The morning after the first of two sold-out solo gigs at New York's Bowery Ballroom, former Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft dropped by VH1.com to muse on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - as well as his sudden distaste for his last name. Packing hip Manhattan venues is usually a sign that your band has arrived. But what is its impact on someone accustomed to playing for tens of thousands of fans? For the former singer of bittersweet British sensations the Verve, it means you've dropped a lot of excess baggage. Listen to Ashcroft talk about losing the "transient audience."

Crowds might be surprised to discover that Ashcroft's solo band includes his wife, keyboardist Kate Radley. But to those who titter while making Wings comparisons, he's got just one thing to say: "Spiritualized" - which is the name of her former band. Ashcroft realizes that one of celebrity's perils is the expectations people project on an artist. Hear him discuss the musical relationship he shares with Radley and the "dot-to-dot image" that others have created.

In his personal struggle with fame, Ashcroft has a lot in common with the deceased Kurt Cobain. Both, from the heights of success, found themselves yearning for simple human connections that they felt they lacked. Here's Ashcroft philosophizing on rock stardom. It's not, he points out, "Nirvana on earth."

The song "Bitter Sweet Symphony" is what got him into such a mess in the first place. Or as he puts it...

The sweeping emotions and sonic scope of that tune - and most of Ashcroft's songs for that matter - fall into a category he calls "head music." No, it's not all about drugs, although he admits he was probably on 'em when he sat down with his guitar. What is "head music"?

Despite the pouty looks and arrogant demeanor, the singer also insists he's no "musical fascist." Listen to him talk about what tunes get his fan juices flowing.

For his first solo album, Alone With Everybody, Ashcroft gave himself the task of "stripping down." Yet the record's production is very lush. He explains that getting to the heart of a tune is invariably about looking for a certain purity of emotion. And he believes that such huge things often need to be bolstered by symphonic accompaniment. Hear him talk about how he made "the musical bed" for this album.

To elaborate on his vision Ashcroft enlisted the help of veteran musicians Pino Palladino and BJ Cole. Some of his contemporaries ridiculed the choice of studio players whose previous credits included Paul Young, Tears for Fears, and Phil Collins (Palladino), but Ashcroft simply needed people who could get the job done without being too "precious" about their playing. Here, he explains why he needed musicians who knew he was the one "in control."

Says Ashcroft, this album is the equivalent of his Northern Soul. He's still working on the Urban Hymns, the one that's "so hot it can't be denied." What can we expect in the future? Ashcroft ponders the question.

Ashcroft once sang that "you come in on your own and you leave on your own." And the title Alone With Everybody was lifted from a Charles Bukowski poem. But, he concludes, he no longer feels quite so solitary. Here he is discussing the issue...and the one way a person can get around it.