There's a scene in the Clash flick Rude Boy where someone remarks to Mick Jones about a tender song he's just recorded, "It's a bit heavy on the f*cking guts and the heart and sh*t." Imagine, then, what he might have had to say to the
Verve's bittersweet ex-front man, Richard Ashcroft, who played only his second gig as a solo artist at Joe's Pub in New York on Friday, May 19. Heavy on the f*cking heart, indeed.
Ashcroft, going it on his own after the Verve's second and final implosion last year, releases his first solo album, Alone With Everybody, on June 27. In celebration of this, Ashcroft played a private show at Joe's Pub to an uncharacteristically enthusiastic - should we say, impassioned - industry crowd.
Ashcroft is no longer just a lucky man. These days he's also a happier guy. "My wife's helped me," Ashcroft said of spouse Kate Radley, former keyboardist with Spiritualized, during an interview with VH1.com. "And my son is just like an affirmation of life every time I see him. It's bizarre. So, if I need any more help than that, then I've got serious problems, you know what I mean."
The only problem Ashcroft faced on Friday was the me-and-my-12-string scenario vs. the staggering throw-in-another-kitchen-sink studio production of Alone. With the bravado that is his trademark, he quickly proved that behind all that wizardry lies the soul of a sage. Fortunately for his audience, the sage has an uncanny way with a pop tune.
Looking like he was on the way to the ashram in his denim oversized shirt, baggy pants, and diamond cross hanging from his neck, Ashcroft played a mostly acoustic set over the course of a half-hour. He also kept a joint dangling from his lips that the girls find so lovely.
Opening with a poignant version of "Bittersweet Symphony," his sandled foot-taps serving as accompaniment, he followed with the eclectically life-affirming "I Get My Beat." "You on My Mind (In My Sleep)" is an eyes-closed sermon at the Grand Ole Opry, while "Money to Burn" is perhaps the most obvious nod to the winged pop of the Verve's breakthrough album Urban Hymns.
From that album, Ashcroft dedicated "Lucky Man" to Kate and his son. Then taking an audience request, he played half of the "Bittersweet Symphony" B-side "So Sister." The new song "New York" became more convincing in a focused, stripped version. Ashcroft even got a little playful with the lyrics, adding, "I heard that Giuliani had cleaned you up/ But I still found a thousand ways to mess myself up," referring to the city's mayor, Rudy Giuliani.
Switching to an electric setting didn't rest well with the gangly singer. Plugging in for "On a Beach," Ashcroft eventually became unhappy with the sound and went back to his trusty 12-string to finish with the ebullient "C'mon People (We're Making It Now)."
"I've actually tried to get more of the celebration, more of the joyous side of life into my music," Ashcroft told VH1.com. "Because you also remember a time when you stick on a Curtis Mayfield track just before you went out, or you put 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' on just before you go out, or whatever. A true album is something that can be there for any of these sides, you know."
Sounding more Johnny Cash or Gram Parsons these days than a psychedelic shaman, Ashcroft has clearly got all sides covered. So prepare your f*cking heart and guts; things are about to get heavy indeed.
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