Human Conditions

There are very few artists in the half-alive genre of rock who still manage to bare their soul on wax whilst still retaining credability. Credability is a key issue when it comes to Human Conditions, because from the beginning, as Ashcroft namechecks "Muhammad, Allah, Buddha" we are made aware that this is a deeply spritual body of work. Freedom of religion, and wanting to talk openly about it, may be permitted in the society we live in, but sadly, the rather narrow-minded writers in music-journalism seem to be very quick to lambast any artist who defies the secular fashions of the industry. Prince's latest work (The Rainbow Children) was fairly roundly critisised for containing a religious message, similarly KRS-1's latest Spiritually minded an openly religious album, was almost completely ignored by the popular media.

It takes guts to open your heart to the beauty in life, and Ashcroft's clearly wrote and recorded this album at the right time of his life, the right time being when he was feeling a lot. The words, "It's a beautiful world" almost involuntarily glide out of his mouth halfway through the opening classic, Check the meaning which clocks in at 8 minutes of pure intellectual soul.

Ashcrofts lyrics are crap. Ashcroft's lyrics are deeply profound and beautiful. The truth probably lies somehwere in between those two statements, but both ends of the spectrum are displayed at times on this album. To be totally honest, his lyrics probably lie somewhere closer to profound, but because his language is so direct, so unpretentious, it will often sound simplistic. Subtelty may be this albums weak point, but at the same time, everything is so literally 'out there' in terms of Ashcroft's emotions, that subtelty becomes redundant. When something is truly funny, and makes you laugh from the belly, there's no need for sarcasm, the same could be said of sincere lyrics and the insencerity that sometimes lends itself to lyrical 'subtleties'. On the amazing Science of Silence, he sings "She's a university, a cosmic library....We are on a rock, spinning silently", such abstract yet beautiful interpretations exemplify the very best of Human Conditions.

Other highlights include the heavenly God in the numbers, which sees Ashcroft crooning over delightful synth waves, highlighting the fact that he still owns one of the most soulful voices in music today. His backing, musically, is solid almost throughout. As his collaboration with DJ Shadow proved on the UNKLE album, he is most effective when the music reaches the same climactic highs as he does. There are one or two pretty weak songs on the album, however the overall impact of his lyrics, music, and voice ultimately make you warm to the whole experience of Human Conditions. To leave you with a taster, here's an observation he makes in the previously mentioned stand-out track, God in the numbers,

"The more I learn our history, the more I hate it.
'Cos we repeating things we did a thousand years ago.
We're building palaces of fortune in the sky.
Theres an under-class dying, whilst we smile"

Y.Misdaq aka Yoshi, Jun 2003