by heavy drug use, antidepressants, and narcotics (and whoever has more, can add to it) and the highest peaks reached with his brilliant creativity, which earned him worldwide rockstar fame with the album URBAN HYMNS, the album that marked the history of English rock.

Then, in 1999, Richard made an important decision that changed his life: goodbye Verve, without regrets and with a future as a songwriter.
Positive, romantic, responsible, optimistic, calm, mature, and intimate. This is the Richard Ashcroft of the 2000s. This is the soul he embodied in his first solo album: ALONE WITH EVERYBODY.

Even the title (taken from a poem by Charles Bukowski, nonconformist writer, iconoclast, and destroyer of the mythical "American dream"), speaks volumes about his state of mind regarding the past and the future. Alone With Everybody, released in the spring of 2000, coinciding with the birth of his firstborn Sonny, a child brought forth by his wife Kate Radley (former keyboardist of Spiritualized and now manager and occasional keyboardist of her beloved).

On the album cover, there is a dedication: THIS ALBUM IS DEDICATED TO KATE AND SONNY. WITH LOVE FOREVER.
Needless to say, how the old Mad Richard has become Sweet Richard. And you can notice this by just listening to the album. Even just once. On his first artistic creation as "solo," there would be much to say and tell. Let's start by saying that those who expected a purely Britpop-style album with the aggressive and fragile sound characteristic of the last Verve (those of URBAN HYMNS) will be disappointed. However, for a part of the audience that will feel betrayed, there will be others who will be enthusiastic. And this phenomenon occurs in music whenever innovations, changes, or transformations are sought, and Captain Ashcroft has adopted them. Overall, Alone With Everybody, is an album very different from the much-acclaimed Urban Hymns. Different is the sound: more melodic, relaxed, clear, and sweet. Different are the themes: less pessimism, much love, and confidences. Once, the edgy Richard sang that DRUGS DON'T WORK, THEY JUST MAKE YOU FEEL WORSE, now he extols the true values of life, such as family love and his Kate who is vigilant in his mind even in sleep, as recited in the magical ballad YOU ON MY MIND IN MY SLEEP, probably the most beautiful song on the album.

For example, love reigns again in his first single, A SONG FOR THE LOVERS (which talks about a man waiting for his woman in a hotel for too long), a song written with the Verve for Urban Hymns and then shelved because it didn't work on that album. Paradoxically, however, here you can sense a bit of the Verve flavor. The same feeling might be experienced in NEW YORK, a theme that talks about the chaos and stress of one of the world's most important metropolises. New York is rockish (perhaps the hardest on the album) with a very aggressive riff that slightly recalls the more mature Rolling Stones, and coincidentally, it's another Verve discard.

In a predominantly optimistic album, however, the talented English songwriter doesn't disappoint and offers a melancholy yet strong gem: BRAVE NEW WORLD, rich with a light guitar, is probably the most important song for Richard's new life and even though his past is the past, he cannot but come to terms with old sorrows, as it's quite evident in the lyrics referencing his father who died when Richard was just a child (I HOPE I SEE YOU ON THE OTHERSIDE). Perhaps, the less fitting episode is the semi-psychedelic MONEY TO BURN: released as a second single, it did not have the commercial repercussions that would have led Our Man to sell much, even in Italy, a country that clearly snubbed and ignored him given the musical mindset of most of the "boot's" population. Nevertheless, criticism has not abandoned him, as often happens with less poppy artists in this strange world. Yes, "crazy world": CRAZY WORLD is catchy and it's a pleasure to hear the cadence of words in Ashcroft's warm voice. Over time, we realize that AWE is softer and more reassuring towards the last three tracks. SLOW WAS MY HEART warms the soul; C'MON PEOPLE (third and last single, but not successful) comforts and exalts. In the intermezzo, there's also room for some die-hard fans of the British singer-songwriter's former band: ON A BEACH surely reminisces, albeit in glimpses, the sunshine and zest for life of LUCKY MAN. The album closes with EVERYBODY, a splendid lullaby of over 6 minutes, nocturnal and delightful to listen to before going to sleep, once again featuring the voice of the former Verve leader on one side and the splendid orchestral arrangements by his collaborators (including Peter Salisbury, former Verve drummer), rich with strings, harps, slide guitars, and winds, which are practically the entire essence of the album. All this has shown that saying goodbye to the Verve marked a more mature and emotional Ashcroft. In Alone With Everybody you can realize all of this. His sound is so light, between soul and country, between America and England, between blues and psychedelia.
And within it, quite a few ghosts linger: Rolling Stones, Marvin Gaye, Echo And The Bunnyman, Nick Drake, and Stone Roses.

AWE is, therefore, essentially, a relaxing, passionate, and pleasant album, to dedicate to one's beloved, rich in sentiment and purity, which will likely displease the old Verve followers and true rock lovers but will make others applaud. In conclusion, Richard Ashcroft has been promoted, because as an artist, he is unquestionable. His talent is undeniable. His being Anglo-Saxon is incontestable: a true soul of northern England. He is the classic British singer-songwriter: the one who travels with a guitar and can stop time with a pick and twelve strings. The one who looks at nature with a childlike eye. The one who extols love. The one who writes beautiful songs and memorable melodies. The one who laughs little but when he does, is truly happy. The one who no longer knows what drugs are. The one who forgets the past but doesn't renounce it. However, let's not deny it, the Verve is a much bulkier regret compared to Richard Ashcroft's solo success.
But that is another story...