Human Conditions

Description

Originally released on Hut Records in October 2002, Human Conditions built on the success of Alone With Everybody, retaining the new fans it had gained with that album. This reissue reproduces the original UK pressing from 2002 and is available on 180g audiophile double vinyl in a gatefold sleeve. "It's a beautiful world," Ashcroft sings on the opening track and first single "Check The Meaning." Its eight minutes seem to be the culmination of all of Ashcroft's work to date - an obsessive guitar figure, swelling strings, and subtle orchestration support lyrics that list the battle of love against evil, ending with Ashcroft assuring the listener, "It's gonna be alright." It's a powerful start to a powerful album. "Buy It In Bottles" maintains the introspection of "The Drugs Don't Work," a vibe also found on "Running Away" and "Lord I've Been Trying," while "Bright Lights" and "Paradise" bring an anthemic rock sound. When Brian Wilson is featured on one of your albums, it suggests a certain status has been reached; Richard Ashcroft has shown he can hold his own in such company; both are songwriters of the human condition, and the song on which Wilson appears, "Nature Is The Law," closes Human Conditions in a brilliant way.