Ian Brown - Music of the Spheres

year 2001
* Alternative Pop/ Rock
* Britpop
* Indie Pop
review: "F.E.A.R." is particularly compelling, with its lush string sounds and Brown's insanely catchy repetition of the letters that make up the song's title. "Stardust" and "Shadow of a Saint" are the album's other standouts, where Brown concocts frazzled poetry like, "I'm made from stardust/The same DNA as stardust," and intones about the "wings of an angel." Less bombastic than Golden Greats and more focused than Unfinished Monkey Business, Music of the Spheres is brimming with charm and accomplished, polished songcraft. There's no reason for Brown to abandon this style of music, and there's also no reason that he should feel the need to match the glories of The Stone Roses. Ian Brown's solo discography includes nothing but vibrant, organic albums. Each is worth exploring nearly as much as those of his former band. Considering the undeniably genius of the Stone Roses, that's extremely high praise.

Alter bridge - One day remains

year 2004
* Post-Grunge
review: Alter Bridge aligns the original Creed lineup of guitarist Mark Tremonti, drummer Scott Phillips, and bassist Brian Marshall with vocalist Myles Kennedy, formerly of late- '90s modern rock hopefuls Mayfield Four. The resulting One Day Remains and retains some Creed-isms, like Tremonti's foot-on-monitor-wedge showboating, or the thickheaded riffs that unfold smoothly into elegiac, radio-ready choruses (Creed diehards are going to love "Open Your Eyes"). But Kennedy isn't nearly as melodramatic as Scott Stapp was, and his reaching back to wail like vintage Chris Cornell fits nicely with Alter Bridge's more aggressive moments. Witness the chunky PRS shredding of "Metalingus," the Metallica influence in "Watch Your Words," or the slaves and bulldozers of pounding opener "Find the Real." Now, without Stapp to kick around, there are no blatant Jesus Christ poses. But principal writers TremontiKennedy don't shy away from spiritual generalizations -- believing in the promise of a new day, for example, in "Burn It Down." There's also the dualistic quality of the band's name and album artwork, as well as a fold-out poster emblazoned with the title track's lyrics.