Richard Ashcroft Human Conditions (Virgin) Rating: N Rating: N
Since he failed miserably with his last burst of string-drenched solo pop pronouncements, you’d think Richard Ashcroft might have learned that bigger isn’t always better and retreated to his rock-star mansion to record a basic album of acoustic songs. Nope. Ashcroft is far too profound to deal with the simple things, and so Human Conditions begins with a song that name-checks Christ, Allah and Buddha. It’s an ominous start, and Ashcroft’s bland pronouncements on the mysteries of life would be more tolerable if they were wrapped in captivating pieces of music. Instead, Human Conditions comes from the Celine Dion school of sledgehammer emotions — pretentious, overproduced twaddle dominated by dime-store philosophies and half-songs that inevitably dissolve into six minutes of Ashcroft muttering, “Yeah, oh yeah, come on, now.” Pure comedy. MATT GALLOWAY
